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<blockquote data-quote="SuStel" data-source="post: 3434837" data-attributes="member: 28997">As originally conceived, the job of the Dungeon Master is twofold: he is the creator of the game world, and he arbitrates the effects of the player's choices.The original D&amp;D set provided a basic framework of rules on how things played out. For most actions the players wanted to take, it was the job of the DM to decide whether these actions were successful. This is why, before the term Dungeon Master was introduced in Supplement III, the position was called judge or referee.With d20, the world-creator role remains intact, but the action-arbitrator role is significantly reduced. Most actions players want to take are covered by a rule. The DM's job during a game has largely gone from arbitrator to a rules interface. Yes, the DM can choose to change a rule, but this isn't what the job was originally about. (And by changing a rule, you are merely changing the ruleset for which you are an interface.)This is what is meant when one says that DMs have lost the empowerment they had in earlier editions. Player-empowerment has risen because players' choices are as significant as ever, but the DM is no longer much of an arbitrator; he is simply obeying the rulebook in delivering his verdict. And if the DM changes the rules without a good and defensible reason, he's going to be considered unfair by the players. (An original D&amp;D judge had few ways to be correctly considered unfair. Usually these ways included arbitrary lightning bolts from the gods killing your character, and had nothing to do with rules-changes.)</blockquote>

[QUOTE="SuStel, post: 3434837, member: 28997"] As originally conceived, the job of the Dungeon Master is twofold: he is the creator of the game world, and he arbitrates the effects of the player's choices. The original D&D set provided a basic framework of rules on how things played out. For most actions the players wanted to take, it was the job of the DM to decide whether these actions were successful. This is why, before the term [i]Dungeon Master[/i] was introduced in Supplement III, the position was called [i]judge[/i] or [i]referee[/i]. With d20, the world-creator role remains intact, but the action-arbitrator role is significantly reduced. Most actions players want to take are covered by a rule. The DM's job during a game has largely gone from arbitrator to a rules interface. Yes, the DM can choose to change a rule, but this isn't what the job was originally about. (And by changing a rule, you are merely changing the ruleset for which you are an interface.) This is what is meant when one says that DMs have lost the empowerment they had in earlier editions. Player-empowerment has risen because players' choices are as significant as ever, but the DM is no longer much of an arbitrator; he is simply obeying the rulebook in delivering his verdict. And if the DM changes the rules without a good and defensible reason, he's going to be considered unfair by the players. (An original D&D judge had few ways to be correctly considered unfair. Usually these ways included arbitrary lightning bolts from the gods killing your character, and had nothing to do with rules-changes.) [/QUOTE]

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