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<blockquote data-quote="Vegepygmy" data-source="post: 4697185" data-attributes="member: 40109">This sums up how I play and why I play the way I do.&nbsp; For me, nothing sucks the fun out of D&amp;D faster than the DM changing things in the game world to &quot;reward&quot; (or punish) the players.&nbsp; IMO, it's not the DM who should be deciding what behavior gets rewarded or punished; the game itself should do that.&nbsp;Jump into the right monster's gaping maw?&nbsp; You're a brilliant, daring hero!&nbsp; Jump into the wrong monster's gaping maw?&nbsp; You're lunch.&nbsp; When was the rightness/wrongness of your decision to jump determined?&nbsp; When the monster was created/placed there in the game world, not after you decided to jump!&nbsp;Now I know there are those who will argue that the game itself doesn't make decisions about what environment the PCs will encounter, the DM does that.&nbsp; But the point remains: the DM determines the environment before the players encounter it.&nbsp; What happens after that should be determined by the player's choice of actions and the rules of the game, not the DM's whim.&nbsp; (IMO.)&nbsp;If DM whim determines success or failure, the rules of the game become less important (in determining success or failure) than impressing the DM.&nbsp; In that case, the real game being played isn't &quot;D&amp;D,&quot; but rather &quot;Impress the DM.&quot;&nbsp; And that game is boring to me.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Vegepygmy, post: 4697185, member: 40109"] This sums up how I play and why I play the way I do. For me, nothing sucks the fun out of D&D faster than the DM changing things in the game world to "reward" (or punish) the players. IMO, it's not the [B]DM[/B] who should be deciding what behavior gets rewarded or punished; the [B]game itself[/B] should do that. Jump into the [I]right[/I] monster's gaping maw? You're a brilliant, daring hero! Jump into the [I]wrong[/I] monster's gaping maw? You're lunch. When was the rightness/wrongness of your decision to jump determined? When the monster was created/placed there in the game world, [B]not[/B] after you decided to jump! Now I know there are those who will argue that the [B]game itself[/B] doesn't make decisions about what environment the PCs will encounter, the [B]DM[/B] does that. But the point remains: the DM determines the environment [B]before[/B] the players encounter it. What happens after that should be determined by the player's choice of actions and the rules of the game, not the DM's whim. (IMO.) If DM whim determines success or failure, the rules of the game become less important (in determining success or failure) than impressing the DM. In that case, the real game being played isn't "D&D," but rather "Impress the DM." And [I]that[/I] game is boring to me. [/QUOTE]

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