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Respect Mah Authoritah: Thoughts on DM and Player Authority in 5e
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<blockquote data-quote="hawkeyefan" data-source="post: 8431089" data-attributes="member: 6785785"><p>Yeah, that's a good summary of why it seemed problematic in play. There was no indication that anything we did resulted in any real risk. Quite the opposite, actually. Each action we took seemed to go well. We managed to cross the river, limiting the chance of being followed. The rogue went into town on his own and his rolls to gather info went well. The duke's men that were in the Inn were there for something unrelated to the PCs. No rolls were called for at any point to avoid detection. No threat of anyone monitoring the rogue's actions or somehow noticing the party hanging on the outskirts of town. </p><p></p><p>Nothing was established by the GM that there was a risk of an ambush occurring. So when it did occur, yeah, it felt forced.</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>I think absolutely there could have been elements that had existed either before hand in the GM's notes on the town, or as part of narration and establishing the scenario. I think they likely would have revealed themselves in some way before the ambush. That there would have been some sense of risk, or at the very least that rolls had been made poorly, indicating that perhaps we missed something important or relevant along the way.</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>That's an interesting question. I think the fact that this is a specific ability does make it seem worse. I mean, this is the rules saying "you can do THIS THING" and it's something I picked as part of character generation, meaning that I want THIS THING to be part of the game. </p><p></p><p>Would I feel the same as if this had just been action declaration without evoking a specific ability? Maybe not, but in considering it, I probably should.</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>I agree for the most part. The distinction I would make is that the rules actually do grant player agency. They also give the ability for the GM to undermine that agency, which to me should only happen when there is a truly compelling reason to do so.</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Yeah, people have different takes on it, for sure. My preference in the scenario I described is that the GM allow the use of the Folk Hero ability because everything about the fiction and the group and the rolls indicated it should work. </p><p></p><p>Absent some mitigating factors such as those that have been suggested here in this thread (but which didn't come up in play), I don't know why a GM would not honor it other than to assert their will on the game.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="hawkeyefan, post: 8431089, member: 6785785"] Yeah, that's a good summary of why it seemed problematic in play. There was no indication that anything we did resulted in any real risk. Quite the opposite, actually. Each action we took seemed to go well. We managed to cross the river, limiting the chance of being followed. The rogue went into town on his own and his rolls to gather info went well. The duke's men that were in the Inn were there for something unrelated to the PCs. No rolls were called for at any point to avoid detection. No threat of anyone monitoring the rogue's actions or somehow noticing the party hanging on the outskirts of town. Nothing was established by the GM that there was a risk of an ambush occurring. So when it did occur, yeah, it felt forced. I think absolutely there could have been elements that had existed either before hand in the GM's notes on the town, or as part of narration and establishing the scenario. I think they likely would have revealed themselves in some way before the ambush. That there would have been some sense of risk, or at the very least that rolls had been made poorly, indicating that perhaps we missed something important or relevant along the way. That's an interesting question. I think the fact that this is a specific ability does make it seem worse. I mean, this is the rules saying "you can do THIS THING" and it's something I picked as part of character generation, meaning that I want THIS THING to be part of the game. Would I feel the same as if this had just been action declaration without evoking a specific ability? Maybe not, but in considering it, I probably should. I agree for the most part. The distinction I would make is that the rules actually do grant player agency. They also give the ability for the GM to undermine that agency, which to me should only happen when there is a truly compelling reason to do so. Yeah, people have different takes on it, for sure. My preference in the scenario I described is that the GM allow the use of the Folk Hero ability because everything about the fiction and the group and the rolls indicated it should work. Absent some mitigating factors such as those that have been suggested here in this thread (but which didn't come up in play), I don't know why a GM would not honor it other than to assert their will on the game. [/QUOTE]
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