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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Jester David" data-source="post: 7335608" data-attributes="member: 37579">Okay... there's a lot to unpack here. Some of it might be relevant to the DM being poor and some just a mismatch between player style and DM style. A good DM can get their start in any edition of game. Cutting your teeth and running FATE is fine and can lead to a good D&D campaign, albeit one with a potentially more story focused feel. Being a DM is as much about the story, presenting the setting, and managing the players.How old is the DM? This sounds much more like a older edition weary DM complaint. One who has seen the books come and go two or three times. As others have mentioned, the DMG is basically a big book of optional rules. While there are a few pages on running the game and being a good DM, it sounds like this DM might need <a href="http://www.sjgames.com/robinslaws/" target="_blank">Robin's Laws of Good Game Mastering</a> more. Or <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6XikjjQok5Y&list=PL7atuZxmT9570U87GhK_20NcbxM43vkom" target="_blank">Geek & Sundry's Game Master Tips</a>. As the later is a video series it might be an easier sell (and segues nicely to your DM as they have seen Critical Role. You can pitch it as a way to be more like Matt Mercer since he is the initial host).Do you need to read the PHB and know the rules? Not really. It helps to know the basics of the game, but if the players know their own powers that's fine. And if one person at the table knows the rules well enough to adjudicate, that's okay too, freeing the DM to manage the story and everything else. That's a big red exclamation mark. D&D Wiki is basically a giant pit people who only half know the rules and content just shotgun ideas into. (In fairness, 3e and 5e can be close enough in presentation that you could mistake them. Much like 1e and 2e. Although in terms of actual design they're kilometres apart.)*shrug*That's neither good nor bad. That's just the story he was telling. You don't need to roll dice for everything, especially of the DC is low enough that it's something your character should succeed at. How often and long do you play? Was that three short sessions or 10 long ones? This, however, is a bad sign. This feels more like a disconnect between what your expectations are of the game (plot hooks and pregenerated stories) and the DM's style. A wide open sandbox can be a fun game. I'm half running one myself, with the "plot" essentially being the lives of the players and what they decide to do rather than something I'm foisting on them. But, from some of the other points, it does sound like he's a little rougher in his execution.In fairness, I'm an experienced gamer with a couple decades of Dungeon Mastering experience, and Critical Role makes me feel insecure at times. Forwarding a few more D&D games might also be a good idea. There are a bunch on the <a href="https://www.twitch.tv/dnd" target="_blank">D&D feed</a>. There's Dice, Camera, Action, the two Maze Arcana games, and Dragon Friends. Or something like Girls, Guts, Glory. One of which might be less intimidating. Really, showing him a few different styles of DM and different ways of playing might do more than showing him just Critical Role. Which can work fine. I've been in multiple games where one player knows the rules better than the GM and is the designated "rules monkey", adjudicating rulings and looking up the answers to questions so the Dungeon Master can keep the game running. And I've run a few games where I've known the system a little less than the players and had to turn to them for clarifications.Looking at everything, I agree with the others that say you should move on to a new game. Partially because the DM has his weaknesses and seems unwilling to work towards improving as a DM, which is not a good sign. But mostly because what you want from the game seems to be very different from what the DM wants from the game and the type of campaign they seem interested in running. And that's going to be an issue even if they learn the rules and become better at handling combats and conflicts. In fact, if they do get a better handle of the rules, it will just augment your perceptions of the tonal differences between your expectations and their presentation.</blockquote>

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