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<blockquote data-quote="Dannager" data-source="post: 5824131" data-attributes="member: 73683">Me, and nearly every decent DM I've ever met.Sure you do. You derive fun from the players having fun.&nbsp;No, they don't.D&amp;D is not a traditional game, and lacks some of the elements associated with traditional games.No. There is no set win condition for the game of D&amp;D. As long as you are playing the game and having fun, you're winning. In fact, because the DM himself is both omnipotent controller and invested in the party's victory, &quot;losing&quot; the game often isn't a very real threat (despite, perhaps, the DM giving the players an impression to the contrary).Individual challenges can have win or lose conditions, but the game as a whole eschews those traditional trappings.&nbsp;I agree, but the players are in much less of a position to ensure the enjoyment of everyone at the table. The DM has a unique responsibility in this respect, because of his increased role in maintaining the environment and game world.&nbsp;&nbsp;It doesn't need to, but on the whole it improves the game experience for the players when it does.Yes, random encounters can create potentially exciting scenarios. But so can planning ahead, and planning ahead will more consistently create exciting scenarios than rolling on a chart will.Random encounter charts (and their associated tools) are encounter-creating shortcuts for DMs caught off-guard. An ideal play experience will make as little use of them as possible, and ideally the players will never know otherwise.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Dannager, post: 5824131, member: 73683"] Me, and nearly every decent DM I've ever met. Sure you do. You derive fun from the players having fun. No, they don't. D&D is not a traditional game, and lacks some of the elements associated with traditional games. No. There is no set win condition for the game of D&D. As long as you are playing the game and having fun, you're winning. In fact, because the DM himself is both omnipotent controller [I][B]and[/B][/I] invested in the party's victory, "losing" the game often isn't a very real threat (despite, perhaps, the DM giving the players an impression to the contrary). Individual challenges can have win or lose conditions, but the game as a whole eschews those traditional trappings. I agree, but the players are in [B][I]much[/I][/B] less of a position to ensure the enjoyment of everyone at the table. The DM has a unique responsibility in this respect, because of his increased role in maintaining the environment and game world. It doesn't need to, but on the whole it improves the game experience for the players when it does. Yes, random encounters can create potentially exciting scenarios. But so can planning ahead, and planning ahead will more consistently create exciting scenarios than rolling on a chart will. Random encounter charts (and their associated tools) are encounter-creating shortcuts for DMs caught off-guard. An ideal play experience will make as little use of them as possible, and ideally the players will never know otherwise. [/QUOTE]

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