Menu
News
All News
Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
Pathfinder
Starfinder
Warhammer
2d20 System
Year Zero Engine
Industry News
Reviews
Dragon Reflections
White Dwarf Reflections
Columns
Weekly Digests
Weekly News Digest
Freebies, Sales & Bundles
RPG Print News
RPG Crowdfunding News
Game Content
ENterplanetary DimENsions
Mythological Figures
Opinion
Worlds of Design
Peregrine's Nest
RPG Evolution
Other Columns
From the Freelancing Frontline
Monster ENcyclopedia
WotC/TSR Alumni Look Back
4 Hours w/RSD (Ryan Dancey)
The Road to 3E (Jonathan Tweet)
Greenwood's Realms (Ed Greenwood)
Drawmij's TSR (Jim Ward)
Community
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Resources
Wiki
Pages
Latest activity
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Downloads
Latest reviews
Search resources
EN Publishing
Store
EN5ider
Adventures in ZEITGEIST
Awfully Cheerful Engine
What's OLD is NEW
Judge Dredd & The Worlds Of 2000AD
War of the Burning Sky
Level Up: Advanced 5E
Events & Releases
Upcoming Events
Private Events
Featured Events
Socials!
EN Publishing
Twitter
BlueSky
Facebook
Instagram
EN World
BlueSky
YouTube
Facebook
Twitter
Twitch
Podcast
Features
Top 5 RPGs Compiled Charts 2004-Present
Adventure Game Industry Market Research Summary (RPGs) V1.0
Ryan Dancey: Acquiring TSR
Q&A With Gary Gygax
D&D Rules FAQs
TSR, WotC, & Paizo: A Comparative History
D&D Pronunciation Guide
Million Dollar TTRPG Kickstarters
Tabletop RPG Podcast Hall of Fame
Eric Noah's Unofficial D&D 3rd Edition News
D&D in the Mainstream
D&D & RPG History
About Morrus
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*Dungeons & Dragons
Advice wanted on Player Vs Player Situation
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="Shiroiken" data-source="post: 7308163" data-attributes="member: 6775477"><p>There are two schools of thought: DM as neutral arbiter, and DM as story enforcer. You should normally have this stuff figured out well in advance (session 0), and I'm surprised it's taken this long for an issue to come up. I'd suggest you consider the following views, and see which one is closest to the way you and your group view the game. Obviously these are the extreme ends, with most sitting somewhere in the middle.</p><p></p><p>DM as neutral arbiter. The DM provides plot hooks and controls NPCs/monsters, nothing more. The players are free to act as they see fit, including against one another. The DM is not to interfere, serving only as an impartial judge to narrate the outcome of the actions and dice rolls of the involved players. DMs who do this are generally more old-school, often running sandbox type games that are player driven.</p><p></p><p>DM as story enforcer. The DM has a plot, and shall interfere with player activity that strays from said plot. The players must abide by table rules set by the DM (usually negotiated with the group during session 0), including how much PvP behavior is acceptable (it must be plot related). The DM may intercede, including forcing player actions if needed, to keep the game on track. DMs who do this normally are running epic stories, such as Adventure Paths, where the players need to remain focused on the story.</p><p></p><p>Since you are running RoT, I'm guessing your game is probably closer to the second. No matter which way you go, you should explain to Harry how you plan to handle it, so that he can be ready. I would suggest you allow everything to go exactly as Harry desires (DM as arbiter) until he goes to actually murder Derek. Pause the game at that point, and speak with the group as a whole. Ask them if they feel that the players should have complete agency, or if the focus should remain on the plot. If the majority of the group (other than Harry and Derek) agree, and it's not a deal-breaker for anyone, go with the majority. If it's a deal-breaker, then everyone is going to have to compromise somewhere.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Shiroiken, post: 7308163, member: 6775477"] There are two schools of thought: DM as neutral arbiter, and DM as story enforcer. You should normally have this stuff figured out well in advance (session 0), and I'm surprised it's taken this long for an issue to come up. I'd suggest you consider the following views, and see which one is closest to the way you and your group view the game. Obviously these are the extreme ends, with most sitting somewhere in the middle. DM as neutral arbiter. The DM provides plot hooks and controls NPCs/monsters, nothing more. The players are free to act as they see fit, including against one another. The DM is not to interfere, serving only as an impartial judge to narrate the outcome of the actions and dice rolls of the involved players. DMs who do this are generally more old-school, often running sandbox type games that are player driven. DM as story enforcer. The DM has a plot, and shall interfere with player activity that strays from said plot. The players must abide by table rules set by the DM (usually negotiated with the group during session 0), including how much PvP behavior is acceptable (it must be plot related). The DM may intercede, including forcing player actions if needed, to keep the game on track. DMs who do this normally are running epic stories, such as Adventure Paths, where the players need to remain focused on the story. Since you are running RoT, I'm guessing your game is probably closer to the second. No matter which way you go, you should explain to Harry how you plan to handle it, so that he can be ready. I would suggest you allow everything to go exactly as Harry desires (DM as arbiter) until he goes to actually murder Derek. Pause the game at that point, and speak with the group as a whole. Ask them if they feel that the players should have complete agency, or if the focus should remain on the plot. If the majority of the group (other than Harry and Derek) agree, and it's not a deal-breaker for anyone, go with the majority. If it's a deal-breaker, then everyone is going to have to compromise somewhere. [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*Dungeons & Dragons
Advice wanted on Player Vs Player Situation
Top