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Blog Post by Robert J. Schwalb
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<blockquote data-quote="Libramarian" data-source="post: 6327300" data-attributes="member: 6688858"><p>Yep, that was me. I was confused by his reaction to my post! I think he thought I was sarcastically trolling him <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite3" alt=":(" title="Frown :(" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":(" /></p><p></p><p>I'm sorry that he became so upset by the reaction on his blog but I also think it was a bit silly for him to be surprised by it. On the other hand, I also think that 4e fans shouldn't have been so surprised by his remarks on the edition. He said at the beginning of the 5e playtest process that skill challenges "should die in a fire". At that point I knew that he wasn't really flying the 4e flag amongst the design team.</p><p></p><p>I think it's too bad that it sounds so sarcastic just to say that the DM is the most important participant in the game. That's true! It follows that it's more important to make sure that they're having fun than anyone else, at least in particular (not necessarily the DM vs. the players as a collective). I think there is too much emphasis on the players' fun and not enough on the DM's in the WotC era. The blurb on the back of the upcoming 5e DMG says it's the DM's job to entertain the players. I don't think that's a good description of what the DM does. In my games the players entertain me more than I do them. Everyone entertains each other to some degree of course (and I certainly enjoy it when I receive a compliment from a player on my DMing), but I would say the players get most of their entertainment from the game, and I as DM get most of my entertainment from watching them play. This line of thought led to my comment that some types of play are more fun to watch than others. I dislike how the 4e DMG lays out different player types, the tactician, the method actor, etc. etc. and implies that the DM should psychologically diagnose their players and customize their adventures to make sure they're maximally entertained. I don't think that all players should be catered to equally. Those who play in a more entertaining fashion should receive more support than those who tend towards more boring play. I think that would lead to less DM "burnout" and be good for the game overall.</p><p></p><p>I usually only play to level 6 or so before starting a new campaign. At low levels we (my group) all agree that spell-casters are underpowered.</p><p>I would describe my DMing as watching most of the time. I don't mind self-censoring a little bit when playing monsters. It's not the power of being the mother in mother-may-I that I enjoy per se, it's watching the players struggle with gratuitous difficulty and play a game with an inescapable gambling component where you can't eliminate all of the risk.</p><p></p><p>Argh, I have to go but I'll be back with more thoughts later.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Libramarian, post: 6327300, member: 6688858"] Yep, that was me. I was confused by his reaction to my post! I think he thought I was sarcastically trolling him :( I'm sorry that he became so upset by the reaction on his blog but I also think it was a bit silly for him to be surprised by it. On the other hand, I also think that 4e fans shouldn't have been so surprised by his remarks on the edition. He said at the beginning of the 5e playtest process that skill challenges "should die in a fire". At that point I knew that he wasn't really flying the 4e flag amongst the design team. I think it's too bad that it sounds so sarcastic just to say that the DM is the most important participant in the game. That's true! It follows that it's more important to make sure that they're having fun than anyone else, at least in particular (not necessarily the DM vs. the players as a collective). I think there is too much emphasis on the players' fun and not enough on the DM's in the WotC era. The blurb on the back of the upcoming 5e DMG says it's the DM's job to entertain the players. I don't think that's a good description of what the DM does. In my games the players entertain me more than I do them. Everyone entertains each other to some degree of course (and I certainly enjoy it when I receive a compliment from a player on my DMing), but I would say the players get most of their entertainment from the game, and I as DM get most of my entertainment from watching them play. This line of thought led to my comment that some types of play are more fun to watch than others. I dislike how the 4e DMG lays out different player types, the tactician, the method actor, etc. etc. and implies that the DM should psychologically diagnose their players and customize their adventures to make sure they're maximally entertained. I don't think that all players should be catered to equally. Those who play in a more entertaining fashion should receive more support than those who tend towards more boring play. I think that would lead to less DM "burnout" and be good for the game overall. I usually only play to level 6 or so before starting a new campaign. At low levels we (my group) all agree that spell-casters are underpowered. I would describe my DMing as watching most of the time. I don't mind self-censoring a little bit when playing monsters. It's not the power of being the mother in mother-may-I that I enjoy per se, it's watching the players struggle with gratuitous difficulty and play a game with an inescapable gambling component where you can't eliminate all of the risk. Argh, I have to go but I'll be back with more thoughts later. [/QUOTE]
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