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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Tsyr" data-source="post: 919590" data-attributes="member: 354">What 30% of us think (And I'm marginaly one of those 30, though I can see the other side as well... hell, maybe not all of that 30% thinks this, but I do), is that it's a blood game... If the players aren't having fun, the game is being played wrong. End. Of. Story. This isn't a job, this isn't a duty. You're game might be great... But if the people you are DMing for aren't having fun, you are not playing the game the way it was meant to be played... It wasn't meant to be played as a tool to express your views on the player/DM relationship or anything else... It's a game, to have fun with. If the players aren't having fun, you either should change your DMing (If you can, and still have fun), or DM for different people... There is only one right way to play the game, and only one wrong way. The right way is everybody has fun. The wrong way is people don't. Now, of course, DM's Rights Advocates will quickly point out that the players don't have to be there. And they are right. Players can leave at any time. I'm all for the idea of leaving if you aren't having fun. I've done it before. But without players there is no game, so it behooves the GM to keep in mind the fun of his players when he is planning  a game.What the GM has to ask himself is "How much do I value the happieness of each individual player? Assuming I do to some signifigant degree, can I make that player happy while still keeping the rest of the players happy? And can I do so while still enjoying the game myself?". As much as possible, you should work towards answering those questions in a positive manner. Unfortunatly, this means that sometimes, one person might be odd man out, as his views just don't mesh with the rest of the group. I really can't tell from what you have posted in this case if the player in question is just the odd man out, in which case he should leave as he probably will clash with you again, or if there is sympathy for him in the rest of the group, in which case you should re-evaluate your own actions, or if he is the odd man out, but you could be doing something to accomadate him without hindering the fun of the rest of the group, yourself included. All three of those are valid senarios. And some of this 30% doesn't feel that the DM is by any god-sent decree "beyond reproach"... I've been on both sides of the screen for years. And I'm honest enough with myself to admit, I make mistakes... on both sides of the screen. I fail to plan ahead far enough, on both sides of the screen. I do things I really shouldn't have done, had I considered the rest of the people present, on both sides of the screen. I've followed rules or ignored rules I probably shouldn't, on both sides of the screen. Basicly, I'm still me, regardless of if I'm a player or DM. And I've seen plenty of people who shouldn't be on the other side of the screen to begin with, and that works both ways... Good DMs who make horrid players, and good players who make horrid DMs... So to say a DM is automaticly beyond reproach, or somehow "better", strikes a raw nerve to me. And I get a little irked when I see some DM claiming the players have no right to complain, because they are doing a favor for the players. (You, fus, have not done this, really... But I've seen shades of that in this thread from others) While technicly they might have a point, in that they aren't really getting payed for what they do, and that should buy them a bit of tollerence, that does *not* equate to "I can do whatever I darn well please, and you can't say anything because you're just a player, nya-nya-na-boo-boo!". Even ignoring the fact that DM's are replaceable almost as easy as a player, if the players in question truely want to game (One of them can take on the role), that's just not how you should behave towards friends. I've seen far too many DM's let the DM screen go to their head. Even DMs who are otherwise great people. I'm sorry, I don't see it that way... DMs are really just another player in the game, one with a bit more options, in a different role, but still just another player. You're all there with the same goal, right? To have fun? Well, darnit, I guess I just feel that normaly, fun shouldn't involve one person being absolute tyrant over other people. The game is a group effort... The DM might do a little more work (But, sorry, I know MANY DMs who do less work than a lot of players in their game... I know, I've been in games like that.), but it's still a group effort. Gah. /rant off/ramble off/preach off/hit_self_with_mousepad_to_shut_up on</blockquote>

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