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<blockquote data-quote="Carpe DM" data-source="post: 4910252" data-attributes="member: 677">Several people have hinted at what I think is a good distinction.&nbsp; This is not about right and wrong at all.&nbsp; The DM has (and must have) the power to interpret and alter the rules.&nbsp; But the rules give the DM his legitimacy.&nbsp; Altering them much or often undermines that legitimacy.No-one comes to the table to play out a DM's pet fantasy novel.&nbsp; Rules are the players' access to control over the game world.&nbsp; A DM that alters them at a whim will have an empty table.So the DM is not always right, any more than a judge is always right.&nbsp; DMs, like judges, have the power to make and enforce wrong decisions.&nbsp; But doing so undermines their legitimacy.Note that of course DMs can both exercise their power and maintain legitimacy by announcing rules changes ahead of time and sticking to them.&nbsp; Houseruling up front is fine from that perspective -- it lets players judge ahead of time whether the game is something they want to be involved in.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Carpe DM, post: 4910252, member: 677"] Several people have hinted at what I think is a good distinction. This is not about right and wrong at all. The DM has (and must have) the [I]power [/I]to interpret and alter the rules. But the rules give the DM his [I]legitimacy.[/I] Altering them much or often undermines that legitimacy. No-one comes to the table to play out a DM's pet fantasy novel. Rules are the players' access to control over the game world. A DM that alters them at a whim will have an empty table. So the DM is not always right, any more than a judge is always right. DMs, like judges, have the [I]power [/I]to make and enforce wrong decisions. But doing so undermines their [I]legitimacy[/I]. Note that of course DMs can both exercise their power and maintain legitimacy by announcing rules changes ahead of time and sticking to them. Houseruling up front is fine from that perspective -- it lets players judge ahead of time whether the game is something they want to be involved in. [/QUOTE]

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