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Message: <blockquote data-quote="hawkeyefan" data-source="post: 9015596" data-attributes="member: 6785785">This is introductory stuff, and although it talks about the role of the DM, it doesn't say how to achieve those goals. I feel like your quotes, and especially your bolding, cherry picks comments, removing them from the larger context in which they are presented, in order to achieve the interpretation you want. It also mentions that the DM is meant to "create a campaign world that revolves around their (the players) actions and decisions, and to keep your players coming back for more." I mean, we can just as easily interpret the DM as having failed if he does not keep his players coming back for more. So if a DM says "no elves in this game" and a player says "well I want to play an elf, and if I can't then I'm not going to play" then that DM has failed at the job as described. This is all advice on creating a setting. The offer a list of core assumptions that are kind of the default expectation, but they say that you can change those assumptions if you like. This is about disclosing ground rules with players at the start of a new game. This isn't really about authority at all. I don't really consider deciding to use optional rules or not to be indicative of absolute power. Again, nothing here is about granting absolute authority. The section starts off with "Rules enable you and your players to have fun at the table." It's explaining what rules are for. It then makes it clear that if a rule is problematic in some way, or isn't fun for your group, you can change it. This section is so wishy-washy that it basically says nothing. Again, though, the part you've cherry-picked removes the larger context of that passage. Here is the rest: "They're tools to help keep the action moving. At any time, you can decide that a player's action is automatically successful. You can also grant the player advantage on any ability check, reducing the chance of a bad die roll foiling the character's plans. By the same token, a bad plan or unfortunate circumstances can transform the easiest task into an impossibility, or at least pose disadvantage." To me, this section is more about considering the fiction and what's been established when deciding how to handle a roll of the dice. It's not about establishing the DM's absolute authority. Yeah, this is the section called the Dungeon Master's Workshop. It's about creating new monsters or alternate rules and so on. I don't think anyone would argue that a DM can introduce new rules and so on. But that's different than the absolute authority you're invoking with your take on Rule Zero. This is advice to be deliberate and consider the outcomes before making a rule change. And when you combine it with the following stuff from page 34I'd say that the DM is bound to consider the players' desires whenever exercising their authority. Just as these passages talk about the rules and the dice serving the DM, the DM is meant to serve the group. So again, I think you're taking specific sentences, ignoring the larger context of the paragraphs in which they appear, and then interpreting them to deliver the conclusion you want. I wouldn't argue that the DM in 5e is given significant authority... but very clearly, when the entirety of the text is taken into consideration, that authority is meant to serve the group. The fact that in the above passage you choose to bold anything about the DM's tastes or preferences, even though they are presented right along with mentions of the players' tastes and preferences, displays how biased your reading is. The entire book, especially the parts I've cited above, which you either left out, or else chose to ignore.</blockquote>

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