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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Abe.ebA" data-source="post: 3000225" data-attributes="member: 32545">With regard to the people talking about DM-free D&D...I was going to post a long thing here about the Arkham Horror boardgame and how it's pretty much identical to what I think a DM-less D&D would become, but while writing it I thought of a much easier way to state my position:D&D is a Role Playing Game.  If everyone is a player playing the role of their character, who plays the role of the world around them?  Monsters, NPCs, and even environments have roles and having them played is just as important as having the roles of the adventurers played.  Without a DM to play these roles, everything becomes a list of scripted actions or, at best, a larger set of possible scripted actions from which one is selected randomly or based on circumstance.  All of the flexibility goes away and the game ceases to be an RPG.  The players can roleplay with one another but they're doing it in a vacuum because as soon as they attempt to interact with the rest of their world, it ceases to be a Role Playing game and becomes, in essence, a boardless boardgame.Other games where this setup already exists: Arkham Horror, Zombies!!!, Munchkin, Mall of Horrors, Betrayal at the House on the Hill, Ninja Burger (the card game)...  I think Descent and Dungeon Twister are D&D-theme-specific examples but I've not played either so I can't be certain.  The Dungeoneer cardgame is also similar but players sort of act as DM for one-another.These games are fun (well, maybe not Zombies!!!; that one's a bit mind-numbing by the RAW) but they are not RPGs.</blockquote>

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