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Message: <blockquote data-quote="EzekielRaiden" data-source="post: 6556321" data-attributes="member: 6790260">*sigh* Why is it always dragonborn? I get that they're the new kids on the block, but bloody hell. D&D grew out of campaigns that were welcoming to balrogs and actual dragons as PCs, as long as the PCs were comfortable starting "low" and growing into that power over time. Nowadays, it feels like there's this huge NIMBY attitude from almost everyone who started up prior to 3e, and it just gets really frustrating after a while. I love dragonborn, for aesthetic as well as mechanical reasons (mostly aesthetic, though), and feeling like my preferences are always being put to the question is pretty damn wearying. (Inasmuch as anything from a niche hobby where I spend a small portion of my leisure time can be "wearying," of course--but I value that leisure time a lot!)How would one go about learning this secret? Is the secret already pre-defined by the DM? Feels like it would be kind of a catch-22. Particularly if you play in a game where people aren't expected to switch characters often, and/or the DM expects you to "know" a secret she hasn't even chosen yet.A+! This is exactly the kind of thing I like to hear. My favorite campaigns have always been the ones where both the players and the DM have to roll with the other's punches, adapting to fit. Everyone learns something and gets surprised that way. <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" />Similar to the "race secret" bit above, I'm curious about how you'd handle this. What options would be default, and why? Would you accept player suggestions for new places to explore and/or new options that could be unlocked?Not knowing Greyhawk, I cannot speak as to the veracity of this. I just wanted to highlight it because it shows that, even in settings that often get described as having "no place" for new concepts, there often IS a place if you're flexible/creative--and the same goes for the player seeking that concept.Oh my God this is at least 42 kinds of awesome.Edit:As for my own decisions, although I have never actually run a campaign, I've wanted to, and my philosophy is simple.Anything which fights against player enthusiasm for an RAI, non-exploitative option is a bad idea.This is similar to what others have already said in the thread, but (IMO) more specific. Is the player being exploitative? Shut it down--they're probably more interested in the "meta" feeling of power than they are in experiencing an awesome story. Is the option weird/divergent/some other kind of strangeness? Might be more trouble than it's worth. But if players are genuinely enthusiastic and excited about something, you're talking about someone who is deeply involved, who cares about something and will be invested in what happens. Crushing that enthusiasm is a highway to disinterested players, and that will reduce everyone's pleasure. It's perfectly fine to pitch an idea--but the DM needs to carefully balance "What I want to run" with "What they want to play."</blockquote>

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