DM fun vs. Player fun...Should it be a compromise?

[Doug McCrae]

The solution is not to change your players but to change your game.

Yeah, that's the thing. Which is easier, to change your behaviour or to change what your players enjoy? It's not a matter of who's in the right, it's a matter of being practical.

 

[Shadeydm]

Strawman much?

Hussar was just saying that a player might not be interested in campaign world beyond what his character experiences. You somehow go off on a tangent that then the player wouldn't care about anything. Nobody was arguing that.

See Post #71

 

[Shadeydm]

In response to the threads title question I will say that all the details of such a comprimise are generally worked out during character creation and for me at least far in advance of the actual start of play.

*edited because typing is a cross class skill for me and even taking 10 usually doesn't work.

 

[ThirdWizard]

See Post #71

Every opinion that dissents with your own isn't The Dissenting Opinion that everyone shares.

Setting does matter, but I do think this is mostly because of the setting's feel. Playing a Forgotten Realms game is just going to be different than playing a Dark Sun game. Even if the players don't show interest in back story and history of the gaming world, the game is not going to be the same. Themes, places, enemies, etc are all going to be painted differently depending on the setting. These are great DM aids to help run the game the DM wants to run. My Planescape game is vastly different than my Ravenloft game after all!

 

[Shadeydm]

It is an extension of the logic that if the players don't care then it doesn't matter philosophy being espoused.

 

[Imaro]

You know I was thinking...without the PC's backstory, world history information, description, basically the campaign world...then why play D&D instead of say Descent? What's the advantage?

Games such as Descent, give the players exactly what they want...to destroy monsters, avoid traps, and get loot. It even allows the GM to go full throttle and really try to win. It's quicker prep time than D&D and everyone gets enjoyment instead of the enjoyment being one-sided. From what I hear there are fan supplements that allow for making your own character and campaign rules will be introduced with the next expansion. So why choose D&D over this if you, or your players, aren't interested in any of the things that differentiate D&D from a boardgame such as this or Heroquest? I'm not trying to be snarky, but I have in fact considered getting Descent for these very reasons, and was just woondering about others opinions.

 

[ThirdWizard]

It is an extension of the logic that if the players don't care then it doesn't matter philosophy being espoused.

I think it would be more accurate to say "If it doesn't impact the game it doesn't matter."

 

[Li Shenron]

In topic of being practical... being a little bit forgiving and easy-going sometimes?

If someone passed by this forum casually and read all comments about kicking off players and mocking DMs, he would wonder if anyone ever manages to play D&D for more than a couple of nights

When you play in another DM's game, why not trying to address the game with an open attitude? Like, see what kind of adventures the DM throws at you, see the world around your character and try to take advantage of it? Isn't that what we do in our real life, provided we have one? See opportunities -> adapt -> success -> enjoy. Or do we keep moving from town to town and country to country until we find the perfect environment where we can be a perfect frenzied berserker, in the middle of nowhere?

DM as well of course, shouldn't be too rigid either, and try to help players have more fun. I'm most convinced that first the DM should propose a type of game, setting, style & tone, ruleset, house rules etc. discussing the general terms with the players, and eventually finding an idea that suits everyone. But once this is agreed, then during the game I don't understand why the DM should adapt to every little request of the players... How a player runs his character is a sacred thing and the DM's job is just for customer satisfaction?

Just for fun, take a look at play by post threads where someone offers to be a DM and recruits players. You'll find that in so many thread there's a player that even before starting is against the DM... Someone posts "I am offering to run a game in a setting without spellcasters" and always a player asks "can I be a warlock?". And maybe there's a dozen other threads around where such character would be welcome.

 

[ThirdWizard]

You know I was thinking...without the PC's backstory, world history information, description, basically the campaign world...then why play D&D instead of say Descent? What's the advantage?

I'm not saying don't use it. I'm saying use it effectively instead of ineffectively.

 

[Shadeydm]

You know I was thinking...without the PC's backstory, world history information, description, basically the campaign world...then why play D&D instead of say Descent? What's the advantage?

Games such as Descent, give the players exactly what they want...to destroy monsters, avoid traps, and get loot. It even allows the GM to go full throttle and really try to win. It's quicker prep time than D&D and everyone gets enjoyment instead of the enjoyment being one-sided. From what I hear there are fan supplements that allow for making your own character and campaign rules will be introduced with the next expansion. So why choose D&D over this if you, or your players, aren't interested in any of the things that differentiate D&D from a boardgame such as this or Heroquest? I'm not trying to be snarky, but I have in fact considered getting Descent for these very reasons, and was just woondering about others opinions.

An interesting idea, and perhaps that would be the better choice for the players that poor chap in the article is dealing with.