DM-less D&D

[Arnwyn]

But the players have rights, too. For one, they have the right to play the game they like. Sure, the DM can say "play it my way or don't play at all!" but what will happen is that they all don't play at all - at least not with him. A game without players is even worse than a game without DM.

Not even close.

 

[FireLance]

Believe whatever you want, buddy, but if you want a real discussion about this one, then please feel free to come to www.circvsmaximvs.com

Otherwise, please discontinue the passive-aggressive attacks.

I'm there already, and if you feel I have misrepresented your position, please feel free to clarify what it is, either here or at CM.

 

[Mallus]

Maybe there are no NPC's other than monsters?

Does anyone think that would be a good thing?

It might make for a good game, but that game would be nothing like the D&D I've played in 21 years of gaming.

 

[Shemeska]

Maybe there are no NPC's other than monsters?

Monsters can't have personality? If 'monsters' can only attack the PCs like automatons rather than be any more complex than that... how boring :\

You need a DM to handle NPC roleplay and reactions (and yes 'monsters' are NPCs), otherwise you've lost a serious amount of depth and richness to the experience, gimping yourself on having any reaction other than 'Orc X and Kobold Y attack mindlessly as you enter the room'.

Maybe this is just me.

 

[Odhanan]

Isn't DMless D&D a boardgame?

Well no. Not in my experience. I recently used the rules in the DMG and Dragon Compendium to play a solo game of D&D without DM (with random room generation and so on). It actually went pretty well, the surprises coming from the rooms and contents of these rooms I was getting, the dice rolls and so on. It's quite different from playing the game with other players+DM. But don't get me wrong. I was actually "seeing" the locations in my mind's eye (while using the Tact Tiles and miniatures to play) and I was role-playing too. Yeah. You read well. Role-playing in my head. My character, Orien, was a priest who encountered the Mooch, a rogue, just outside the tunnels he was exploring. They decided to join forces and explore together. I was seeing the scenes and I was listening to the Mooch complaining to my character, all of that without voicing anything. I was really surprised of being able to do that actually, and I had a great time that night.

Sounds really weird and geek, and it's certainly different, but I was playing a RPG, not a board game.

 

[Mallus]

Maybe this is just me.

It's not.

 

[mhensley]

I don't think that anyone is suggesting that the optimum way to play D&D is sans DM. But an automated, simple system like Warhammer Quest used would be a nice alternative for those nights when nobody is prepared to DM, when you only have an hour or so to play, or when you need a simple game to play with the kids.

Actually I'm surprised that the Dungeon Tiles set contains any rules at all.

 

[TheAuldGrump]

Heh, once upon a time we had a shortlived 'Ravnos' game of Vampire: the Masquerade with no Storyteller... More accurately we all were the Storytellers, at the same time. Very stream of conciousness, and a lot of fun. One of us would add a complication to the story as it unfolded, then someone else would pipe in.

It was much closer to horror-comedy than straight horror.

The Auld Grump

 

[Storyteller01]

DMs are not special because they put in more work. That doesn't give them any special rights or privelege. They still have to do their job as a DM, which means "entertaining the players."

Didn't we hear something similar to this from Industrial Revolution era tycoons? Usually when they were speaking about their employees?

 

[Hussar]

As was mentioned, I think there is more than enough room for both games to exist side by side. It's not like people will suddenly up and declare that this "role playing" thing is for the birds and exclusively play without a DM. In all likelihood, it will act as another gateway game into D&D, much like DDM does now.

Personally, I'd love to see it work that way. Imagine a newbie player sitting at your table that has gone through DDM. You don't have to explain 90% of the rules to him. He knows how combat works. He knows how AOO's work. He knows which dice to roll. That's a very well trained newbie.

I'd much rather that at my table than someone who is coming from an amateur thespian game and figures that everything should be ruled on the fly.

I can also see how this could really help DM's who need a bit more time. "Okay, guys, I pulled double shifts this week, I didn't have time to prep, let's break out the Dungeon Tiles." Hey, depending on how it works, you could set up a Dungeon Keeper style game pretty easily I think.