Upgrade your account to a Community Supporter account and remove most of the site ads.

Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="Numion" data-source="post: 4187870" data-attributes="member: 124">Hi,I'm reading Lord of the Rings once again, and cannot help but think that Big G is the archetype for all the bad DMPCs most of us have suffered through. All the respect to Tolkien for reinforcing the adventuring group cliche, which is quite useful for the logistics of RPGing. I just feel that many of the DMPCs I've suffered through bear resemblance to Gandalf. Here are the hallmarks of a bad DMPC:* Much more powerful than the rest of the groupThis much is obvious. Kicks a Balrogs ass while the 'PCs' run for their lives.* Steals the PCs thunderHe's always engaging the ,pst powerful enemies in combat, and also dominates NPC interactions* First dibs on the best lootHe's quick to scoop up Glamdring, Sarumans Palantir, Shadowfax while he already has one of the rings of Power! * Knows all the info but doesn't share itHe obviously knows a lot about the adventures plot (like any DMPC would, they're controlled by the DM!), but keeps all the info to himself, only giving small handouts to the 'PCs'.* Is rude to the PCsThis is usually the most annoying feature of a DMPC. "Fool of a Took!" With their high level of power they can treat PCs like crap. Gandalf limits himself to verbal abuse, but that would be pretty annoying in a game.* Holds back his powerWhile powerful, Gandalf doesn't use his powers often. Another feature of bad DMPCs - they let the PCs sweat enough, even thouugh they could save them from a lot of bleeding.What do you think? Is Gandalf the stereotypical bad DMPC, an annoyance to boot?</blockquote>

Verification