Menu
News
All News
Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
Pathfinder
Starfinder
Warhammer
2d20 System
Year Zero Engine
Industry News
Reviews
Dragon Reflections
Columns
Weekly Digests
Weekly News Digest
Freebies, Sales & Bundles
RPG Print News
RPG Crowdfunding News
Game Content
ENterplanetary DimENsions
Mythological Figures
Opinion
Worlds of Design
Peregrine's Next
RPG Evolution
Other Columns
From the Freelancing Frontline
Monster ENcyclopedia
WotC/TSR Alumni Look Back
4 Hours w/RSD (Ryan Dancey)
The Road to 3E (Jonathan Tweet)
Greenwood's Realms (Ed Greenwood)
Drawmij's TSR (Jim Ward)
Community
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Resources
Wiki
Pages
Latest activity
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Downloads
Latest reviews
Search resources
EN Publishing
Store
EN5ider
Adventures in ZEITGEIST
Awfully Cheerful Engine
What's OLD is NEW
Judge Dredd & The Worlds Of 2000AD
War of the Burning Sky
Level Up: Advanced 5E
Events & Releases
Upcoming Events
Private Events
Featured Events
Socials!
Twitch
YouTube
Facebook (EN Publishing)
Facebook (EN World)
Twitter
Instagram
TikTok
Podcast
Features
Top 5 RPGs Compiled Charts 2004-Present
Adventure Game Industry Market Research Summary (RPGs) V1.0
Ryan Dancey: Acquiring TSR
Q&A With Gary Gygax
D&D Rules FAQs
TSR, WotC, & Paizo: A Comparative History
D&D Pronunciation Guide
Million Dollar TTRPG Kickstarters
Tabletop RPG Podcast Hall of Fame
Eric Noah's Unofficial D&D 3rd Edition News
D&D in the Mainstream
D&D & RPG History
About Morrus
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
The
VOIDRUNNER'S CODEX
is coming! Explore new worlds, fight oppressive empires, fend off fearsome aliens, and wield deadly psionics with this comprehensive boxed set expansion for 5E and A5E!
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*Dungeons & Dragons
Too many cooks (a DnDN retrospective)
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="Hussar" data-source="post: 6055524" data-attributes="member: 22779"><p>Funny how everything gets taken to an extreme. If we allow players the option of choosing to play a character they actually want to play, they'll automatically break the game and violate genre. Just can't possibly trust those pesky players. <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite8" alt=":D" title="Big grin :D" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":D" /></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Sort of. A referee is in charge of the rules and that is all. The referee cannot, for example, tell a team that they may not use a particular player, just because that player is too good, or too bad. The referee interprets the rules, but never gets to write them. </p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>But, if you truly believe that the DM is a referee, then he is nothing but a living breathing server. After all, that's what a server does, doesn't it? Simply interprets input, nothing more. A referee does not get to do anything more than what a computer program does in an MMO.</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>How can anyone read the 1e DMG and not come to that conclusion? Gygax specifically, numerous times, tells DM's how and when they should screw over their players. Reread the section on listening at doors. Or the section on discovering secret doors. Or a number of other sections as well. It's not like I'm making this up. There are numerous very clear lines on how the game should be played, and it's certainly not a cooperative one.</p><p></p><p>I look at it this way. If you need the rules of the game to give you, the DM, the authority at your table to do whatever it is you want to do at that table, your game has much, much larger issues than any rule book can ever resolve.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Hussar, post: 6055524, member: 22779"] Funny how everything gets taken to an extreme. If we allow players the option of choosing to play a character they actually want to play, they'll automatically break the game and violate genre. Just can't possibly trust those pesky players. :D Sort of. A referee is in charge of the rules and that is all. The referee cannot, for example, tell a team that they may not use a particular player, just because that player is too good, or too bad. The referee interprets the rules, but never gets to write them. But, if you truly believe that the DM is a referee, then he is nothing but a living breathing server. After all, that's what a server does, doesn't it? Simply interprets input, nothing more. A referee does not get to do anything more than what a computer program does in an MMO. How can anyone read the 1e DMG and not come to that conclusion? Gygax specifically, numerous times, tells DM's how and when they should screw over their players. Reread the section on listening at doors. Or the section on discovering secret doors. Or a number of other sections as well. It's not like I'm making this up. There are numerous very clear lines on how the game should be played, and it's certainly not a cooperative one. I look at it this way. If you need the rules of the game to give you, the DM, the authority at your table to do whatever it is you want to do at that table, your game has much, much larger issues than any rule book can ever resolve. [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*Dungeons & Dragons
Too many cooks (a DnDN retrospective)
Top