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Message: <blockquote data-quote="hawkeyefan" data-source="post: 6865188" data-attributes="member: 6785785">It is a bit. Every edition has had a rule or caveat of some sort that ultimately, the DM's word is final. It's just that some editions support that concept throughout, and others state it in one section and then don't really reinforce the idea. However, in practice this isn't really common. Show me a DM who exerts absolute control over the game and I'll show you a lonely DM.And no one is saying to take away players' choices or decisions all the time. The players' choices always matter. No one is suggesting to eliminate that from the game. What we are saying is that the DM should have the ability to decide when it is right to do so in order to ensure that the game is as much fun for everyone as possible. Essentially, player agency doesn't matter more than player enjoyment. If you feel you choices don't matter or don't have consequences that you can foresee, then yes, your DM has probably dropped the ball in some way. But if your party gets in over its head, and is facing a TPK situation, and your DM maybe softens things up a bit (whether you know this or not)...do you really feel like he's robbed you of your ability to learn from your mistake? Must your failure be absolute in order for you to see it? I wouldn't expect so. I have no idea what you're referencing when you say you feel marginalized....sorry you feel that way, though.The DM's role does require all of that latitude, I agree. They have to do all that. And yes, of course some DMs are jerks and anise that power. Just as some players are jerks and disruptive to the game in other ways. Let's just assume for the sake of discussion that you have a competent DM running a game for competent players. If the players trust the DM with all those aspects of the game you listed...the storytelling, the NPC management, and the sensory interface...why balk at the idea of the DM being the one to determine a DC for a skill instead of the book giving a specific list of pre-determined DCs for most tasks associated with each skill? Or any of the other minor tasks that DMs tend to determine in 5E rather than relying on codified rules?Seems like a silly concern to worry about such trifles when the whole game hinges on the other much larger aspects of the role.</blockquote>

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