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<blockquote data-quote="GreatLemur" data-source="post: 3177727" data-attributes="member: 28553">I've generally gotten the impression that &quot;DMPC&quot; is a strictly perjorative term used when an gamemaster's attachment to or identification with a particular NPC has grown to a noticeable, game-harming extent.&nbsp; So it seems deeply weird to me to hear somebody saying &quot;DMPCs can be used well&quot; when, by definition, a properly run NPC is not a DMPC.There's a reason we've got gamemasters and players in this hobby, folks.&nbsp; The gamemaster gets to have all the power because he hasn't got a personal stake in the story.&nbsp; The moment a gamemaster essentially becomes a player--while still wielding the power of a gamemaster--things are going to start to suck for all the other, non-gamemaster players.Now, the GM can have NPCs he or she likes.&nbsp; For that matter, those NPCs can go along with the players' party and help them out.&nbsp; That's all cool.&nbsp; The problem is when the GM actually starts to look at such an NPC as his or her character, and run the game differently because of that.&nbsp; That's what a DMPC is.&nbsp; Everything else is just NPCs and cohorts.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="GreatLemur, post: 3177727, member: 28553"] I've generally gotten the impression that "DMPC" is a strictly perjorative term used when an gamemaster's attachment to or identification with a particular NPC has grown to a noticeable, game-harming extent. So it seems deeply weird to me to hear somebody saying "DMPCs can be used well" when, by definition, a properly run NPC is [i]not[/i] a DMPC. There's a reason we've got gamemasters and players in this hobby, folks. The gamemaster gets to have all the power because he hasn't got a personal stake in the story. The moment a gamemaster essentially becomes a player--while still wielding the power of a gamemaster--things are going to start to suck for all the other, [i]non[/i]-gamemaster players. Now, the GM can have NPCs he or she likes. For that matter, those NPCs can go along with the players' party and help them out. That's all cool. The problem is when the GM actually starts to look at such an NPC as his or her character, and run the game differently because of that. [i]That's[/i] what a DMPC is. Everything else is just NPCs and cohorts. [/QUOTE]

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