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<blockquote data-quote="James Gasik" data-source="post: 8675885" data-attributes="member: 6877472">Of course the DM can change things on the fly, or introduce new plot elements.&nbsp; But you do have to use these tools responsibly, or you lose the player's trust.&nbsp; Once your players realize that you will, at any time, adjust numbers or add things to the game to increase the challenge of your encounters, they will realize their die rolls don't matter, and their decisions won't matter, and they will stop having as much fun.I had to deal with a lot of DM's who didn't care about this in the old days, as, for whatever reason, everyone just assumed that this is what the DM's job was.&nbsp; It was DM vs. those dirty, dirty players, and no tactic was too dirty or underhanded to eke out a victory!But one day I just got tired of it.&nbsp; By refusing to let players challenge them, many DM's got lazy, and their games began to feel oppressive.&nbsp; I started to run my own games differently, allowing the players to win on their own merits.&nbsp; I rolled dice openly, had no problems sharing information about monsters with knowledge checks, and took pains to explain what was going on as much as possible- I stopped looking to take cheap shots or use &quot;gotcha&quot; monsters and traps- it was a harder path to take, and sometimes I just looked at my encounters being dismantled in disgust, but I know the players were having fun, and making the game enjoyable is, I feel, the ultimate expression of the DM's craft.That isn't to say I don't still fudge, but I'm careful about it, and take steps to show that I'm not the enemy of the players.&nbsp; Once, when I was having a hot streak on die rolls, I about murdered a character through no fault of their own.&nbsp; I rolled a natural 20 which would surely have finished them off, glared at the die and openly said &quot;no, that didn't happen&quot; and rerolled it on the spot.&nbsp; The players laughed about it.&nbsp; I'm usually &quot;let the dice fall where they may&quot; but watching them get defeated, not by my encounter, but die rolls, just wasn't satisfying to me.With 5e, there's a lot of talk about &quot;DM empowerment&quot;, as if somehow, the DM never had the power to dictate the rules of the game, or manifest circumstances of their choosing. What people fail to realize isn't that the game changed, to take power away from the DM- it's that the players grew weary of DM's who abused their their power over the game and it's narrative.&nbsp; As a result, players lost faith in the Dungeon Master, and demanded fair play.Don't think it won't happen again.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="James Gasik, post: 8675885, member: 6877472"] Of course the DM can change things on the fly, or introduce new plot elements. But you do have to use these tools responsibly, or you lose the player's trust. Once your players realize that you will, at any time, adjust numbers or add things to the game to increase the challenge of your encounters, they will realize their die rolls don't matter, and their decisions won't matter, and they will stop having as much fun. I had to deal with a lot of DM's who didn't care about this in the old days, as, for whatever reason, everyone just assumed that this is what the DM's job [I]was[/I]. It was DM vs. those dirty, dirty players, and no tactic was too dirty or underhanded to eke out a victory! But one day I just got tired of it. By refusing to let players challenge them, many DM's got lazy, and their games began to feel oppressive. I started to run my own games differently, allowing the players to win on their own merits. I rolled dice openly, had no problems sharing information about monsters with knowledge checks, and took pains to explain what was going on as much as possible- I stopped looking to take cheap shots or use "gotcha" monsters and traps- it was a harder path to take, and sometimes I just looked at my encounters being dismantled in disgust, but I know the players were having fun, and making the game enjoyable is, I feel, the ultimate expression of the DM's craft. That isn't to say I don't still fudge, but I'm careful about it, and take steps to show that I'm not the enemy of the players. Once, when I was having a hot streak on die rolls, I about murdered a character through no fault of their own. I rolled a natural 20 which would surely have finished them off, glared at the die and openly said "no, that didn't happen" and rerolled it on the spot. The players laughed about it. I'm usually "let the dice fall where they may" but watching them get defeated, not by my encounter, but die rolls, just wasn't satisfying to me. With 5e, there's a lot of talk about "DM empowerment", as if somehow, the DM never had the power to dictate the rules of the game, or manifest circumstances of their choosing. What people fail to realize isn't that the game changed, to take power away from the DM- it's that the players grew weary of DM's who abused their their power over the game and it's narrative. As a result, players lost faith in the Dungeon Master, and demanded fair play. Don't think it won't happen again. [/QUOTE]

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