Do you trust your DM?

[Faraer]

I wouldn't waste my time playing with a DM I didn't trust completely.

If something weird/odd/”not right” happens in the game, do you trust that there is a legitimate/legal/honest in-game reason for it?

Or if something weird happens in the game, do you assume the DM fudged?

There's nothing illegitimate about a DM fudging.

 

[Mouseferatu]

If I didn't trust him, he wouldn't be my DM.

Word.

 

[Henry]

90% of the time, yes. If it comes to rules-questions, sometimes the DM may or may not have a solid grasp, but I give 'em the benefit of the doubt.

Example:

Last game - we kept getting attacked by SOMETHING that kept draining our strength.

I send Earth elementals underground - nope.
Our sorcerer scans the area with true seeing - nope.
Our Barbarian starts flailing about with a Ghost Touch weapon!!!! - Nope.

What the heck IS it?

I'm not calling BS on the DM (that's a mouthful!) -- instead, I'm taking it in stride. I'm sure there was a reason other than GM fiat. In the end, we got the bastards (we assume) with a Vortex of Teeth in the area (since Force damage hurt incorporeal creatures). But we didn't say, "THAT shouldn't happen!" Instead, we're trying to figure out what's special about these thingies.

 

[sniffles]

I chose "Yes, completely" because I trust my GMs to do their best to make the game fun for everyone involved. I trust that they will not fudge just to let one player's PC get all the good stuff, or conversely, to punish a player for in-game or out-of-game actions. I trust that they will fudge when it means saving a character from an ignominious and party-derailing demise. If I couldn't trust them to do these things I wouldn't play with those GMs.

 

[DethStryke]

Word.

Double True

To me, this doesn't mean that the DM is perfect, never gets a rule wrong or maybe fudges things for the games' sake. This means that I trust that even if he does something that's wonky or against the "rules" *coughcoughguidelinescough*, that he keeps it balanced and fair in the end, and whatever happened will be for the benefit of the game and ALL of the players in the end. Even if it seems like I am getting a bit of shaft at that moment.

Just because you see something that you "think" is against the rules doesn't mean it is. As a DM, I think it is easy to forget that no one else knows all the little secrets and details that make your decisions/actions a no-brainer to you. The players, only seeing a small sliver of the whole, are usually in WTF mode. Only if the player trusts the DM can that situation work well.

In my experience, that kind of situation comes up alot in a good game. Pkitty's Revamped Story Hour (plug!) starts off with a perfect example of that!

 

[Joshua Randall]

In my experience, far too many DMs (including me) become attached to their pet NPC / villain / set-piece battle and will not allow anything the players do to interfere with that person / thing.

 

[DethStryke]

90% of the time, yes. If it comes to rules-questions, sometimes the DM may or may not have a solid grasp, but I give 'em the benefit of the doubt.

Example:

Last game - we kept getting attacked by SOMETHING that kept draining our strength.

I send Earth elementals underground - nope.
Our sorcerer scans the area with true seeing - nope.
Our Barbarian starts flailing about with a Ghost Touch weapon!!!! - Nope.

What the heck IS it?

I'm not calling BS on the DM (that's a mouthful!) -- instead, I'm taking it in stride. I'm sure there was a reason other than GM fiat. In the end, we got the bastards (we assume) with a Vortex of Teeth in the area (since Force damage hurt incorporeal creatures). But we didn't say, "THAT shouldn't happen!" Instead, we're trying to figure out what's special about these thingies.

To my mind, this is also an exact illustration of what I'm talking about. Some players would rather, when faced with something out of the box, would cry foul. Trust allows for the game to go forward rather than stall completely!

 

[iwatt]

Yes, Mostly.

I put in the Mostly caveat because since I'm the guy with the most rules knowledeg/experience, I sometimes correct rules mistakes or misconceptions. I try to do this after the game though.

 

[KB9JMQ]

Completely.
I wouldn't game otherwise. I assume if anything happens that seems strange to me there is a reason for it.

 

[Shemeska]

There's nothing illegitimate about a DM fudging.

Absolute truth.

My players trust me to be DM and to be fair and craft the backdrop for a memorable campaign with them. If something violates the 'rules' they don't cry foul, they don't need their hands held by 'the rules' like it's divinely imparted law, they know when something wierd happens, something wierd happens and there's a reason for it. If something violates 'the rules' it's intentional on my part for a deeper reason.