D&D General The Tyranny of Rarity

[Thomas Shey]

Umbran asked that to. Here was my answer as to why I thought it was relevant:

D&D General - The Tyranny of Rarity

We have races with Warrior aspects (Dwarf, Half Orc) and races with Wizard aspects (Elf) There is no Traditional Old Schoool race with Thief (Goblin, Bugbear, Changeling) or Priest aspects (Aasimar). Again, Lightfoot Halfling has Naturally Stealthy and Wood Elf has Mask of the Wild. Halflings...

www.enworld.org

I guess I'm just slow today, because I'm still not getting it. None of that seems intrinsic to the DM-is-boss mode.

 

[Thomas Shey]

Typically that’s true. However, I have had players bring significant lore they would like to incorporate into a game. Even ideas for entire campaign arcs that would involve one or more of the PCs characters.

Yeah. There's nothing that actually stops a campaign from being a shared creation. It may not be what a GM wants to deal with (and to be clear, it usually isn't what I want to) but I think it needs to be acknowledged that's on them and/or their specific players, not an intrinsic necessity.

 

[Cadence]

I guess I'm just slow today, because I'm still not getting it. None of that seems intrinsic to the DM-is-boss mode.

Would it have worked better if I had just posted the part starting after the bold faced first sentence. (If I'm understanding, you are correct, the heading doesn't fit the rest of the paragraph. The paragraph was the part I was aiming for).

 

[jmartkdr2]

The DM is building an entire world. The player is building an individual PC. Apples to oranges. Actually an apple orchard to a single orange. It's not the same.

Slight disagreement: it's apples to apple orchards. The PCs are supposed to fit into the setting, not be out of place there.

 

[Oofta]

Typically that’s true. However, I have had players bring significant lore they would like to incorporate into a game. Even ideas for entire campaign arcs that would involve one or more of the PCs characters.

Sure. I work with my players all the time to discuss backgrounds, how they see things working with their family or a warlock with their patron. I have no problem with players helping to fill in gaps [edit] including world history/places/etc.[/edit], I just want to make sure it fits with the lore of the world, some of which they may not personally know. I also see a difference between working with me to figure out some details and adding a new race so that the player can play a pubescent tortle monk.

Although now I kind of want to write up that monk for adventurer's league if I ever get to play again.

 

[Minigiant]

I get what you are saying, but I very much disagree with it. This is a player issue, not one of DM or setting. I and my players have been playing for 20+ years. Two of us for 30+. We still have lots of fun playing humans, elves, half-elves, dwarves and halflings(one of us anyway). And we've played 95% of our campaigns in Greyhawk and Forgotten Realms.

You're taking it personal and that's why the point is flying over your head.

It's a player issue and DM issue.
If a person says a movie is bad, it could be that the movie creators made a bad movie or thewatcher doesn't know or see the good parts of it.
If the movie creators copied another movie, the creator will have to do extra to make people who saw the original and other clones interested.

An average DM is plenty fine for enjoying these races and tropes. Some players get bored with them, but they'd be bored with them in pretty much any game. That's their issue and they should find a kitchen sink game(and there are plenty out there) where they can play catmen, turtlemen or a walking chair if that's what they want.

That's what I disagree with. Just because someone is bored of one setting doesn't mean they will be bored with another.

Such a statement comes off with an attitude that a DM can do no wrong.

If the DM isn't explaining the setting during session 0 to people unfamiliar with it, that's a DM failure.

I argee and I think there is a noticeable percentage of DMs not doing it. Otherwise we would not be hearing about so many bad experiences.

 

[JiffyPopTart]

At least that is replacing the A-team theme in my head now...

It takes different strokes to move the world.

 

[Thomas Shey]

Would it have worked better if I had just posted the part starting after the bold faced first sentence. (If I'm understanding, you are correct, the heading doesn't fit the rest of the paragraph. The paragraph was the part I was aiming for).

The problem I'm having is still that "the DM has the final call" isn't an intrinsic necessity, and isn't even required for the latter two. Or put another way, one of these things is not like the others. As I noted before, the only way the first is required for the other two is if you go in with the assumption (which, again, to be clear, can be true but is not a universal the way some people seem to think is) that the players are not able to acknowledge each other's interests and needs in collective decisions. If they are, there's no intrinsic requirement for the DM to have the final call.

 

[Oofta]

...

I argee and I think there is a noticeable percentage of DMs not doing it. Otherwise we would not be hearing about so many bad experiences.

The only place I've heard of "so many bad experiences" is with a half dozen or so posters on this forum. I've never had an issue recruiting or retaining players in my curated world.

You can't please everyone with one way of doing things, it's folly to try.

 

[Minigiant]

The only place I've heard of "so many bad experiences" is with a half dozen or so posters on this forum. I've never had an issue recruiting or retaining players in my curated world.

You can't please everyone with one way of doing things, it's folly to try.

"It doesn't happen to me so to doesn't exist" is not usually a great stance to take.

Like I've sad in other thread, "DMs not having a hard time finding players" is often the cause of the problem.
It shifts power and preferences to DMs heavily. And allows selfish DMs to make games where a selfish player lacks such ease.