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<blockquote data-quote="Mercurius" data-source="post: 6206494" data-attributes="member: 59082">As a general rule, I don't like them - as either a player or DM. But like all such rules, they're more guidelines than absolute laws. Think in terms of the &quot;rules of writing.&quot; They mainly apply to inexperienced writers. But once you get pretty good at it, you can break any rule you want - if you do so intentionally and for a good reason.I think its the same with DMPCs. A good DM, for the right reasons, can pull it off. The right reason is not because the DM sub-consciously wants to get in on the glory. A good reason is because the DMPC is a MacGuffin that, for whatever reason, is more worth having in the game than not.But in all cases, a DMPC must be handled with great care. On first blush Gandalf seems like a great DMPC (if LotR were an RPG campaign), but he only works because A) He isn't all that powerful in D&amp;D terms, at least not in a game-breaking way, and B) the &quot;PCs&quot; in the LotR never sit him down and force him to divulge every detail about Middle-earth that might aid them in their quest, which is exactly what annoyingly savvy players would do in a D&amp;D game.A more appropriate DMPC would be someone who isn't what he or she seems, or has a hidden agenda of some kind that will unfold later on.As for the common &quot;we need a healer&quot; approach to DMPCs, I'd rather solve that with extra potions and such. Plus, 4E solved this nicely through healing surges.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Mercurius, post: 6206494, member: 59082"] As a general rule, I don't like them - as either a player or DM. But like all such rules, they're more guidelines than absolute laws. Think in terms of the "rules of writing." They mainly apply to inexperienced writers. But once you get pretty good at it, you can break any rule you want - [I]if [/I]you do so intentionally and for a good reason. I think its the same with DMPCs. A good DM, for the right reasons, can pull it off. The right reason is not because the DM sub-consciously wants to get in on the glory. A good reason is because the DMPC is a MacGuffin that, for whatever reason, is more worth having in the game than not. But in all cases, a DMPC must be handled with great care. On first blush Gandalf seems like a great DMPC (if LotR were an RPG campaign), but he only works because A) He isn't all that powerful in D&D terms, at least not in a game-breaking way, and B) the "PCs" in the LotR never sit him down and force him to divulge every detail about Middle-earth that might aid them in their quest, which is exactly what annoyingly savvy players would do in a D&D game. A more appropriate DMPC would be someone who isn't what he or she seems, or has a hidden agenda of some kind that will unfold later on. As for the common "we need a healer" approach to DMPCs, I'd rather solve that with extra potions and such. Plus, 4E solved this nicely through healing surges. [/QUOTE]

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