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Respect Mah Authoritah: Thoughts on DM and Player Authority in 5e
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<blockquote data-quote="Helpful NPC Thom" data-source="post: 8427163" data-attributes="member: 7031378"><p>I tend to be open with my method of DMing.</p><ol> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Telegraph danger and potential consequences upfront.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Call for skill checks sparingly.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Communicate relative difficulty.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Narrate what happens after a skill check.</li> </ol><p>That last one is a big one. When the dice are resolved, there's not an opportunity for another character to step in and do XYZ before I narrate the outcome of the roll. That's a pet peeve of mine, just like it's a pet peeve of mine when the DM makes the player character seem like bungling idiots out of <em>Home Alone</em> rather than competent adventurers in a fantasy world.</p><p></p><p>To elaborate:</p><p></p><p>Outside of strict combat rules, failed skill checks allow me (the DM) to take control of the scene and describe something that the character (not necessarily <em>player</em>) won't like. I'm pretty blunt about this: if there's a roll involved, your character agency is on the line. On a failure, your character will not die, he will not be imperiled beyond survival, and he won't be made to look like a fool, but those are the limits. Your character might be beguiled, charmed, impassioned, or otherwise briefly rendered out of your control, but (a) you'll regain control soon enough, and (b) trust me, I'm not here to screw ya. We're all here to play a game and have fun, so chill.</p><p></p><p>I am rather authoritarian as DM, at least in D&D and other traditional games. That doesn't mean I'm a powertripping doodie head, nor does it mean I disregard concepts like player agency or table consensus. Sometimes, I will defer narrative authority to the players, especially on natural 1s and 20s. But, if I may be blunt, there's a lot more mental overhead for me as DM than the players. There's a lot more work involved on my side of the screen, so while I'm omnibenevolent when I'm playing D&D God, I'm also omnipotent. (Still working on omniscience, haven't mastered that trick yet.)</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Helpful NPC Thom, post: 8427163, member: 7031378"] I tend to be open with my method of DMing. [LIST=1] [*]Telegraph danger and potential consequences upfront. [*]Call for skill checks sparingly. [*]Communicate relative difficulty. [*]Narrate what happens after a skill check. [/LIST] That last one is a big one. When the dice are resolved, there's not an opportunity for another character to step in and do XYZ before I narrate the outcome of the roll. That's a pet peeve of mine, just like it's a pet peeve of mine when the DM makes the player character seem like bungling idiots out of [I]Home Alone[/I] rather than competent adventurers in a fantasy world. To elaborate: Outside of strict combat rules, failed skill checks allow me (the DM) to take control of the scene and describe something that the character (not necessarily [I]player[/I]) won't like. I'm pretty blunt about this: if there's a roll involved, your character agency is on the line. On a failure, your character will not die, he will not be imperiled beyond survival, and he won't be made to look like a fool, but those are the limits. Your character might be beguiled, charmed, impassioned, or otherwise briefly rendered out of your control, but (a) you'll regain control soon enough, and (b) trust me, I'm not here to screw ya. We're all here to play a game and have fun, so chill. I am rather authoritarian as DM, at least in D&D and other traditional games. That doesn't mean I'm a powertripping doodie head, nor does it mean I disregard concepts like player agency or table consensus. Sometimes, I will defer narrative authority to the players, especially on natural 1s and 20s. But, if I may be blunt, there's a lot more mental overhead for me as DM than the players. There's a lot more work involved on my side of the screen, so while I'm omnibenevolent when I'm playing D&D God, I'm also omnipotent. (Still working on omniscience, haven't mastered that trick yet.) [/QUOTE]
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