D&D General DM Authority

[Thomas Shey]

Just saying you could do so politely or you could get visibly upset. I know which one I think is the more mature and better way to handle it.

You do you.

I don't tend to think someone who does this without consulting with people is going to pay too much attention to a polite response.

 

[Thomas Shey]

Or lead to violence.

You're clearly reading "upset" more strongly than I am. If someone is going to respond to my saying "What the hell, man, why did you think this was okay?" with violence, I'd suggest my reaction is not the problem.

 

[Maxperson]

I don't tend to think someone who does this without consulting with people is going to pay too much attention to a polite response.

Sure they will. At least as much as anyone else. Some will. Some won't. You're attributing waaaaaay too much negativity to that act.

 

[Maxperson]

You're clearly reading "upset" more strongly than I am. If someone is going to respond to my saying "What the hell, man, why did you think this was okay?" with violence, I'd suggest my reaction is not the problem.

I didn't read "upset" at all. I read hostile, which is much more than just "upset."

 

[Lanefan]

I think the intent in both games is to emphasize the characters' unpreparedness for what happens, not exactly fish-out-of-water, but kinda in the ballpark. I think a GM is better off telling the players what the deal is and asking them to make characters who aren't optimally prepared for where the game is going to go (if you, for instance, want to run a game about investigators stumbling into the supernatural).

Asking players to make suboptimal characters? Yeah, there's a whole lot o' tables where that ain't gonna fly.

If the GM is planning a big change at some point in the campaign right from square one, perhaps the best pitch might be something like "It'll start out as generic medieval fantasy and after that, who knows?".

 

[FrogReaver]

Asking players to make suboptimal characters? Yeah, there's a whole lot o' tables where that ain't gonna fly.

If the GM is planning a big change at some point in the campaign right from square one, perhaps the best pitch might be something like "It'll start out as generic medieval fantasy and after that, who knows?".

Sometimes it’s better to ask for forgiveness than permission!

 

[Lanefan]

Yes. No one in the 70s would have believe that anyone would take it so seriously as to have threads that reach 55 pages on an internet forum full of ideological arguments about the role of the DM.

Progress.

The 55-page threads have merely replaced the 55-hour discussions we used to have about the game and how to tweak it.

 

[prabe]

Asking players to make suboptimal characters? Yeah, there's a whole lot o' tables where that ain't gonna fly.

Eh. Build the best investigator you can build. No supernatural skills or knowledge. Yes, you're going to be encountering the supernatural. No, your characters aren't prepared for it. I've known GMs I'd have trusted enough to roll with that ... (other than myself, even!).

If the GM is planning a big change at some point in the campaign right from square one, perhaps the best pitch might be something like "It'll start out as generic medieval fantasy and after that, who knows?".

I think the GM is better off not planning a big change. Maybe stuff happens organically. And I think there are some twists/reveals that are more likely to work in-game than others.

 

[Chaosmancer]

You're clearly reading "upset" more strongly than I am. If someone is going to respond to my saying "What the hell, man, why did you think this was okay?" with violence, I'd suggest my reaction is not the problem.

Yeah, a lot of the responses to your statement seem to be thinking far differently than you are about the meaning here.

For example, Oofta separates polite and upset, but I have personal experience that a person can say very polite things, while being royally pissed off. I listened to my father ream the school over some matter years ago (I think it was over lunch fees or something, because I remember money being involved) , very polite, but also saccharine sweet and "politely" offering to diligently record every single transaction we had ever done and send it to the school to go over line by line to prove his point.

Also, I think when you mean "hostile" or "aggressive" the worst you are thinking is telling someone off. And while being calm and cool has its place, I agree with you that a calm "This isn't for me" is just as likely to leave the other side secure in the fact that you were not upset or hurt by their actions, while the opposite is the case.

 

[Helldritch]

The 55-page threads have merely replaced the 55-hour discussions we used to have about the game and how to tweak it.

At least the discussion was with friends and a nice beer.