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lowkey13
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*Deleted by user*
Players should buy the pizza.
DMs should kill the players.
Such is the circle of (gaming) life. You know ....
OMG! No!!! You're supposed to kill the characters, not the players!Players should buy the pizza.
DMs should kill the players.
Fair enough. I must have a pretty good filter; I haven't noticed too many crazy posts lately. Or Umbran is doing a kick-ass job at moderating?Also seriously, you have to be really over the top to separate yourself from the sort of extreme points of view that are all too common at EnWorld. . .
Also seriously, despite the self-parody (?) of the original post, are you intending to start a more serious discussion, or should I just be going along with the joke?
One good point: D&D is really the default RPG, to the extent that in some areas/groups, "game" equals D&D. Which means that in these areas, there must be a DM, and that DM must (more or less) use D&D's definitions of DM and PC. I think the DM role has evolved, if only a little. There used to be more rules that were exclusively in the DMG, no? Then they streamlined some tables and solidified the DC concept, which made the DM role more important, because it would be a little weird to have PCs setting their own DCs...Not if the game that is hard to GM is D&D. Then they go through a cycle: the DM wanting to try something else, the group being unable to agree on what else to play, the DM burning out, someone else running something terrible for a short while until the DM (somewhat recovered) can't stand it anymore, and back to the DM running.
OTOH, sometimes the hard-to-GM aspect of the game is kinda the point. The GM runs the game the way he likes, and the players either toe the line, or get the old "if you don't like it /you/ run for a while!" That usually shut's 'em up...
… I mean, hypothetically.
Hey! We brought one out of the woodwork. Er, basement? Keep an eye on Lake Superior, Carter. She's a tricky one.I like this thread. Where is your newsletter and how do I subscribe?
Dming is the easiest thing in the world. You just need a room full of undiscerning man children who are starved for meaningful social interactions, a couple of books, and a nearly eidetic recall of every crappy movie you've ever seen at three in the morning on the student station when you should've been studying for finals. You don't even need to be able to afford snacks. Oh yeah, and maybe a few sets of dice.
. . . (Don't worry about my kid - grandma's loaded and my spawn's college fund is secured, assuming sea levels don't reach Wisconsin in the next 11 years).
The OP (now) asks how you feel about the separation of GM and PC. Or should there even be a distinction?
My view on this is fairly traditional: The point of an RPG is to role-play, and in order for the players to stay in the character mindset, a GM needs to be there to handle the back-end (playing NPCs, and adjudicating uncertainty in action resolution).- Would you like to see a hard line between the GM role and the PC role?
- If not, where do you draw the line?
Oh yeah. Back in 1e, remember, there were not only rules found only in the DMG, there were rules in the PH that were /contradicted/ by inner-mystery rules in the DMG, and DMG rules also contradicted eachother, at times.One good point: D&D is really the default RPG, to the extent that in some areas/groups, "game" equals D&D. Which means that in these areas, there must be a DM, and that DM must (more or less) use D&D's definitions of DM and PC. I think the DM role has evolved, if only a little. There used to be more rules that were exclusively in the DMG, no?
Well, players could look up DCs in static tables, as long as you had comprehensive enough tables, anyway. For instance, in 3e, you could conveniently look up the chance of making an NPC 'Helpful' with a Diplomacy check - that worked fine.Then they streamlined some tables and solidified the DC concept, which made the DM role more important, because it would be a little weird to have PCs setting their own DCs...
Heh. voice of experience.Your circle of GM-life seems pretty on-point to me.
Oh, the distinction if vital for what we generally think of as TTRPGs - D&D & it's myriad imitators and the more obscure fringes of the hobby that have moved on from those beginnings. DMs don't just make up the world & the adventure, or they could be replaced with a module. They don't just make decisions for monsters or they could be replaced with a flowchart. DM's provide rules interpretations and judgement calls without which even the most meticulously designed TTRPG system would grind to a halt pretty quickly.The OP (now) asks how you feel about the separation of GM and PC. Or should there even be a distinction?
Fair enough. I must have a pretty good filter; I haven't noticed too many crazy posts lately. Or Umbran is doing a kick-ass job at moderating?
The OP (now) asks how you feel about the separation of GM and PC. Or should there even be a distinction? And then later, well, someone starts talking about killing players.
So, yeah, ENWorld thread
One good point: D&D is really the default RPG, to the extent that in some areas/groups, "game" equals D&D. Which means that in these areas, there must be a DM, and that DM must (more or less) use D&D's definitions of DM and PC. I think the DM role has evolved, if only a little. There used to be more rules that were exclusively in the DMG, no? Then they streamlined some tables and solidified the DC concept, which made the DM role more important, because it would be a little weird to have PCs setting their own DCs...
Your circle of GM-life seems pretty on-point to me.
Hey! We brought one out of the woodwork. Er, basement? Keep an eye on Lake Superior, Carter. She's a tricky one.
What I'm reading is that the GM/PC distinction doesn't matter, because GMing is so easy. Is that a fair induction?