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Message: <blockquote data-quote="kenjib" data-source="post: 90579" data-attributes="member: 530">Hong, you have previously stated that a killing monsters-getting treasure style of play is your preference.  That is fine and in that context I agree that the facilitator role can not win glory, but with a story oriented style the facilitator takes on a tremendous role and actually gets more glory than anyone else.Consider Merlin, Gandalf, and Prospero.  These, to me, are the biggest facilitator archetypes.  The warriors may stand in front, defeated enemies, but ultimately it is the wizard that guides and creates the entire journey.  The wizard is the plot.  He holds a special relationship to the author that the other characters don't have.Prospero is the most easy to explain example, but these principles apply equally well to Merlin and Gandalf.  Consider the role that Prospero plays in The Tempest.  Shakespeare provides the plot and crisis which must be resolved.  It is Prospero who guides the other players and createst the story.  It is the other characters who act on this guidance and bring the story to close.  Ultimately, Prospero is the most important person in the entire play.  To the people within the fictitious setting, the other characters are the glorious ones.  However, to the reader of the story, there is no doubt as to who the real force of the story is.  Frodo and Aragorn has essential parts but it was really Gandalf who made everything possible.  He is the glue that holds the entire story together.Now consider this applied to D&D:DM:  Provides a setting and situations within which characters can act.  Plays the part of the NPCs and adjudicates rules.The Wizard:  Guides the party through his knowledge and abilities to shape destiny through magic.  The Wizard works behind the scenes and does not get credited for his deeds publicly, as people can not understand what he does, but he knows that he was behind it all.  This is enough for him because he is not interested in worldy matters.  This is the role of leadership which comes naturally as a result of knowledge given the wizard via divinations and lore and the ability to bend the rules with magic.  The Wizard absorbs some of the roles that more control-oriented DMs take on but which light-handed DMs leave to the players.Other PCs:  Do the grunt work and take on the public face of the wizard.  These guys take the glory in public and get to shine by exhibiting the extent of their various talents throughout the adventure.This model requires several things:1.  Some emphasis on story over combat.  Even if the wizard has some combat ability, ala Gandalf, his primary role is outside of combat.  If this element is downplayed in a campaign the wizard loses his usefulness.2.  The DM absolutely can not railroad the party and push them in pre-determined directions.  This interferes directly with the wizard's job.3.  Good players who can make this situation work.  Yes it is situational and group dependent.  This style is not for everyone, however it is not universally boring or lacking in the ability to provide glory for all involved.  It has no place in the core D&D rules but could make an interesting variant for those who like and can handle this sort of thing.4.  This all does imply that having more than one wizard character in a group is a problem.  I would agree with that.  In fiction facilitators don't work together</blockquote>

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