D&D 5E The case for niche protection

I think I am more "spotlight protection" than niche protection.

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ad_hoc said:

I'm against DMs changing things based on character choices. There might be a great chance for an Arcana check, but if no one is around who can do it then you don't get to explore that option. I see that as niche protection. If someone chose to play a character like that they would be shining.

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Why is it valuable to protect niches that aren't currently being played? Who is having more fun as a result of your decision to prohibit your players from "explor[ing] that option"? If verisimilitude is your worry, there are usually perfectly-plausible ways to let the party obtain the missing information that can be seamlessly added.

I find that tailoring the campaign to the interests of the players (primary) and mechanical abilities of the characters (secondary) is the single most-powerful tool I have available as a DM to help ensure everyone at my table has fun.

Because of that, I find mechanical niche-protection to be largely unnecessary. So long as I'm careful to ensure that no character's abilities are a strict subset of another's, I can create adventures where everyone gets a chance to shine. Even in large games where no one has a unique niche, it's simple-enough to create scenarios where having multiple experts is useful.

Xetheral said:

I find that tailoring the campaign to the interests of the players (primary) and mechanical abilities of the characters (secondary) is the single most-powerful tool I have available as a DM to help ensure everyone at my table has fun.

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You are destroying their agency.

Nothing they choose to do actually matters.

I want my choices to matter. If they don't matter then I'm just listening to an uninteresting story. I would rather watch a movie or read a book by a professional author.

transtemporal said:

Wangernumb!

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O_O Totally different thing. And I think you should consult a doctor right away!

ad_hoc said:

You are destroying their agency.

Nothing they choose to do actually matters.

I want my choices to matter. If they don't matter then I'm just listening to an uninteresting story. I would rather watch a movie or read a book by a professional author.

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Agency is provided by giving the players meaningful choices with notable impact on the game world. How does giving the players more of the types of content they enjoy (and that their characters are good at) rob them of agency? I don't see how tailored campaign design in any way equates to railroading or even begins to imply a lack of meaningful choices.

Also, you didn't answer my questions. What value is there in protecting niches not currently being played? And who has more fun as a result of closing off campaign paths because the characters lack a certain skill proficiency?

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Xetheral said:

Agency is provided by giving the players meaningful choices with notable impact on the game world. How does giving the players more of the types of content they enjoy (and that their characters are good at) rob them of agency? I don't see how tailored campaign design in any way equates to railroading or even begins to imply a lack of meaningful choices.

Also, you didn't answer my questions. What value is there in protecting niches not currently being played? And who has more fun as a result of closing off campaign paths because the characters lack a certain skill proficiency?

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Yes I did. It destroys their agency. If I know when I have a round peg there will always be a round hole I don't need to do anything.

I said nothing about closing off campaign paths.

I run published adventures. They are written. People make characters. They face challenges. They can approach those challenges however they want. This is because they have agency. I don't change those challenges to fit the players or characters.

Being able to fail is important. If you want to call that 'closing off a campaign path' then sure. I even allow TPKs to happen. Because I want choices to matter.

MechaTarrasque said:

I think I am more "spotlight protection" than niche protection.

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I think that's a much better way to say it.

mellored said:

Except when your party needs to make an arcana check and someone is forced to be a wizard.

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Or the DM has an alternate way to solve whatever the situation is even if no one makes the arcana check. (Even wizards can fail checks, after all.)

MechaPilot said:

The first time I played a cleric was in a group I joined who didn't have one, and they said I had to be the cleric because no one else had made one.

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They never heard of Brother Justin Case, the NPC cleric who tags along with you?