The Contract Between GM and Players

[Broken Druid]

On another thread, a difference of opinion came up about the responsibilities of the GM to his players. Not wanting to pull the thread to go off-topic, I thought I would start a new one.

So, what do you see as the rights and responsibilities of the GM to the Players, and vice versa? Here's my take:

The GM has the responsibility to make the game fun for all. He needs to have his material prepared, keeping his main thread firmly in mind, but with a few contingencies in the wings in case the party makes a left turn or two. He needs to remember that the game is about cooperation, not competition. That goes for DM versus player, as well as players versus DM or each other. He needs to keep in mind that clever play should have good results in the short term, and playing to alignment should have long-term consequences in the world. Encounters should be crafted to allow all the characters to occasionally have the starring role. He has the responsibility to discourage Lone Wolf behavior, as it is one of the surest ways to cause problems at the table.

The Players have the responsibility to make the game fun for all. They need to know their characters' abilities, play their character in a manner consistent with their description, and to keep in mind that the actions they take have consequences, both immediate and down the line. They should play their characters in a manner that will generally promote party harmony; not always acting like a brat, but not necessarily always acting against their nature just to avoid conflict. They have the responsibility to remember they are not the only player at the table, and to make sure they don't hog the spotlight when another player's character is the obvious choice to take the lead. The Players need to remember that the GM took the time and made the effort to prepare the encounters for their enjoyment, and try to follow the broad strokes of the tableau the GM is painting, even if they don't want to stay completely within the lines.

 

[Elf Witch]

You hit a lot of my points already.

I think the DM needs to keep the lines of communications open with their players. I think DM should try and figure a way to say yes more than saying no. I think it is important to remember that while it may be your world you have invited people over to play and you need to be a polite host and to share your creation.

I think it is also important to remember that your players are there to have fun and sometimes that means letting go of the verisimilitude. I also think that overly frustrating you players to the point that they have stopped having fun is not good and you need to help them out. Also while it might make sense for every door in the dungeon to be locked and trapped if the party has no rogue and no way to really overcome this then just take it out. It is a game whose purpose is to have fun don't make encounters that your players don't have the ability to handle.


Players also need to keep the lines of communication open. If you are not happy tell your DM.

I think it is important that you realize that the DM needs to have fun to. So even if you are not interested in the history of the magical weapon just its stats at least pretend to be.


If you agree to play in module or adventure path expect some railroading so instead of moaning about it just play it.

 

[S'mon]

The GM should create an interesting environment for exploration and adventure, and arbitrate fairly.

As to players, Noisms says it better than I could:
Monsters and Manuals: You are responsible for your own orgasm

 

[jason2250]

I am brand new here, but I have been DMing for almost 10 years. Early on in my experiences as a player I found that the off the shelf module was too rigid to suit most players. If someone wants the "go here and do this and ONLY this" type game they should buy a computer game.

That said, anytime that I bring a new player into my campaign, I have a one on one sit down with them before hand and try to grasp what kind of playing style they most prefer, and which styles they really hate. This gives me a good grasp on what to stray away from, and a better idea of what I should focus on, all within the realm of the story.

At the end of every play session with my group, I try to find out if anyone was disappointed with the happenings, did anything feel off or not right, and I try to make sure that everyone stays on the same page within the story. Each of my players knows that their character has their own storyline, on top of the four or five adventure arcs that they're presently working through. There is no single story in my world, everything is kept track of, including NPCs that the party feels they have left long in the dust have come back to bite them (sometimes literally!).

As a Dungeon Master, Game Master, whatever my nightly title is, I feel that my responsibility lies in immersing the party in my world and allowing them to feel like their characters can (and do!) shape the world. I will admit that there are times that a left turn leads to a 15-20 minute HOLD ON GUYS I NEED AN NPC LOLOLZ1111!!, but my players have always taken things in stride this way.

The last thing that I do, is I award a small amount of bonus experience to every player in my game that gives me a character-perspective write up of the happenings in the campaign. 1) This allows me as the DM to get inside the characters head and really understand their emotional reactions to things. and 2) this gives me a great basis for converting my long running campaigns into books or novels. I am in the process of doing this for my current campaign.

My players all know that they should know their classes and their spells, and I even help my casters prepare spell books with the description of their spells so we don't have to book surf for interesting questions. They also know that I allow arguments of logic that break game rules for the sake of the story. This has lead to some interesting encounters and happenings, but it's all been in good fun.

I hope this was useful. I have never had a player walk away unhappy about my DMing, but everyone gets upset at the random dead character every now and again...

Paul

 

[Barastrondo]

I'm going to be egregiously noncommittal and suggest that some responsibilities shift from game to game, depending on the players and the intent. A GM whose players thrive on a cold, hard, dice-fall-where-they-may environment where success and failure are measured by survival and death has one set of responsibilities. A GM whose players game after work when there's a 50% chance that any one player is kind of fried but everyone just wants to roll some dice and crack some jokes has a different set. A GM running a one-shot for newbies has to do things differently than he would running a continuity-heavy campaign for old friends.

And this holds true for players, as well. In a hardcore survival-mode game players need to be supportive and clever so they don't get everyone else killed with their mistakes. In a more social-heavy, lighter-hearted game, there's more impetus for players to be entertaining; doing the funny thing that is not a clever tactical move is a good play in such a game. Newbies shouldn't be held to the same bit of standards as long-term players.

I'd say one of the big things is to figure out what you want from a game, what everyone else at the table wants from the game, and then play accordingly. It's sort of like going out to eat, really; pick a restaurant everyone's cool with, dress and act accordingly for the place, and have a good time.