D&D General DM Authority

[Oofta]

I would have let the monk run around the enemy all they wanted, shouting "Hey, look, fellas! I'm creating a cyclone or something!" as they all watch him barely raise any dust and the enemy stares at the crazy monk running in circles and shouting. That's what the PC can do...

Now, if it doesn't have the effect the player wanted, tough. The DM decides that, not the player.

That's ... actually pretty close to what happened.

 

[Minigiant]

You know, this is one of the things about 5E that strike me as strange-- "genre".

The genre was always medieval fantasy for me and everyone I played with in AD&D for several decades. Sure, sometimes that medieval period was from another culture, but it was still the same "time period".

Now, we have all these other sorts of genres people want to support or play in. It just strikes me as odd, personally.

Medieval Fantasy is a theme.

A genre is what the the them focuses on and empowers.

A knight in Heroic Fantasy looks different from one in Epic Fantasy, Mythic Fantasy, or an Intrigue game. But all four are knights pledged to a lord who are vassals to a king.

 

[DND_Reborn]

Medieval Fantasy is a theme.

A genre is what the the them focuses on and empowers.

A knight in Heroic Fantasy looks different from one in Epic Fantasy, Mythic Fantasy, or an Intrigue game. But all four are knights pledged to a lord who are vassals to a king.

Tomatoes, Potatoes... my point still stands.

 

[Minigiant]

Tomatoes, Potatoes... my point still stands.

It's called gaming company expands audience to make more money.
More genres supported = Larger customer base
Often a company goes under because their base is too small to fund a mistake or an extended period.

More reason why DM Authority hinges on DM clarity. The owners of D&D will contine to add stuff whether you want them or not.

 

[DND_Reborn]

It's called gaming company expands audience to make more money.
More genres supported = Larger customer base
Often a company goes under because their base is too small to fund a mistake or an extended period.

More reason why DM Authority hinges on DM clarity. The owners of D&D will contine to add stuff whether you want them or not.

d20 does that. D&D doesn't need to.

 

[Minigiant]

d20 does that. D&D doesn't need to.

D&D does if it wants to continuously generate money for its owners.

 

[DND_Reborn]

D&D does if it wants to continuously generate money for its owners.

It can make money in other ways.

 

[Shiroiken]

Without a DM to rule as final arbiter and storyteller, the game can (and most probably would) descend into chaos. The adversarial nature of the early game was largely due to a misunderstanding of how to run the game by mostly younger DMs. The DM was encouraged to be as cruel and sadistic as they wanted to be during the design phase of an adventure, but once play began the DM was supposed to remain completely neutral. This meant that if players outsmarted you, they "won," and you weren't supposed to change the outcome to "fix" it.

According to an old The Dragon article (IIRC) a prime example of this was the original Tomb of Horrors, which was designed to kill Lord Robilar (Rob Kuntz's PC). However, during play, Rob managed to maneuver around most of the death traps, and IIRC let his henchmen die horribly in his stead. Despite Gary's frustrations at Rob outwitting him, he never acted on it during play. That was how it was supposed to be done, and a model I've tried to live by for many years as a DM.

 

[zarionofarabel]

How do you view DM authority?

I view DM authority as absolute.

The DM is responsible for creating a world for me to play in, and for adjudicating the rules. If I decide the DM isn't running a game I want to play in I will leave the game.

The flipside is also true. As DM I am creating the world and adjudicating the rules. If a player has a problem with how I am running the game they can speak up but I will only change things if that really is what I want to do. If the player still has a problem with how I am running the game, they are free to find a game they would enjoy better.

My hobby is my fun time, not me running a therapy session, or me pandering to players that aren't happy about how I run games. I have never had a problem finding players, so I am free to run games as I want to run them. On the flipside finding a decent GM isn't that easy, lucky for me I much prefer to GM so I usually do that instead.

 

[Minigiant]

It can make money in other ways.

TSR tried that and...

People have to accept it.
D&D is going to expand.
DMs have Ultimate Authority.
DMs' Authority hinges on Clarity to Players.