D&D General DM Authority

[Don Durito]

I taught a 6 year old to run 4e.

With enough random die tables, you could probably run a very basic game of D&D with no DM.

I'm as sure that it could be done as I'm as sure as I wouldn't want to play it.

There'd almost certainly be something more enjoyable I could do - like root canal perhaps.

Edit: I've played those board games that are dungeoncrawlers. I know some people like them but to me they feel like being stuck in a D&D combat that never ends with a GM who will shut you down immediately if you try to do anything creative.

 

[Oofta]

I'm as sure that it could be done as I'm as sure as I wouldn't want to play it.

There'd almost certainly be something more enjoyable I could do - like root canal perhaps.

Some of the D&D derived board games are okay, but I agree. It's not the same.

 

[Minigiant]

I'm as sure that it could be done as I'm as sure as I wouldn't want to play it.

There'd almost certainly be something more enjoyable I could do - like root canal perhaps.

I dunno.
With good enough tables and modules, a person just doing what the books and tables say could be indistinguishable from a below average DM.

 

[Don Durito]

I dunno.
With good enough tables and modules, a person just doing what the books and tables say could be indistinguishable from a below average DM.

Ok. You're really selling it to me now.

 

[Minigiant]

Ok. You're really selling it to me now.

Just get yourself a 6 year old child to run it.
Their monster design is wild.
Maybe 8 so they can navigate the books.

Goblin-hydra. A hydra with goblins for heads and the heads turn into goblins when they are chopped off. I gave DM authority to a being that thought that up.

 

[Garthanos]

Just get yourself a 6 year old child to run it.
Their monster design is wild.
Maybe 8 so they can navigate the books.

Goblin-hydra. A hydra with goblins for heads and the heads turn into goblins when they are chopped off. I gave DM authority to a being that thought that up.

My kids have more drama and imagination in their little pinkies than myself I agree it can be awesome.

 

[FrozenNorth]

Absolute power can also exist simultaneously with an elected government. Here in Canada we have a Constitutional Monarchy. The Queen of England is technically, still in charge. We are allowed to have a Parliament through her good graces. If the Queen really wanted to she could come to Canada, go to Parliament, wave her hands around and shout "you're all fired" and poof, we are back to being ruled solely by the Queen.

I’m a Canadian, and absolutely none of that is true. If the Queen came to Canada, waved her hands and shouted that Parliament was suspended, the PM would ignore her and laugh (even a Conservative PM), there would be headlines in the G&M, and probably dancing in the streets in Quebec.

 

[Don Durito]

I’m a Canadian, and absolutely none of that is true. If the Queen came to Canada, waved her hands and shouted that Parliament was suspended, the PM would ignore her and laugh (even a Conservative PM), there would be headlines in the G&M, and probably dancing in the streets in Quebec.

Well it wasn't the Queen as such but her constitutional represenatitve, but something along those lines did happen in Australia in 1975.

 

[Charlaquin]

I taught a 6 year old to run 4e.

With enough random die tables, you could probably run a very basic game of D&D with no DM.

You don’t even really need random tables. Just ask yes/no questions about the environment and roll 2d6. 7-9 is “yes”, 10+ is “yes, and”, 4-6 is “no”, 1-3 is “no, and.”

 

[FrozenNorth]

Well, I suspect that in many cases its because if a campaign isn't working, a lot of people will just soldier on and not say anything, because as you say, they'd rather play in a game they are only intermittently enjoying than risk getting punted or the GM just walking away. So people rarely see a whole group having a clearcut set of issues because even when its occurring most of the players hide it.

I really want to emphasize this point. This happens even in games with good DMs, where the player isn’t afraid of getting kicked out.

I think most players are willing to give the DM the benefit of the doubt and not be hyper-critical because they are aware of how much work goes into DMing.

I played in a game and for whatever reason, the game wasn’t clicking. Since it was a “limited-series” campaign (a single module), I just toughed it out.