GM Authority (Edited For Clarity, Post #148)

hawkeyefan · Dec 13, 2020

I didn't answer the poll because I really could see it going either way. Without knowing any specifics about the group dynamics, my first suggestion would be to talk it out. See if the GM can clarify what his intentions are for the campaign, and why an elf may not be the most suitable choice.

On the other hand, maybe the player can explain why they think an elf would be an interesting choice, and why they want to play one in this campaign.

I honestly don’t think that just picking one side or the other is the best way to handle this.

Sure, maybe the player is being entitles and forcing an issue that really shouldn’t be that big a deal. I’m reasonably sure that they could play a similar character that’s a human.

On the other hand, maybe the GM’s being an unbending tyrant who’s unwilling to accept that his precious setting isn’t all that original and the addition of an elf doesn’t change that much.

In either extreme case, these don't really sound like people worth playing with. Which is to say, it’s not really about GM or Player....it’s about someone (or both) being a jerk.

cmad1977 · Dec 13, 2020

ccs said:
Why? Theres nothing going on in GoT that D&D can't handle

Sure. But there are better systems for it.

cmad1977 · Dec 13, 2020

This sounds most to me like a weird and unimaginative DM. Lacking in communication skills. I certainly don’t blame the player for being told that they’re playing D&D/GoT and coming to the table with an elf. I would have assumed that the greater families/houses would be based upon a particular race. Lannisters are high elves, Starks are dwarfs etc.

Crimson Longinus · Dec 13, 2020

cmad1977 said:
This sounds most to me like a weird and unimaginative DM. Lacking in communication skills. I certainly don’t blame the player for being told that they’re playing D&D/GoT and coming to the table with an elf. I would have assumed that the greater families/houses would be based upon a particular race. Lannisters are high elves, Starks are dwarfs etc.

Turning what was essentially a political conflict into a racial one...

aco175 · Dec 13, 2020

GOT already has elves..

ccs · Dec 13, 2020

cmad1977 said:
Sure. But there are better systems for it.

In your opinion & the opinion of those publishers....
Me? I dont need to invest time/$ into another entire system to exclude elf PCs, run Humans only, or to make some political or lower fantasy based adventures in a medevial setting.

Now if it comes to running massed battles between armies? Then yes, there are any # of miniature wargame systems thatd work better than any edition of D&D for those sessions.

Guest 85555 · Dec 13, 2020

zarionofarabel said:
I have a question regarding the extent of GM authority. I would like people to answer this poll to see what the gaming community thinks should happen in a particular situation.

The group gathers to play a new campaign...

The GM "I would like to play a campaign influenced by Game of Thrones. It will still have magic and monsters but the characters will be regular people in a medieval land."

Player #1 "Nice. I will play Sir Knight the Knightliest of Knights!"

Player #2 "Sure. I will play Lady Noble the Noblest of Nobles!"

Player #3 "Sweet. I will play Sir Sneak the Sneakiest of Sneaks!"

Player #4 "Okay. I will play Sir Elf the Elfiest of Elfs!"

The GM "No wait..."

Then the argument starts. The Player insists that they should be able to play an Elf because the core book says Elf is a playable race. Round and round it goes with The GM explaining that the campaign they want to run won't include Non-Human characters, the only intelligent race is Humans. The Player insists that The GM must compromise and allow them to play an Elf, because that's what they want to play, period. After arguing for a time The GM realizes that no agreement can be reached. Either the premise of the campaign gets scrapped and The Player gets to play an Elf, or The GM must kick The Player out of the group.

Should The GM be forced to accommodate The Player? Or is The Player going to have to find a different campaign where they can play an Elf?

Who would you side with?

The Player, who then gets to play an Elf.

OR.

The GM, who will kick the player out because they won't play a Human.

I would definitely side with the GM here. Everyone else appears to be on board with the campaign premise except one player. One player insisting they can play an elf, when everyone else is on board, is obnoxious. My feeling is, as a player, if the GM is taking the time to develop the campaign material, as long as the campaign is an interesting one, I will be on board with what the GM wants. A player who is as insistent that they get their way as the one in this example is a pretty big red flag for me. I am there to game with people who are there to have a good time, not fight. Now, that said, as a GM, if we talked it over as a group and most people felt they wanted game of thrones but they wanted it with the traditional DND races and classes available, I could accommodate that. Also there is something to be said for fidelity to the campaign setting. If a GM has a campaign with no elves, I don't see the point in insisting on elves being there (you are just creating work for the person who is doing most of the work already).

TheSword · Dec 13, 2020

Aldarc said:
This seems like moving the goalposts of the debate, as you initially compared the degree of changes to AiME (a non-D&D using the 5e engine) and now are saying that it's simply swapping spells out and using a limited range of pre-existing class.

No I said it was possible to alter d&d substantially and AIME is an example of it. The extent of those changes are of course up to the DM.

cmad1977 · Dec 13, 2020

ccs said:
In your opinion & the opinion of those publishers....
Me? I dont need to invest time/$ into another entire system to exclude elf PCs, run Humans only, or to make some political or lower fantasy based adventures in a medevial setting.

Now if it comes to running massed battles between armies? Then yes, there are any # of miniature wargame systems thatd work better than any edition of D&D for those sessions.

Hooray?

Umbran · Dec 13, 2020

As others have noted - the description of the situation in the OP is... scant, at best.

If nothing else, the GM should have laid out in detail what they felt the premise took off the table before asking for character concepts. It probably should have been laid out as a discussion they'd have together:

"I would like to run a game strongly influenced by A Song of Ice and Fire. The world will still have magic and monsters, but the PCs are normal people - all PCs are human, PCs are only of classes X, Y, and Z. What do you think?"

GM Authority (Edited For Clarity, Post #148)

Who would you side with?

The Player

The GM

hawkeyefan

Legend

cmad1977

Hero

cmad1977

Hero

Crimson Longinus

Legend

aco175

Legend

ccs

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Guest 85555

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TheSword

Legend

cmad1977

Hero

Umbran

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