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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Man in the Funny Hat" data-source="post: 6005492" data-attributes="member: 32740">fantasy, Sci-fi, superhero, post-apocalyptic.  probably in that order.  Troubleshooting, action, tactics, plotting, wackiness, story, character growth.  Seems like that'd be enough to keep me happy.   To a point, yes.  But there's only so much effort I think a player should be expected to invest in order to grok a game system or appreciate a game world.  This is not RPG appreciation class - it's just entertainment.  As for the latter question - again, to a point.  A dozen pages or so of house rules and useful information seems fine.  100 pages of setting history and completely re-written game rules?  Not likely.Theory is fine for forum discussion but not for naval gazing.Players invested in their PC's and interested in ongoing plots.  DM's who are good at creating player interaction, not just dictation.4-8   Depends on the DM's.  Depends on the schedule of rotation.   Depends on the game.  In Paranoia?  I have no problem with PC corpses piling up in the halls.  In a typical game of D&D?  PC's should generally be expected to succeed.  Greater risk = greater reward.  The threat of death should never be safe to just ignore.Can they die?  Not only can but should.  The death rate should drop as they level up but never vanish.  Bad die rolls can certainly kill PC's but this should preferably only happen when characters are already facing significant dangers, not just out of the blue at arbitrary moments.Of course the DM should help players - but he can also mislead or outright lie to them about what might be good or bad ideas.  Players need to understand that.  Not all players are equally adept at such planning and decision-making.  No reason the DM can't subsidize some players and challenge others as needed.  DMPC's have their uses - and their pitfalls.  It's a tool that not all games need and not all DM's have the understanding or skill to use appropriately.Several ways to handle it.  Discuss with players before the question ever comes up.<tevye>Tradition!</tevye>Both.DM's should concentrate on those portions of the game that the players most enjoy without simply ignorcing the often uninteresting underpinnings that make those portions enjoyable.As a DM I want players who are willing and able to question rules and rulings.  It makes me a better DM.  As a player I want to be free to question the DM and the game rules if it's MY character who's being hosed in the name of keeping the game flowing.  Either way I don't want to spend an evening of gaming discussing or arguing rules.  As much as they need to be willing and able to deal with player objections, a DM needs to be able to continously weigh the impact to the game versus the time being spent on the question, as well as the impact to the player and his enjoyment of the game versus sticking to your own guns.  This is the JOB of the DM.</blockquote>

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