D&D General Alternate thought - rule of cool is bad for gaming

[Micah Sweet]

"Should" is doing some heavy lifting there. That could end up being less attractive than simply not playing at all.

True, on either side. I'll say it again: a game run by a GM who isn't enjoying it won't last long.

 

[Micah Sweet]

I have not said to the contrary. But Lanefan made a very general statement as phrased, and I wanted to note that might be a true statement from his specific point of view, but as a general statement it was nonsensical. Rules can serve all kinds of purposes; representing the in-world reality of the situation is only one of them, and not even the most important one to many people.

But how many people think its the most important thing doesn't really matter to those people. @Lanefan and I tend to have similar feelings about this stuff, but potentially being in the minority of the community in that regard doesn't make our opinions less valid.

 

[Micah Sweet]

We used to say that "no D&D is better than bad D&D". Still, the best DMs took their players experience and expectations into account, the worst shouted their game philosophy at us while we packed up and left.

How willing to compromise must a GM be willing to be?

 

[Oofta]

Usually the concern is the other way 'round, "I'd like to restrict this aspect, but the core say they can do it and the players insist they should get to do what the book says". It can be tough, but you just have to bull through that. I'm about to start a Level Up game with two playable heritages: human and constructed (read robot).

I agree. As an example when it comes to races allowed, I limit them. Not because I have a problem with people playing a cat person, but because I want to think about how they fit into the world. In addition, even the limited number of races I do have sometimes feel like too many. It's just my preference. But when I've said this on this forum I've been called a tyrant because of my limitations and repeatedly been told that I could fit them in somewhere if I really wanted to. Which, of course I could. I don't want to.

Somehow this aspect of design, which is really a minor aspect to my campaign and world design, is going to destroy the fun of potential players. Very, very few people actually play a race much different than a normal human or just plays to aspects that could easily be attributed to a human. Which of course makes sense since we can't really know how a different species would think.

Yet I'm a bad DM because I want to build a campaign world that makes sense to me. Flipping this around, a DM that really leans into the rule of cool to an extreme that I don't care for is not inherently a bad DM, they just aren't the right DM for me.

P.S. I never have an issue attracting players or retaining the vast majority of players that do join my game.

 

[Oofta]

How willing to compromise must a GM be willing to be?

Based on other conversations that revolved around this when it comes to actual specific examples it's frequently "basically everything".

 

[KYRON45]

How willing to compromise must a GM be willing to be?

Somewhere there is an intersection where its as much as they need to in order to keep their players coming back and as much as they are willing to in order to keep playing.

 

[Thomas Shey]

But how many people think its the most important thing doesn't really matter to those people. @Lanefan and I tend to have similar feelings about this stuff, but potentially being in the minority of the community in that regard doesn't make our opinions less valid.

It should matter when you phrase something as a generalization, however, or you should expect to get called on it.

 

[KYRON45]

Don't know. I don't really have a problem finding players. Is this a real problem in the real world, or just something people who seem to dislike the role of GM in general talk about?

This depends on where you live and how willing you are to seek out players. Online play is also an option; but this doesn't appeal to everyone.

 

[Remathilis]

Don't know. I don't really have a problem finding players. Is this a real problem in the real world, or just something people who seem to dislike the role of GM in general talk about?

I've personally seen DMs quit because they could not find players who would play with them. It was in a small college town some 20 years ago, but we knew who was a good DM and who wasn't and bad DMs didn't last long. The grapevine spread among the gaming stores and college gaming groups.

Nowadays in the era of online play and such, I don't know if the world is so small, but it was and if meat space play is important, it still can be.

 

[Cordwainer Fish]

Yes...that is the point. We don't always get what we want.

But if we try sometimes, we get what we need.