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Message: <blockquote data-quote="kenada" data-source="post: 8999761" data-attributes="member: 70468">I think we’re talking past each other. I’m referring to “playing the GM”. An example of that might be a very intricately described setup with the intent to invoke the Rustic Hospitality feature of Folk Hero background in 5e in a way that constrains the DM from negating or preventing it from realizing its full benefit.The bit about also manipulating the other players is something separate from that. It doesn’t follow that “playing the GM” necessarily involves manipulating the other players. You can manipulate the GM for the party’s benefit (see above)! What’s being assumed is everyone just wants to experience the story, and some jerk is screwing it up by pursuing an agenda at odds with it.In one sense, I agree with that. If we’re supposed to be observing a trad agenda or neotrad or whatever, everyone should be respecting that. It’s bad when someone plays in a way that disrupts the game, but those ways of playing are almost never categorically bad. However, it’s the disruption that’s bad. That’s as much true whether it’s “doing what my character would do” in a trad game as it is when one expects the GM to provide all the story in a Story Now game.</blockquote>