Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="Amphytrion" data-source="post: 9747624" data-attributes="member: 7046181">Then we simply disagree. I think (and this perspective predates my GM-ing days) that the power asymmetry between GMs and players is built into the game.The GM does yield what one could feasibly call absolute power, and that power can only be curtailed by self-imposed temperance and good judgment. Should the GM want, he could take away all the powers of the all PCs via some magical curse, or have a Tarrasque burst through the floor and eat them, or have a portal to the Abyss swallow them, or have the Death Star blow up the planet they are currently on, or have a particular NPC appear and best them, etc. All of that would be horrible GM-ing, obviously, because the GM's role is to foster story, narrative and adventure, not to best the PCs on some equally-matched game. When I play, I accept that I am trusting the GM to yield his unlimited powers responsibly in the interest of the shared narrative and fun adventuring. When I GM, I expect players to offer me that trust as well. I struggle to imagine a game in which this isn’t the starting point. This also isn’t too different from the trust a collaborator would place on another in other creative activities.</blockquote>