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The Neutral Referee, Monty Haul, and the Killer DM: History of the GM and Application to 5e
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<blockquote data-quote="Cap'n Kobold" data-source="post: 8708152" data-attributes="member: 6802951"><p>It is the internet, but the internet is made up of real people and being on the internet does not excuse or cause them to act against their nature.</p><p>The thread is on the internet, but everyone in it had a choice as to whether to engage with the OP as written, or to sidetrack it quibbling about the way the author defines some of it.</p><p></p><p>Lets use the standard of a "neutral referee" that the OP sets down: someone who <strong>creates the setting/plot/encounters to be engaging to the party</strong>, and is then as <strong>neutral an arbiter of rules, rulings and judgements as human nature will allow them to be</strong> during play.</p><p>The OP already headed off the argument about unattainable perfection of neutrality:. It isn't about that: a neutral referee is assumed to <strong>try </strong>to be neutral between the two sides even if they cannot achieve it perfectly.</p><p></p><p>From the short history lesson, the most perfectly neutral way to DM a la kriegsspiel might actually be through published content rather than homebrew. There is no attachment to content that the DM rolled up or imagined: on one side is the text of the adventure, and on the others are the players. The referee can probably remain much more neutral in this situation.</p><p></p><p>As for me? I am not a completely neutral DM, and I do not seek to be. While I am by no means Monty Haul, and do not go out of my way to prevent meaningful character death, I will place my thumb on the scales if necessary to prevent random TPKs for example.</p><p>At the end of the day myself and my friends play D&D for enjoyment, and so if that means having the party be captured rather than killed or rerolling a random encounter that I know will upset one of my players, I will do so as part of my duty as DM.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Cap'n Kobold, post: 8708152, member: 6802951"] It is the internet, but the internet is made up of real people and being on the internet does not excuse or cause them to act against their nature. The thread is on the internet, but everyone in it had a choice as to whether to engage with the OP as written, or to sidetrack it quibbling about the way the author defines some of it. Lets use the standard of a "neutral referee" that the OP sets down: someone who [B]creates the setting/plot/encounters to be engaging to the party[/B], and is then as [B]neutral an arbiter of rules, rulings and judgements as human nature will allow them to be[/B] during play. The OP already headed off the argument about unattainable perfection of neutrality:. It isn't about that: a neutral referee is assumed to [B]try [/B]to be neutral between the two sides even if they cannot achieve it perfectly. From the short history lesson, the most perfectly neutral way to DM a la kriegsspiel might actually be through published content rather than homebrew. There is no attachment to content that the DM rolled up or imagined: on one side is the text of the adventure, and on the others are the players. The referee can probably remain much more neutral in this situation. As for me? I am not a completely neutral DM, and I do not seek to be. While I am by no means Monty Haul, and do not go out of my way to prevent meaningful character death, I will place my thumb on the scales if necessary to prevent random TPKs for example. At the end of the day myself and my friends play D&D for enjoyment, and so if that means having the party be captured rather than killed or rerolling a random encounter that I know will upset one of my players, I will do so as part of my duty as DM. [/QUOTE]
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