Kings and Castles - Poll

[Vegepygmy]

The point that is being completely missed is that there should rarely be the DM deciding ANYTHING, except to facilitate the plot and story. Any major rules like this should be a group decision. If the DM ever says "I'm imposing this houserule and tough crap about it" I'd smack him upside the head.

Hmmm. Exact opposite for me. While I'm all for discussing house rules with the players and taking their desires into consideration, ultimately ALL such decisions are the DM's prerogative. If a player smacks me upside the head for imposing a house rule against his will, that player has exactly two choices: (1) DM a game himself using whatever rules he decides, or (2) find another game to play in.

 

[Balesir]

Hmmm. Exact opposite for me. While I'm all for discussing house rules with the players and taking their desires into consideration, ultimately ALL such decisions are the DM's prerogative. If a player smacks me upside the head for imposing a house rule against his will, that player has exactly two choices: (1) DM a game himself using whatever rules he decides, or (2) find another game to play in.

I half-way agree with what you say, here (houserules should be discussed but the final decision is the DM's), but I don't think the topic of "should strongholds be a feature in the campaign" is really "houserule" territory. It's more a question of "what should the focus of the whole game be?" territory - and that I think should definitely be a group decision.

It depends how the "strongholds" are implemented, I suppose - I can see versions that just support the "adventure" game, such as paying for an "alchemical lab" that gives you a replenishment of certain consumable items when you rest with access to it - but if it's implemented as a domain rulership sub-game then it definitely falls into "game focus" territory.

 

[Yora]

Have you ever asked a group what kind of campaign they want to play? If you got any answer other than "whatever you decide", you can count yourself among the very few, and possibly apocryphal GMs, who have ever gotten such a reply.
Though they might not actually exist outside of legends.

 

[Hassassin]

Have you ever asked a group what kind of campaign they want to play? If you got any answer other than "whatever you decide", you can count yourself among the very few, and possibly apocryphal GMs, who have ever gotten such a reply.
Though they might not actually exist outside of legends.

When asking players what they want I usually get two kinds of answers: 1) vague and general, probably subjective ("no railroading"); 2) very specific, but meaningless for the big picture ("no orcs").

 

[was]

-I have mixed feelings on this question. Yes, the DM should have control over his/her campaign, but that should not stomp down on the player's fun. However, having a rules lawyer come up and tell the DM that he/she has to do all all this extra work, on top of what they're all ready doing, just because its in the rules, seems extremely disrespectful to me.
-I would have the option in the DMG, but make sure it's noted as optional and at the DM's discretion. Things like players wanting to own property, cohorts etc. should probably be discussed in-group prior to starting the campaign and not sprung on the DM when the players reach a high level.