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Message: <blockquote data-quote="James Gasik" data-source="post: 8857468" data-attributes="member: 6877472">I don't know.  I don't believe that building DM controls into the rules is the way to go.  Even if it's part of the game's rules, if the players feel like the DM is abusing their power, they're going to go find another game.  And it's not like there's a shortage of options.I work very hard to let my players understand I'm not "out to get them".  I roll dice openly- no crits behind the screen here.  I give them every last xp and gp they are entitled to, based on the challenges faced (though I don't even use xp anymore preferring to use regular milestone leveling).I don't use "gotcha" monsters or traps; there was always a chance to know what they were dealing with, or to avoid it entirely.  I don't create encounters tailored to exploit a weakness of one character, and I try to design encounters so that everyone can contribute equally.If a player wants to do something thematic and cool, like be a "frost wizard", I'll let them have cold-based versions of spells like fireball, and I won't ever force them on an adventure with cold immune enemies.I use a lot of consumables in treasure, including ones I know will come in handy in future sessions.  This doesn't always work out, but at least I know the players had the right tools at hand for the challenge.Given the vast narrative power over the game a DM has without ever stepping outside of it's guidelines, I've never felt that I wasn't empowered.  If anything, I sometimes felt I had too much power.  To paraphrase Uncle Ben,With great power comes even greater responsibility.As to whether or not there is a DM shortage...no, I don't think there is.  There are certainly far more DM's now than in the AD&D era.  What I do think, however, is the following:*There are far many more distractions now for players and DM's.  Computer games and media are readily available to scratch an itch, and so games have to be a great deal of fun to lure people into playing them over games like League of Legends or Elden Ring.*Older gamers have learned the price of adulting- getting together a group of people to game regularly can seem nigh-impossible with the pressures of work, kids, school, and other obligations.*Face to face gaming has suffered because of this, the "global situation" of the past few years, and the rise of many ways to play online, which are getting better all the time.  My friends have talked me into purchasing TaleSpire for my PC, but I still would rather game in person, and I especially don't want to DM online (it just doesn't feel the same to me).  Which has greatly affected my gaming.*As a corollary to the first point, there's a plethora of gaming content online that looks amazing to players, and if they're going to play D&D, they want that kind of experience.  I can't blame them, but it's unrealistic for a lot of reasons.  But that's the kind of thing some of us have to compete with.*All of these things are daunting experienced DM's- now imagine all that for a newbie who wants to tell the kinds of stories Matt Mercer does.  Having set an impossible goal for themselves, it's no wonder they are easily discouraged.Bottom line, the game can't exist without Dungeonmasters.  If the game is to survive, if you are unwilling to print DM-facing content to help them run various kinds of games because it doesn't sell, then how about putting a playlist of content in the DMG for new DM's to help them?Not Critical Role, or whatever is popular, but actual DM advice- either produced by your staff, or at least vetted by them.  There's a lot of DM advice online right now, but the quality can vary immensely, and what's popular seems to have more to do with entertainment value or the popularity of the content creator, than the content itself.</blockquote>

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