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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Ahnehnois" data-source="post: 6211466" data-attributes="member: 17106">My experience is that major houserules are de rigueur and most credible DMs will make significant alterations to the rules before the game starts to facilitate their goals. I've never seen that questioned. And really, the DM is choosing the system and the parameters of character creation and the campaign and world to begin with.Once the game actually starts, the DM is in complete control. He adjudicates all the in-game outcomes and in general is in charge of the out of game social situation. Typically, DMs will run roughshod over even heavily customized rules in the interests of time and fun. A DM might entertain arguments from players: for example, I tend to consult them on issues of historical or scientific plausibility. But there can be no questioning the finality of the DM's word.The only player I had who ever really did that was a problem player who would say things like "I have +30 on Knowledge checks and the highest DC in the book is 30, so you have to tell me whatever I want to know" or "it's not fair that my nemeses know that I'm a pyro and bought rings of fire resistance in advance". He was a founding group member, but also had significant personal issues and was clearly trying to be disruptive. That's pretty much how I view anyone who questions the authority of the person in charge. Conversely, good players accept their roles and work within them. If they want to DM, they DM. (For the record, I'm not a great player for precisely that reason: it's hard for me not to try to DM).A general truism about drama is that once the audience knows what the story is about, the story is over. In my view, the goal of the DM is not only to exert as much influence as possible over the game, but to do so specifically to deceive the players about what is going on. Just like any other storyteller.</blockquote>

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