Menu
News
All News
Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
Pathfinder
Starfinder
Warhammer
2d20 System
Year Zero Engine
Industry News
Reviews
Dragon Reflections
Columns
Weekly Digests
Weekly News Digest
Freebies, Sales & Bundles
RPG Print News
RPG Crowdfunding News
Game Content
ENterplanetary DimENsions
Mythological Figures
Opinion
Worlds of Design
Peregrine's Next
RPG Evolution
Other Columns
From the Freelancing Frontline
Monster ENcyclopedia
WotC/TSR Alumni Look Back
4 Hours w/RSD (Ryan Dancey)
The Road to 3E (Jonathan Tweet)
Greenwood's Realms (Ed Greenwood)
Drawmij's TSR (Jim Ward)
Community
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Resources
Wiki
Pages
Latest activity
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Downloads
Latest reviews
Search resources
EN Publishing
Store
EN5ider
Adventures in ZEITGEIST
Awfully Cheerful Engine
What's OLD is NEW
Judge Dredd & The Worlds Of 2000AD
War of the Burning Sky
Level Up: Advanced 5E
Events & Releases
Upcoming Events
Private Events
Featured Events
Socials!
Twitch
YouTube
Facebook (EN Publishing)
Facebook (EN World)
Twitter
Instagram
TikTok
Podcast
Features
Top 5 RPGs Compiled Charts 2004-Present
Adventure Game Industry Market Research Summary (RPGs) V1.0
Ryan Dancey: Acquiring TSR
Q&A With Gary Gygax
D&D Rules FAQs
TSR, WotC, & Paizo: A Comparative History
D&D Pronunciation Guide
Million Dollar TTRPG Kickstarters
Tabletop RPG Podcast Hall of Fame
Eric Noah's Unofficial D&D 3rd Edition News
D&D in the Mainstream
D&D & RPG History
About Morrus
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
The
VOIDRUNNER'S CODEX
is coming! Explore new worlds, fight oppressive empires, fend off fearsome aliens, and wield deadly psionics with this comprehensive boxed set expansion for 5E and A5E!
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*Dungeons & Dragons
Does the killer DM exist?
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="Lanefan" data-source="post: 8335530" data-attributes="member: 29398"><p>Sounds like a fairly typical session to me. <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" /> That trap's gonna kill someone, might as well make it fair by randomly rolling which character happens to be in its line of fire when it goes off.</p><p></p><p>=============</p><p></p><p>More generally: the thread title refers to a "killer DM" but the first post refers more to what I'd just call a bad DM; and there's a big difference. A DM who neutrally runs a highly-lethal <strong>but fair </strong>game is a killer DM, sure, but that in itself doesn't make her a bad DM. </p><p></p><p>Inconsistent rulings = bad DM.</p><p>Inconsistent application of the environment/setting = bad DM.</p><p>Clearly favouring one player (or PC) over another, or picking on one = bad DM.</p><p>Frequent and blatant railroading = bad DM (usually).</p><p></p><p>These above are universal. I try my best not to be any of these and - I think - usually succeed.</p><p></p><p>Just killing lots of characters doesn't necessarily make a DM a bad DM, or even a bad person, as long as it's done fairly and with at least some willingness to be transparent if called on it. As a player, I tend to have more PCs die than anyone else in our crew; as DM, if your luck says this is your PC's day to die, make sure its will is up to date. <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" /></p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Lanefan, post: 8335530, member: 29398"] Sounds like a fairly typical session to me. :) That trap's gonna kill someone, might as well make it fair by randomly rolling which character happens to be in its line of fire when it goes off. ============= More generally: the thread title refers to a "killer DM" but the first post refers more to what I'd just call a bad DM; and there's a big difference. A DM who neutrally runs a highly-lethal [B]but fair [/B]game is a killer DM, sure, but that in itself doesn't make her a bad DM. Inconsistent rulings = bad DM. Inconsistent application of the environment/setting = bad DM. Clearly favouring one player (or PC) over another, or picking on one = bad DM. Frequent and blatant railroading = bad DM (usually). These above are universal. I try my best not to be any of these and - I think - usually succeed. Just killing lots of characters doesn't necessarily make a DM a bad DM, or even a bad person, as long as it's done fairly and with at least some willingness to be transparent if called on it. As a player, I tend to have more PCs die than anyone else in our crew; as DM, if your luck says this is your PC's day to die, make sure its will is up to date. :) [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*Dungeons & Dragons
Does the killer DM exist?
Top