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On a sidenote, stuff like the noble background needs to be discussed when taken. As in what does the feature actually mean or do? I would be irked, if the DM said it really did allow me to obtain an audience with a local noble, but then when I tried to use the feature caveated it into near...

Sure, but a conversation will at least help define the issue (usually). With the player who just does it by nature? Functionally, that's no different than someone who's doing it for kicks! If the player "Can't help himself..." but is ruining the fun of the table? I'm not a babysitter or...

I can see things getting excessive, but nations, factions, species etc. isn't excessive for me. It's just a baseline to work from and there still seems to be a large amount of wiggle room for choice and creativity.

Are the players engaging with the setting in good faith? If they are not (they're just trying to be chaos agents or some such) then the DM has to decide if he wants to run with that, or to pass and end things. Best to have a conversation with the group. If they are, but it seems like they're...

I think that's a pretty harsh take. Seems to me @Lanefan is merely telling the players "here's what exists in my world, choose amongst it..." No different really than saying "we're going PHB only this time around..." or "We're going PHB and Tasha's only this time around..."

The quickest way for players to get involved in a world is realizing things they do will have meaning within that world. Conversely, the quickest way for players to be apathetic of a world's existence is if/when they catch on nothing they do will actually make any real difference because the DM...

Tabaxi have been around since 1981 (granted not as a "playable race") and are still given the side eye - so it might be a while! Personally I had a tabaxi, tiefling and dragonborn in the same group. The players were a little surprised when their attempt to sneak into a Scarlett Brotherhood...

To be fair, it was presented in a supplement meant for a new and clearly young (to very young) audience. Maybe they just figured us old people wouldn't notice.

Right? My whole impetus for the thread was - group centered Rule 0, well that's certainly new and different!

Earning Trust means they players are willing to go with the DM even when things get wonky. This isn't a problem for established groups, but for new groups or convention ones, short term ones etc, the DM needs to establish some trust before doing certain scenarios. Here's a post I posted in a...

Done well, this can be absolutely amazing. The Players really feel like their characters are part of a bigger world and when they accomplish things in the world it's with an even bigger sense of accomplishment because it wasn't "made" for them, they had to carve their path. I've been in a group...

I have a player who used to do this (I remember he even tried a CoDZilla build back in our 3e days). I'd always just let him. But here's the thing, most of these builds are ivory tower builds that don't survive contact with a "real" campaign, they're just too focused or specific. Or they take...

Plus these things are quite subjective. For example, I outright ban PVP pretty much any time I'm running, I've seen it destroy not only campaigns but groups too many times. Whereas some people (on this board and otherwise) have stories and stories of how much fun PVP has added to their gaming...

Not every player is a fit for every DM and not every DM is a fit for every player. same for groups. I've had players leave because my group was too casual for them AND I've had players leave because my group wasn't casual enough!

Let's not forget that even in the OG Greyhawk campaign, Gary had a player who liked cowboys - they worked something out and ran with it.

Personally, I've never been any definition of hurt. I've been various degrees of disappointed. But even those are positives - decent amount of examples of what NOT to do.

Has there been pushback? I often disagree with your positions, but on this one -The best way to learn how to DM is to just start doing it - absolutely.

As long as there is player buy in (as opposed to letting the player have the race and then piling on them) then I certainly wouldn't have an issue. As for the objects of fear - it can go both ways, sometimes people LIKE difference, especially if it somehow fits into their belief system. The...

I'll agree that a DM who has a clear vision and works to deliver a unique style and tone is (usually) a big plus. But so are players who advocate for their interests and who express enough interest in the world to want to influence it. Very few DMs have a world that is SO developed that all or...

Forgetting everything else, this is a great way to moot any metagaming concerns. I'll tell my players they are free to rely on their (player) knowledge of the DMG, MM or even any given adventure. But I change stuff all the time and if that player knowledge turns out to be 100% wrong - that's on...