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<blockquote data-quote="Aberzanzorax" data-source="post: 5888437" data-attributes="member: 64209"><p>Okay, I've actually been swayed. </p><p> </p><p>My position is now "A DM can't cheat <em>at D&D</em>."</p><p> </p><p>However, that is far different from "A DM can't cheat."</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>There are (at least) three fine lines to understand the difference between those two statements.</p><p> </p><p>1. <strong><u>Gaming group limits.</u></strong> This category is a separate set of rules from the D&D rules, though it may impinge upon, expand, or directly change the D&D rules as well. This includes a DM who agrees to never fudge and then fudges, a DM who agrees to use standard monster hp out of the box and then changes them, to run a module as written and then changing it, etc. The DM has not cheated <em>at D&D</em> by doing these things, but he has cheated at gaming group limits.</p><p> </p><p>2. <u><strong>Organized/tournament play.</strong></u> This category is similar to #1, but different enough to deserve its own category. A DM playing as part of the RPGA, for example, is agreeing to play under their rules and to run things with only so many changes as are allowed (this is to balance the challenge/experience to be somewhat uniform amongst all players of the modules). If the DM oversteps his proscribed power limits, he has cheated not <em>at d&d</em>, but he has cheated the organized rules.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>3. <strong><u>Standard play.</u></strong> A more complete quote from the section that Water Bob pulled his quote from is as follows:</p><p> </p><p></p><p> </p><p> </p><p style="text-align: left"><span style="font-size: 10px"><span style="font-family: 'CelestiaAntiqua-Medium'"><span style="font-size: 10px"><span style="font-family: 'CelestiaAntiqua-Medium'">Please note the last sentence. "That’s a perfectly acceptable way to play, and if there’s a default method of DMing, that’s it." The default method of DMing is for the DM to obey the same rules the players do. So while it is within the rules of D&D for a dm to occasionally fudge (<em><u>occasionally</u></em> is mentioned in that section on DM cheating as well), it is not the default method.</span></span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: 10px"><span style="font-family: 'CelestiaAntiqua-Medium'"></span></span></p><p> <span style="font-size: 10px"><span style="font-family: 'CelestiaAntiqua-Medium'"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: 10px"><span style="font-family: 'CelestiaAntiqua-Medium'"></span></span></p><p> </p><p style="text-align: left">So, I'll agree that a dm who is unfair to players, makes things up on the fly, has a DMpc who the rules do not apply to, brings in Deus Ex Machina, etc is not cheating. Many of these are, or can be, instances of really crappy dming, but are not cheating.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Aberzanzorax, post: 5888437, member: 64209"] Okay, I've actually been swayed. My position is now "A DM can't cheat [I]at D&D[/I]." However, that is far different from "A DM can't cheat." There are (at least) three fine lines to understand the difference between those two statements. 1. [B][U]Gaming group limits.[/U][/B] This category is a separate set of rules from the D&D rules, though it may impinge upon, expand, or directly change the D&D rules as well. This includes a DM who agrees to never fudge and then fudges, a DM who agrees to use standard monster hp out of the box and then changes them, to run a module as written and then changing it, etc. The DM has not cheated [I]at D&D[/I] by doing these things, but he has cheated at gaming group limits. 2. [U][B]Organized/tournament play.[/B][/U] This category is similar to #1, but different enough to deserve its own category. A DM playing as part of the RPGA, for example, is agreeing to play under their rules and to run things with only so many changes as are allowed (this is to balance the challenge/experience to be somewhat uniform amongst all players of the modules). If the DM oversteps his proscribed power limits, he has cheated not [I]at d&d[/I], but he has cheated the organized rules. 3. [B][U]Standard play.[/U][/B] A more complete quote from the section that Water Bob pulled his quote from is as follows: [LEFT][SIZE=2][FONT=CelestiaAntiqua-Medium][SIZE=2][FONT=CelestiaAntiqua-Medium]Please note the last sentence. "That’s a perfectly acceptable way to play, and if there’s a default method of DMing, that’s it." The default method of DMing is for the DM to obey the same rules the players do. So while it is within the rules of D&D for a dm to occasionally fudge ([I][U]occasionally[/U][/I] is mentioned in that section on DM cheating as well), it is not the default method.[/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT][/SIZE][SIZE=2][FONT=CelestiaAntiqua-Medium][/FONT][/SIZE][/LEFT][SIZE=2][FONT=CelestiaAntiqua-Medium] [/FONT][/SIZE] [LEFT]So, I'll agree that a dm who is unfair to players, makes things up on the fly, has a DMpc who the rules do not apply to, brings in Deus Ex Machina, etc is not cheating. Many of these are, or can be, instances of really crappy dming, but are not cheating.[/LEFT] [/QUOTE]
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