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What DM flaw has caused you to actually leave a game?
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<blockquote data-quote="Aldarc" data-source="post: 7497072" data-attributes="member: 5142"><p>I would say that one of the biggest flaws is the "GM as Author." Often there is an almost literal sense to this as these are the sort of GMs you can tell envision this campaign as the novel they are writing and players are just along for the ride. And this results in a number of commonly raised red flags mentioned already. </p><p></p><p>It's the GM who wants to railroad you along their story. You have no agency or even the illusion of agency. (And then they get upset when you try deviating from that.) </p><p></p><p>It's the GM who treats the players as vacationing sightseers meant to marvel at their homebrewed world. (And then get upset when you don't or won't.) </p><p></p><p>It's the GM who wants to show off their "pet" NPCs or cultures. (And then get upset when you don't or won't.) </p><p></p><p>It's the GM who tells you exactly how your character should be played. (And then get upset when you deviate from that.) </p><p></p><p>And as you play, you notice how the GM shifts their role from Author to Authoritarian. The world and the players exist to aggrandize the GM and their brilliance. </p><p></p><p>Thankfully, I did not have to leave these games. They died on their own. But this was a common thread in GMs (and their games) that I disliked as well as GMs (and their games) that my friends disliked.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Aldarc, post: 7497072, member: 5142"] I would say that one of the biggest flaws is the "GM as Author." Often there is an almost literal sense to this as these are the sort of GMs you can tell envision this campaign as the novel they are writing and players are just along for the ride. And this results in a number of commonly raised red flags mentioned already. It's the GM who wants to railroad you along their story. You have no agency or even the illusion of agency. (And then they get upset when you try deviating from that.) It's the GM who treats the players as vacationing sightseers meant to marvel at their homebrewed world. (And then get upset when you don't or won't.) It's the GM who wants to show off their "pet" NPCs or cultures. (And then get upset when you don't or won't.) It's the GM who tells you exactly how your character should be played. (And then get upset when you deviate from that.) And as you play, you notice how the GM shifts their role from Author to Authoritarian. The world and the players exist to aggrandize the GM and their brilliance. Thankfully, I did not have to leave these games. They died on their own. But this was a common thread in GMs (and their games) that I disliked as well as GMs (and their games) that my friends disliked. [/QUOTE]
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What DM flaw has caused you to actually leave a game?
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