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<blockquote data-quote="Carpe DM" data-source="post: 1795266" data-attributes="member: 677">Although gamemastering is endlessly intricate on the upside, it's so easy on the basics that I'm surprised how many stories like this there are.I think the answer is this: when a GM forgets that there are three elements to a game, the game loses its magic.The three elements are, the GM's preparation, the players' contribution, and the mediation of the element of chance (the dice).&nbsp; Negating any one causes problems.Thus, some GMs simply are not prepared to respond imaginatively to player actions or dice outcomes, and so (1) railroad; or (2) fudge.&nbsp; Both of these are, I think, cardinal sins.&nbsp; In the one case, the players rapidly think &quot;choo choo&quot; to themselves, and stop feeling involved.&nbsp; In the other case, the players learn they can't die (or, if the fudging is against them, that they just can't win), and stop caring about the game.YVMV, of course.&nbsp; But if you find yourself saying &quot;not in my game,&quot; a lot, check which of the above might be missing from the session.&nbsp; By the way, it's also possible for rampant player cheating to cause problems (although the percieved problem of &quot;munchkinism&quot; isn't, I submit, a problem, but a failure of imagination on the GM's behalf), but that wasn't the topic of the original post.best,Carpe</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Carpe DM, post: 1795266, member: 677"] Although gamemastering is endlessly intricate on the upside, it's so easy on the basics that I'm surprised how many stories like this there are. I think the answer is this: when a GM forgets that there are three elements to a game, the game loses its magic. The three elements are, the GM's preparation, the players' contribution, and the mediation of the element of chance (the dice). Negating any one causes problems. Thus, some GMs simply are not prepared to respond imaginatively to player actions or dice outcomes, and so (1) railroad; or (2) fudge. Both of these are, I think, cardinal sins. In the one case, the players rapidly think "choo choo" to themselves, and stop feeling involved. In the other case, the players learn they can't die (or, if the fudging is against them, that they just can't win), and stop caring about the game. YVMV, of course. But if you find yourself saying "not in my game," a lot, check which of the above might be missing from the session. By the way, it's also possible for rampant player cheating to cause problems (although the percieved problem of "munchkinism" isn't, I submit, a problem, but a failure of imagination on the GM's behalf), but that wasn't the topic of the original post. best, Carpe [/QUOTE]

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