Yeah. I think there's a lot to that. At best, talking things out adjusts things in small increments so a group that is close enough can get in alignment. Sometimes individuals in a group are just so missaligned in terms of taste, expectations, playstyle, what they find fun, etc that there is no way to align them.Talking with PCs about expectations is always sage advice. With D&D though - it's an uphill battle. The book, which gets conflated with the game, tells PCs, "at level X, Y, and Z you get these awesome powers!" So if the DM comes along and says, "well no, you don't," then the DM is just out to ruin everyone's fun. So yes, tell the players what you're thinking, but don't be surprised when they revolt because you're doing something that seems less fun than what the rule book promised them.
I am referring to game design and what happens when DMs escalate monsters and encounters because (by the rules) PCs are so powerful. Then the next iteration comes out with more powerful PCs (power creep), and DMs once again have to escalate creature power to match, and so on.I'm not following this one. How do the PCs get more stuff than what's in the rule book, unless the DM gives it to them?
Right. Which is the other half of my first post on the topic back on page 1.That'll work - the DM's tool bag always has a bigger tool in it. I don't ramp up the monsters. I just use a different game. Problem (D&D) solved.
This is a good point and one I know, personally, I don't specify enough when I comment about the direction D&D is going and saying things like "MOAR POWER", etc. I hope people understand this is simply my preference, and I understand for some groups, what players get even in 5E might not be "enough" for them to really enjoy playing and they want more.I think fundamentally, most of the time what people call powergaming is dissonance between what some players and at least the GM want in terms of game difficulty; it may also be dissonance between the kind of game being pictured by the GM and the players (i.e. the players want high powered fantasy, whether they're above the background or not but the GM wants gritty fantasy).
Either way, its fundamentally about expectation clash and most of the time trying to "reduce" it is just another way of trying to force some players to play the way the GM wants, whether its what they want or not.
This is a good point and one I know, personally, I don't specify enough when I comment about the direction D&D is going and saying things like "MOAR POWER", etc. I hope people understand this is simply my preference, and I understand for some groups, what players get even in 5E might not be "enough" for them to really enjoy playing and they want more.
As others have said before, when DM and players want different things, either both compromise, one side gives in, or they part ways and find others who share their preferences. Frankly, I don't blame either side if a compromise can't be reached, but thankfully usually it can be found and the game can go on.
For myself, in my current game I allowed a player to try the Rune Knight. I find it OP and way more powerful than previous fighter subclasses... the natural result of power creep. So, I won't be allowing it in further games.
Rune Knight or Echo Knight? Rune Knight is ok but it's not any more powerful than most Fighter subclasses. I've never heard of anyone banning Rune Knight, that's crazyFor myself, in my current game I allowed a player to try the Rune Knight. I find it OP and way more powerful than previous fighter subclasses... the natural result of power creep. So, I won't be allowing it in further games.
This is why, I always say that it's better in 99% of the time to buff low powered features than to nerf high powered features.Talking with PCs about expectations is always sage advice. With D&D though - it's an uphill battle. The book, which gets conflated with the game, tells PCs, "at level X, Y, and Z you get these awesome powers!" So if the DM comes along and says, "well no, you don't," then the DM is just out to ruin everyone's fun. So yes, tell the players what you're thinking, but don't be surprised when they revolt because you're doing something that seems less fun than what the rule book promised them.