Should a DM change an official NPC?

[Grazzt]

I suspect that most of us are the same as you. I'm 31 (soon to be 32) and my group is of similar age with a wide variety of gaming backgrounds. None of us can even fanthom this concept that you've brought up.

IceBear

If you have a Bachelor's degree or higher you should just accept everything as written and not challenge authority by trying to change it to fit your concepts or ideas of how D&D should be played. Now, if you have anything less than a Bachelor's you are either free to do what you want or you have a problem with authority. At least that's what I got from it.

 

[herald]

I will go so far as to say that if a Gamemaster doesn't alter the game world in some way, I have serious doubts that they can pull off a game that will entertain me very well. I haven't used any materials that were not created by WOTC, ...yet, but if my players came to me and asked for something 3rd party I would consider it.

I myself run a Greyhawk game with a modified time table. Before the ELH, I certainly envisioned Mordenkainen more powerful than stated in the LG #0 issue.

I'm currently envisioning a huge shakeup in the City of Greyhawk. I'm also considering a huge shakeup in the old Great Kingdom and recreating it as the Grand Republic of Aerdy. (The idea of a huge French Revolution concept is really tempting.)

And that is the beauty of making a campaign your own. All can have a common touchstone, but all go a differant dirrection

 

[greymarch]

I read and post to the WOTC boards more than these boards (just look for a user named Greymarch), mainly because I can get official confirmations to my queries over there. They do listen to players at the official boards, and I can prove it:

For the past several months, I have been arguing on the official WOTC boards that the dissipate energy feat from the WOTC Star Wars game was over-powered. The writers of d20 SW game argued that it wasnt over-powered, but I kept discussing it with them anyhow. Yesterday JD Wiker, one of the writers, said that WOTC has changed their mind, and will modify the dissipate energy feat to help balance it.

WOTC is just like any other company. They are slow to change things, but if you stay on them, and have a reasonable, rational argument, they will come around.

 

[Tsyr]

consider the WOTC material to be far better than 99% percent of the OGL garbage floating around the internet, and being sold at hobby stores, and 99.9% better than any average D&D DM can create.

I consider most OGL/D20 stuff better than 99% of the stuff WotC puts out, so I guess we are even.

 

[National Acrobat]

In my view, 'official' NPC's are just like the rules in the bools. They are tools and guidelines and the DM is free to change whatever he wishes as far as stats, etc. Remember, the 'characters' don't own the books and the 'characters' have no idea what someone like Eclavdra's stats and class level are. The DM can and should change whatever they wish to change to make their campaign go in whatever direction they want.

 

[greymarch]

Dont get me wrong, your style of roleplaying is as valid as any other style. There is no right or wrong. Its just that my gaming group prefers this style, and will not play any other style.

I have another group of friends who play SW just like I do, but they have a separate campaign from my group. They play their campaign the way some people on this message thread have discussed. They change printed rules all the time, change NPCs so that they dont even seem like the NPC they were intended to be, and throw-out the SW timeline all the time. Its their campaign, they are welcome to do what they want, but my gaming group will have no part of it.

A person's education usually doesnt impress me either. I posted the demographics of my gaming group earlier to help explain to everyone where I am coming from. You certainly dont need a higher education to play D&D. Hell...just look at the quality of writing myself and others post to this messageboard

 

[Grazzt]

I read and post to the WOTC boards more than these boards

That explains the tone of some of your posts here I have seen then.

mainly because I can get official confirmations to my queries over there.

Right. And that is where you should go if you have a direct question. Granted, WotC peeps post here, but I would myself probably go to the source to get an official answer. Just like a software company, you go to the source to get the quickest and most direct response.

They do listen to players at the official boards, and I can prove it:

I don't recall saying they didn't listen to their players. Someone else may have said it, but not me. I am aware they listen to their players. Look at 3e. They did tons of research and questioning and playtesting to pin down the rules, mechanics, etc. They listened to and implemented ideas from playtesters. Obviously they listened to their players or 3e wouldn't be as popular as it is today.

The same goes for the OGL. The guys at WotC listen to the publishers. That is why what's in there now is in there. And the next books that become OGL are the ones the majority of publishers are asking to use.

 

[Buttercup]

I think the nature of these messageboards must also be taken into account. The kids who fill the Enworld messageboards are very independent from WOTC. If you started this same discussion at the official WOTC boards, you would get more responses similar to mine.

I think you must also take into account the people I play D&D with. We are all 29 to 31 years old, have bachelor's and master's degrees, and have no problem with authority whatsoever. The fact that the Forgotten Realms are the most popular campaign setting only makes it more likely that we will want to keep playing it. We know that the most popular campaign setting will get the most attention, and thus the most material printed for it.

Bless your heart greymarch, but I could hardly be called a kid, and the folks I game with could hardly be called uneducated. We have 4 master's degrees, 1 PhD candidate and one with a bachelor's. Our ages range from 26 to 50. I think you might be conflating a desire on the part of other DMs to personalize their game world with a dislike of authority. The two things aren't related at all.

You also seem to have an incorrect idea about the demographics of ENWorld.

The fact remains that you are free to play however you please, just as others are free to play in their own manner. Just because everyone responding to this thread so far finds your group's take on D&D unusual, doesn't mean we think you're bad, or wrong. We're just fascinated with such a radical (to us) view of D&D.

 

[Mr Fidgit]

ok, now i'm really curious. first off:

greymarch - what was the intent of your original post? was it to find out if others have gaming groups like yours, or are you having trouble with a new DM?

and, what setting do you play in your SW game? is there alot of contact between the PCs and the movie or novel characters?


(i've started quoting myself! )

 

[Grazzt]

Dont get me wrong, your style of roleplaying is as valid as any other style. There is no right or wrong. Its just that my gaming group prefers this style, and will not play any other style.

Agreed. Just like I don't see how you guys do what you do, and I myself have never been a fan of the Realms, doesn't make your style any more wrong or any better than my homebrewed campaign. They are just different that's all. But underneath, we are all still playing D&D. And that is all that counts.

A person's education usually doesn't impress me either. I posted the demographics of my gaming group earlier to help explain to everyone where I am coming from. You certainly dont need a higher education to play D&D. Hell...just look at the quality of writing myself and others post to this messageboard

Education doesn't impress me either. I know just as many idiots with Master's degrees as I do with high school diplomas.

I don't think writing on a MsgBrd can really gauge a person's degree of education. Ok, maybe sometimes it can. But, a lot of people seem to get in such a hurry to get their remarks or ideas posted ASAP that they don't check spelling, grammar, etc.