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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Sword of Spirit" data-source="post: 6764213" data-attributes="member: 6677017">One thing that I see come up quite a bit online is a disagreement over how much setting control is appropriate for a DM to exercise. Usually it comes down to some people objecting to the idea of a DM setting up strict parameters without being flexible. It usually ends up with opponents of DM strictness essentially expressing that they think such DMs are selfish jerks, and are surprised anyone even wants to play with them. As someone who is such a strict DM, this has continued to bother me because it’s quite contrary to my experiences as a DM or a player. Amazingly enough, my experience has been that players actually enjoy playing in such games. I tried to address some of this in a thread on GMing as Fine Art over in the general RPG section, but it ended up becoming too much a semantic debate for me to continue to have interest in it. So, lets instead look at it this way. How do you feel about playing D&D with a World-Building DM? A DM who builds a world with imagination and passion apart from any character concepts, and then invites you to come into and participate in it within its own parameters (which some might see as strict). Of course, that question alone adds nothing to the discussion, because it just lets people identify which side of the “line” they are on. So let me rephrase it. Would you enjoy playing a character in Westeros, DMed/GMed by George R. R. Martin? A character in Middle-Earth DMed/GMed by J. R. R. Tolkien? Would you ask to play a cat-person or a wookie, or a kender? Would you ask them to redefine who could and could not use magic? Replace those examples with any fantasy world you really like, and think about it. I’m guessing the vast majority of people, if invited to play in such a situation, would gladly fit their character into the parameters. Why not be willing to fit into another DM’s world in the same way?Does your answer depend on whether the world was created with you (or your group) as a player as the intended audience, vs whether the world was already existing or created for a general audience of players beyond your group? My gut tells me that the objections are, at their heart, more about believing the DM just isn’t going to create a very good world (or at least one you will like) than they are power-struggle issues.</blockquote>

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