D&D General DM Authority

[Maxperson]

Saying no one would want that on the internet is like magic. Someone is going to come in and disagree now.

And with an absolute like that, they'd be right. I think very, very few would like a game like that, but I'd bet good money that they exist in some small number.

 

[Lanefan]

Yes, and exactly that raises my eyebrow. Since just steamrolling through combat encounters in a game without any kind of, khm, game feel is just unescapably boring, I can't see any reason for such behaviour.

I seriously doubt that anyone out there likes being bored to death, so I think there's another reason.

It might be boring for you - and, truth be told, it would be for me as well - but some players do like to steamroll; or to be the Super in a sea of mundanes. Some other players are incredibly risk-averse when it comes to their PCs - again, not to my taste, but they are out there.

 

[Lanefan]

@Thomas Shey - certainly in 1e D&D the idea of the DM being the game's authority was pretty much baked in as a rule. It's become fuzzier since then.

 

[Maxperson]

It might be boring for you - and, truth be told, it would be for me as well - but some players do like to steamroll; or to be the Super in a sea of mundanes. Some other players are incredibly risk-averse when it comes to their PCs - again, not to my taste, but they are out there.

In my experience it's a mixed bag. Players for the most part like to be challenged or feel like they have been challenged. Sometimes, though, it's satisfying to steamroll something and feel like Superman, and even more satisfying when good tactics lets you steamroll a BBEG.

 

[Maxperson]

@Thomas Shey - certainly in 1e D&D the idea of the DM being the game's authority was pretty much baked in as a rule. It's become fuzzier since then.

They unfuzzed it for 5e. The PHB and DMG say in no uncertain terms that it's the DM's game and he's the authority.

 

[Helldritch]

I stand by what I said. A whole campaign without a single combat, no protagonist, no antagonist would simply be boring to the extreme. Imagine that RPG
Politics, THE RPG.
A game where you emulate politicians. Decide laws and amendments. Debate over and over on coma and periods. And what will you take for lunch?
Nope, not my cup of tea. Never knew a player that did not like combat. I do not say that the campaign should be an endless stream of combat, far from that. It is a role playing game. But a game with absolutely no combat would be as boring as a game with an endless chain of combats. It is the blend of combats, interactions with the world and the exploration of the world that makes a campaign interesting.

 

[loverdrive]

I stand by what I said. A whole campaign without a single combat, no protagonist, no antagonist would simply be boring to the extreme.

I don't know who said about "without a single combat". There's cool combat and there's boring combat. Minimizing boring combat in favor of cool combat is a good idea.

I don't know how that's controversial.

Though I've ran and played a whole lot of games where the most "combaty" thing is a drunken brawl. But that's not D&D anyway.

 

[Oofta]

Yes, and exactly that raises my eyebrow. Since just steamrolling through combat encounters in a game without any kind of, khm, game feel is just unescapably boring, I can't see any reason for such behaviour.

I seriously doubt that anyone out there likes being bored to death, so I think there's another reason.

I've played with guys who wanted to steamroll every combat. Their idea of fun was finding some loophole so that the monsters were unable to attack while still being attacked. They'd also pout if their PC ever took damage, much less got seriously injured.

I thought the fights where his tactics worked were incredibly boring. While I never understood, he wasn't alone either. There was a whole table that would show up at the game days and always want to play together so their synergies (and questionable interpretation of the rules) made every game easy.

I don't get it, but they exist.

 

[FrozenNorth]

Maybe we need a DM to make the call?

Isn’t the problem here that we are ALL DMs?

 

[Maxperson]

I don't know who said about "without a single combat". There's cool combat and there's boring combat. Minimizing boring combat in favor of cool combat is a good idea.

I don't know how that's controversial.

The controversial part is where you declare combat other people might enjoy, boring. What is boring to you is exciting to others and vice versa. You know all that RP and story that you love? Guess what? A lot of people find that to be boring. Should we all get rid of RP and story because they find it boring?