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General Tabletop Discussion
*TTRPGs General
Is the DM the most important person at the table
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<blockquote data-quote="Lanefan" data-source="post: 7928931" data-attributes="member: 29398"><p>Not at all, as when I'm DM I'm filling a different role at the table: that of referee, setting and background describer, and NPC wrangler.</p><p></p><p>And when role-playing the NPCs I have to keep in mind what they'd know as opposed to what I know, I see this as an annoying but unavoidable hazard of the DM trade. But as a player I shouldn't ever have to worry about this.</p><p></p><p>While 99% is simply hyperbole on your part, both as DM and player I see managing the campaign* to be almost exclusively the DM's role, and this is inevitably going to lead to more expended effort than that of any player.</p><p></p><p>The players' role is to reliably show up to the games, consistently contribute while at the table, and add to the entertainment of all. If they bring beer - bonus! Even better if the players' contributions at the table allow the DM to largely get out of the way (other than any required refereeing) and let the session run itself; this is why I don't mind if they get into in-character arguments or hijinks or whatever, as it means they're running the show and all I need do is watch.</p><p></p><p>* - this includes setting details, adventure details, keeping records, scheduling the games, (usually) hosting, etc.</p><p></p><p>No-one's ever found and exploited a rules loophole in your game(s)? Or devised and used a truly broken combination? Or advocated for the easing of a restriction or the addition of something PC-beneficial?</p><p></p><p>No wonder your DM workload is so light. <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=":)" /></p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Lanefan, post: 7928931, member: 29398"] Not at all, as when I'm DM I'm filling a different role at the table: that of referee, setting and background describer, and NPC wrangler. And when role-playing the NPCs I have to keep in mind what they'd know as opposed to what I know, I see this as an annoying but unavoidable hazard of the DM trade. But as a player I shouldn't ever have to worry about this. While 99% is simply hyperbole on your part, both as DM and player I see managing the campaign* to be almost exclusively the DM's role, and this is inevitably going to lead to more expended effort than that of any player. The players' role is to reliably show up to the games, consistently contribute while at the table, and add to the entertainment of all. If they bring beer - bonus! Even better if the players' contributions at the table allow the DM to largely get out of the way (other than any required refereeing) and let the session run itself; this is why I don't mind if they get into in-character arguments or hijinks or whatever, as it means they're running the show and all I need do is watch. * - this includes setting details, adventure details, keeping records, scheduling the games, (usually) hosting, etc. No-one's ever found and exploited a rules loophole in your game(s)? Or devised and used a truly broken combination? Or advocated for the easing of a restriction or the addition of something PC-beneficial? No wonder your DM workload is so light. :) [/QUOTE]
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