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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Majoru Oakheart" data-source="post: 2549629" data-attributes="member: 5143">I have stated this in a couple of thread before, but the basic idea is that there is so much power in the game total.  Basically, the list of powers you could have in a game is this:1. The ability to control the history, tone, and idea of the campaign world2. The ability to control what NPCs do and say3. The ability to control what each PC does and says4. The ability to control how "physics" work in the world (How easy it is to hit, how spells work, etc)You could also probably split up the physics section into more sections if you want, but it isn't needed.Previously, the DM was in charge of numbers 1, 2, and 4.  The players were each in charge of 3.Now, the rules are in charge of 4, and the DM is only in charge of 1 and 2.  Basically, it removes one responsibility from the DM and puts it out of everyone's hands as more of a third party that stays neutral.  It is no longer the sole responsibility of the DM to remember all of the rules, if the DM doesn't remember, there is a book to look it up in or players can remember it from the DM.The fact that there is a solid set of rules doesn't prevent the DM from coming up with a background and flavour for his world.  It doesn't turn him into a computer program.  It just gives him some guidelines on which to rest his flavour.Can't find a place for the Bear Warrior PrC in your game?  No problem, simply don't allow it.  Want them to be a remote tribe of nature worshipping Barbarians?  No problem, that's what they are.  Want the wizard in your game to take Skill Focus(Perform(dance))?  No problem, he's a dancing fool.But the rules are there to make sure everyone has a consistant frame of reference on how the world works.  People know approximately how far they can jump, about what skill level is required to be able to hit someone (consistantly) who is wearing full plate and has a large steel shield, etc.Unlike previous editions, however, it isn't considered standard to just change the way the works on a whim because you don't like what the players are trying to do.  In previous editions, I've seen DMs say "This wall is magically protected against your spells" or "You can't just DISPEL the magic trap, that's stupid, you have to figure out the puzzle to pass it."IMHO, 3e DOES support the DM.  It tells them how the world works so they don't have to make it up.  It tells them how much damage things do so they don't have to guess wildly.  It has much clearer rules so that everyone at the table has a good sense of what happens when you cast dispel magic on someone with the fly spell on or fireball a wall.  It gives me rules for consistantly increasing the power of enemies that don't make them so powerful that I accidently wipe out the party like I've done in the past.I think this is a difference in perspective.  I plan for MY session by reading the next couple of pages in the adventure I'm running in Dungeon magazine.  I might spend a couple of hours preparing for a session at most, and I LIKE reading D&D books, so I would have read it even if I wasn't running it.  Most of the players, on the other hand, tend to have new characters every 2 or 3 sessions as they are continually thinking up new ideas they want to try out.  They come up to me at the beginning of each session and bring up magic items they'd like to get made for their characters and ask if they can change a feat on their characters.  They seem to do more thinking about the game than I do.  I don't even remember their characters names half of the times.  That's the beauty of it though, I don't have to.  They do it for me.I offload as much of the responsibilty of running the game to them as possible so I don't have to spend so much time preparing each week.  They know the rules, so I can tell them "you are in town, you can buy anything in the DMG under 50,000gp" and then give them an hour to buy stuff.  I don't have to have them ask me questions on what and item does or if it is allowed for each item in the game, because I haven't changed any of them.</blockquote>

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