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Message: <blockquote data-quote="MatthewJHanson" data-source="post: 8151829" data-attributes="member: 13968">I'm going to keep calling the GM a player. It's an asymmetrical game. That's fine, everybody can still be a player even if not all their rolls are the same.I think that the role of a DM is VERY different from a referee in sports.1. In sports there are two opposing teams using predetermined rules. One team will win the other team will lose (or they tie). The ref is there to make sure the winner is determined fairly. This is nothing like D&D. There is only one team (and the DM is on that team). The rules exist only to provide structure for that story, and the only way you win is too have fun.2. When I GM, I am not the sole arbiter of the rules. I can't remember them all, and when I do, I'll ask my players what if they remember (last session it was the rules for shoving). If we're in the middle of play and I overlook a rule and the other players remind me of it, that's great (shouldn't that NPC spellcaster make a concentration check?) If I have to make an ad hoc ruling, I sometimes throw out options and ask the players which one they think makes sense.3. In sports, breaking the rules is a punitive system. If you cheat, you can take a penalty, and that can be part of the games. In high school basket ball, I had a coach say it could be worth committing a foul if it kept the other team from making an easy shot, since the penalty was less severe. The is no penalty for breaking the rules in D&D, other than possibly people being upset with you for breaking the social contract.</blockquote>

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