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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Chaosmancer" data-source="post: 9003062" data-attributes="member: 6801228">"Fairly Common" yet no one else in this thread of DMs has ever said that they have this same issue, and multiple have said they have no idea what you are talking about, because it is so far outside their experience as DMs. Either we are all unicorns, or maybe it isn't actually fairly common and your perception that the game is enforcing a uni-directional power dynamic is flawed. Holy run on sentences Batman! Okay, Let's break this down. 1) Alice is almost butting heads with the GM. (Why? What is going on) 2) They avoid clear examples (huh?) the GM could WTF while building a mountain (mountains aren't built by people, what is this mountain?) 3) Alice thinks they are defending the rigts of players to play their characters (okay, against what? What is the DM doing to make Alice defensive here?) 4) The other players don't feel comfortable being Alice's Therapist (Huh? Why does she need therapy? What is happening at this table that her friends are going "well, I'd get involved, but I'm not a licensed therapist"? And you think this is normal??!!)5) Being confronted by the GM makes Alice think she is making progress in improving the situation. (What situation? What is going on here? And, is she wrong? Is getting the DM to be honest with her not leading to a resolution of the situation?) 6) Alice and the other players, who specifically want to role play their character have the option to play alien starfish without personalities or needs... (Huh? Is the issue that she wanted to RP an alien starfish, or are you just injecting this into the scenario as a possibility?) 7)  Because it is possible to play alien starfish, the DM has no tools to confront the players without railroading or singling someone out (Wait, isn't this all about Alice and her need for therapy? How does railroading play into this? And if it is a single problem, then isn't talking to her outside of the game a tool? Why does the DM need to solve this in game, by pressuring the character? Also, what if Alice isn't playing an alien starfish?) 8) So without tools the DM can do nothing but quit or banish all the players, because of Alice.... What are you even talking about? Alice is attacking the DM for some reason, but not a reason you ever state, but the DM is the victim, and he has to yeet the entire group because Alice's friends aren't licensed therapists? This is just a word salad that sounds vaguely like "the players are the problem and I need ways to punish their characters so I can solve their problem without therapy" I asked "why my character's personality needs to be determined by committee?" Your response is that as a player I do not get to dictate the setting, the region of the world potential themes "and so on" The setting =/= My character's personalityThe region of the world =/= My character's personalityThemes of the adventure =/= My character's personality"And so on" is... vague and unhelpful. You also say the GM shouldn't need to jump through hoops.... but what hoops are involved in my character's personality? Also, how is my picking a personality, but being willing to talk about it "refusing to work with anyone"? So, you didn't answer the question at all, and talked about completely unrelated things. Care to try again? This time answering the question?I know what AL stood for. My point was wondering why you feel the need to be "protected" from the social contract. It seems you are more concerned about being "protected" from accommodating players in telling the story they want to tell? I can't say I agree with that. As a DM I WANT to accommodate my players, not be able to hide behind "well, I would change things, but I'm not allowed" That's part of why I don't run Adventure League, I don't like being limited in the game I run for my players.</blockquote>

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