Search results

Straw man. You're taking a reasonable claim (DMs and players are partners) and spinning it in an exaggerated, hostile way.

Fair enough. I get it now. Matthew Mercer's D&D games in Critical Role are too railroady for you. Understood.

Gee, thanks. Not impossible. But how much do you want to actually prove your point? I'd rather not. That's why I said "I don't think it is uncommon" instead of "it is not."

Fair enough. Understood.

"co-gm" is a loaded term. "Colleague" and "partner" far more accurately reflect the GM-player relationship in a good game, IMO, which applies to most D&D games. We should stop entertaining edge case extremes that are fueling cyclical arguments. If we can't agree that most DMs run the game the...

I don't think things like this are uncommon. I do them every session whenever a player's good ideas prompt me to abandon my plans. Yes...I realize that "good ideas" are subjective, but that is just the way it goes. There's no way to eliminate subjectivity in these games. My job is to facilitate...

Come on. Extrapolate that out to changing a preplanned encounter. Player (the same rogue): "Instead of fighting through the dukes guards, I'm sneaking into the palace kitchen, bribing a servant and planting forged papers to frame the duke's advisor. I want to trigger a power struggle and get...

Wow, I guess I misread this earlier. I actually do agree with what you said here. I do believe that most players want the DM to tell the story and for their role to be to sit back and occasionally participate. Not sure about your second sentence above...but I at least agree with the first one!

Is it really so hard to imagine? I'm not sure you want to see what I'm talking about. Player (a rogue): "Instead of fighting the duke's guards, I'll try to impersonate his missing advisor. My disguise kit is ready. Can I bluff my way into the palace?" DM: grins, flips through notes "Alright, I...

I can also answer this! Player: "I draw my sword, and sneak out the back door to escape the guards." DM: "Nope, you can’t do that. The door is locked. The guards spot you, drag you back to the dining room, tie you to one of the chairs, and force you to listen to Enya until you die." --THE...

Well, that too, yes, when the DM has allowed it, which they do often. I know it bugs the heck out of some people who've grown to dislike D&D to hear that many DMs actually aren't maniacal tyrants and are totally comfortable letting players take the reins for a while and guide gameplay...

I don't think it's a false dichotomy.... Maybe more of an uncommon dichotomy. It isn't strictly either/or except at the extreme ends of the spectrum. Say, if one were to create the crunchiest RPG in the history of the world, one where each round of combat required dozens of complex calculations...

No, not impossible evidence. It would be easily provable. I just think people would rather argue their biases without going through the trouble to objectively prove their theories. They're trusting their gut and the "eye test" (what they say they've seen in real life) versus trusting actual...

Why don't you give D&D the same leeway you give other games? Why is this taken literally: "If you're playing a module, then the GM knows what the end-boss/endgame is before the characters have even been made"? D&D isn't a boardgame with a fixed set of concrete, inflexible rules. In my entire...

VTTs are a big variable, but at what point does the veil/mask they provide between the game and the rules turn a TTRPG into a video game? Basically for me, there are some crunchier systems coming out alongside the lighter ones. I see that. Personally, though, I'm not excited about a return to...

Will the complexity pendulum swing back? That's easy. Yes! Do I look forward to it happening? Hell, no.

OK, modules and adventure paths are very popular and they do provide a strong structure, but that popularity shows demand for that style, not that it's a flaw for something else. D&D is flexible enough to handle both story-path and open-world styles. Even in modules, player agency can vary...

There you go again, @Maxperson, making too much sense for this debate. You better stop that! 😂

I don't doubt some players prefer a very loosely DM-led story, but calling it a "sizable percentage" implies you've either got actual numbers, or we're in the realm of subjective debate. Do you have a survey or data to back that claim? Without it, it's hard to even hint at or imply that...

I'm fine continuing this discussion if we can move past repeating earlier points. From what I've seen, railroading in D&D is rare and doesn't constitute a systemic problem. If you have data that could move the discussion beyond anecdotes, I'd love to see it.