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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Cergorach" data-source="post: 3107608" data-attributes="member: 725">No offense Crothian, but in a lot of games the DM just isn't the 'boss', and he shouldn't be. You have a group of folk that are all equal, only one of them is the DM and his voice isn't more important then the rest of the group.In my case we are a group of five friends, we started playing D&D 3E when before there were any PrCs, when they were introduced they were managable even with a couple of splat books and a few dragons. The general rule was that anything offical was fair game in the game (would work it in the campaign somehow), then the splat books kept comming and comming... Another thing is that the first ten levels all this crap somehow seems managable, it's only when the complexity of high levels reaches a certain point that all the player options start working against the DM (certain combos start to become extremely powerfull). Then it's a little late to start backing away when folks have bought most of the splat books.Not to mention thatt the players consist of a politician, a political-sciences student, a physisist, and a psychologist. Me, the lone computer tech, kind of draws the short end of the stick with that crowd ;-)Remember that's in the DMG and most PrCs are in the splat books that only mention all the kewl new toys, not every player has the DMG or reads it from a DMs perspective. While the "all the rules are optional" is often mentioned in game products, that particular argument won't fly with PrCs, feats, and spells. Those are integral parts of the game as it's presented (otherwise it wouldn't be present in every single gaming supplement), the existance of this thread and similar ones are another indication of the assumption of PrCs being core rules. While it's (suprisingly) clear in the DMG if you read the correct two paragraphs (the very first in the chapter and the last before the actual PrCs), it isn't mentioned in the splat books at all, creating different expectations for the DM and the players...My preference would be to have a section in the PHB explaining some of the optional rules that are present in the DMG, something like "Optional Rule: Prestige Classes" and/or explaining in each player targeted splat book that all these options are in fact optional and the DM should be consulted before assuming that it can be used in the campaign. Clearifying why the DM might not want the PrCs/feats/spells/classes in the campaign might also make the DMs job a bit easier.The 3E rules are a lot clearer then previous editions, so clear in fact that there is very little DM ruling necessary. That has huge advantages, i've also found that players get used to this and (subconciously) try to move away from as many DM rulings as possible (because most rules are already codified), leaving the DM as the storyteller.I have decided to throw in the expert card fro now on. I'm the DM, not the boss, but there are certain things that can make life difficult as a DM, i don't have the time anymore for that. If you want to play in a fun campaign you will listen to me, and trust i will listen to you, but there are certain aspects that i won't budge on. You (as a group) can virtually decide the kind of Camaign we will play, but the DM will regulate the flow of information and rules. I know what i'm doing and you will trust me to do it right! ;-)</blockquote>

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