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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Arkhandus" data-source="post: 4602312" data-attributes="member: 13966">A few things.1) The DM absolutely should not change the rules mid-game unless it is with the group's approval.  Once the game has started, rules changes should only come when needed or approved by the group (like, if you find a particular rule causing serious problems, you may have to change that rule or something during play, but this can cause serious problems with the group if a player's character suffers for it (like banning their prestige class or nerfing it all to heck), so you may need the group's approval.  Otherwise just adjust other aspects of the game to compensate (Frenzied Berserker giving you problems?  Use more wraiths and other I-don't-care-about-your-HP-and-Fortitude monsters, or more mindscrew stuff like mindflayers or telepath psions)).2) The gaming group is not a dicatatorship.  They're all there to have fun, not to be shackled by the script you've written for them or serve you for your own aggrandizement (not accusing you of that, but some DMs certainly see it as a dictatorship for their own fun).  You have to accept some degree of cooperation between you and the players, even if it's only by agreeing to the style of campaign they want to play in (and that includes the degree of houserules; many don't want to play with a lot of houserules).  Otherwise you may find yourself without a gaming group (or without a group bigger than yourself and your one friend).3) As DM, you certainly have the most authority and responsibility, so you can't let the players push your around, but you also have a responsibility to try making the game fun for everyone.  It's a game, and the whole reason that anyone plays is for the sake of fun.Forcing a lot of houserules or a few major houserules down your group's throats is going to eliminate the fun for some people, and they're either going to complain and be uncooperative, or they're going to quit.  The art of compromise doesn't mean giving in to everyone's demands, but you should be able to accept some amount of criticism gracefully and selectively drop whatever houserules are too onerous for the group to accept.4) If you want to run a game with houserules, they should be made apparent to the group from the beginning, and it should be with a group that can abide by those houserules, after you make them totally clear (not just "I'm gonna use some houserules if I DM, alright?"  It has to be "Here are my houserules in detail, do you still want to play?").  If the group you're in right now won't abide by your houserules, then find another group to use those houserules with.Maybe you'll still run a simpler, less-serious game with your first group, but you can always try to find another group to play/DM with, even if only online.  There are free virtual tabletop programs out there if you need an online group for D&D or something.  I use OpenRPG, but there are several others.  My houserules are plainly presented on EN World threads or on my webpage, and I make sure every player knows the web address to check those rules.  I ask if they want to play in my setting with my houserules, or if they'd only play if I ran a different game with Rules-As-Written, like Greyhawk or Rokugan.  If so, then I can just find another group to run my houseruled game with.</blockquote>

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