Following is a description of my Dungeon Mastering philosophy. It’s incomplete, out of order and will evolve over time but I offer it here in the hope it will help potential new players to decide whether my games are right for them.
TL;DR
Generally I’m a fairly permissive D.M. If there is a choice between fun and strict adherence to the rules I’d rather my players are having fun. My games have a high level of player agency. I treat my players as experts on their characters. If some character ability is out of line with my expectations I’ll ask about it but that’s pretty casual. I’m also not overly precious with my monsters. If I spend 5 hours designing an NPC that you kill in 10 minutes I see that as a lesson in NPC design.
I tend to run what I think of as adventure games. So games that are more focused an exploration and combat with a low frequency of politics, intrigue or mystery. However I am challenging myself to get better at adding a bit more intrigue and role playing opportunities to my games. I’m also challenging myself to take a more active role in portraying the gods and patrons of the player characters.
I, Dungeon Master
If there’s one thing I know for certain as a gamer it’s that I’m a D.M. not a writer. The difference may seem subtle but it’s very important. Writers control the actions of their characters in order to tell a story. Dungeon Masters have no control. All a D.M. can do is present a believeable and consistent world for the players to explore.
Social Contract
I wish that it went completely without saying but experience has taught me it does not. I expect players to treat each other respectfully. I keep real world politics, religion and problems out of my games and I expect the players to do so as well. Game time is fun time, let’s keep it that way.
There is a time-honored tradition among parties in which they attempt to figure out what upsets the D.M. in order to avoid it and save the lives of their characters. At the risk of destroying the mystery here’s what annoys this D.M..
Don’t Tell Others How to Play Their Characters
It’s okay to provide asked for advice but plainly telling another player how to play their character will yield one warning. If a second is required you’ll be removed from the game.
Do Not Open a Non-Player Manual during the Game Unless Asked To
I don’t care what the D.M.G., P.H.B. and especially the M.M. say the world is operating according to the situation developing at the table.
Don’t Slow down Combat
Occasional indecision is understandable. Always being the bottleneck means we should have a chat to help you better understand how to play your character.
Character Conflict
To my way of thinking conflict between characters is a natural part of D&D. Most characters are at heart driven by ego much like the Avengers. But character conflict is only a fun part of the story when the Players involved are cool with each other. Since that’s the case I have a few guidelines for character conflict and also character shenanigans.
Everything Above Board
It’s okay to play a klepto thief or pursue a personal goal on the down low but if it has impact on one or more members of the party it must be done at the table in front of the other players.
No Meta-Gaming
I don’t care if the Players all know the thief stole a thing from the party if the thief made their roles the characters do not. Embrace the random plot twists the other characters can introduce.
No Mind Control
No one wants to lose control of their character’s autonomy. It is not fun for anyone. But of course of the players can come to an agreement that’s another thing.
Verisimilitude
I endeavor to give my games the appearance of truth. What that means is that the world and its people react as believably and proportionally as possible to the characters actions. In other words actions have consequences.
No Right Answers
Long experience has taught me that when I plan three solutions to a given problem the players will think of three more and invariably pick one I hadn’t planned for. I therefore don’t plan solutions to the character’s problems. Certainly some must have solutions. If the characters are trapped in a room filling with water I’ve of course planned a way out. But if my players have to decide between tossing the ring of power into Mt. Doom or using it against the enemy that is their choice.
This philosophy is not without drawbacks. Some players are looking for the best possible solution and can feel lost and frustrated when there is no clear path forward. Some also believe that the “best” solution means everyone wins and no one dies. But even the optimal path to Mordor is fraught with peril. Some may die. Some may be scarred. If it was easy the player characters wouldn’t be necessary.
Truth
Any question asked of me in my capacity as Dungeon Master will always be answered honestly. Any question asked of an NPC can only be answered in the capacity of that particular NPC. Some are liars, others cowards and still others may be innocently ignorant despite being well-intentioned. A good policy with NPCs is, “trust but verify.”
Heroes?
Countless stories are told of adventurers awakening long slumbering evils, absconding with the town’s treasury or just taking on a quest beyond their ability. The stories all end the same. The adventurers die or flee and the town is worse off than before.
Adventuring is a known profession in the world but it’s not generally considered a respectable one. If the characters want to be treated like heroes they have to show through their deeds that they are in fact heroes.
Death Is on the Line
Adventuring is the most dangerous profession. The monsters want to win. Hidden treasure is well guarded. Nefarious plans are executed by equally nefearious villians. In short if your character wants to live a long prosperous life then adventuring is not the right path.
Long prosperous lives are led by bakers, wainwrights, coopers and many more. Those folks die in anonymity. Adventuring is for the desperate, the zealous, the restless and those seeking the short path to fame, power and wealth.
Embrace Failure
If the story is going to have excitement or drama or be challenging there must be occasions in which the player characters fail. Failure can take many forms. Perhaps combat begins to go south and it becomes time to flee or an attempt at stealth is discovered. A character may die. The character’s actions may have unintended consequences in the game world.
These are all situations that can make players feel like they’ve lost. But I encourage players to embrace failure because it is part of what makes RPGs unique. A character death, a strategic withdrawMulligans
Sometimes I get things wrong. Sometimes a player get’s something wrong. I don’t love to apply the RetCon or retro-active continuity but sometimes a failure can only be fixed by winding back the clock.
Sometimes winding back the clock is a simple matter that we can gloss over. Perhaps a player mis-understands a spell description and now regrets the choice. In that case I’m happy to hand-waive a do-over. In other cases I may misunderstand a player and have to wind back the clock in order to address my own failure.
As before I do encourage players to embrace failure.
Rules Disputes
From time to time we’re not going to know precisely how something works. I prefer to keep the pace of the game going so I like to apply one of two solutions.
In more complex situations I typically prefer to rule in favor of the players and look up the rule after the game. At the next game I’ll say, “This is what I learned and this is how it will work from now on.” even a failed mission is part of the struggle that makes the story of the characters unique.
Is it fair for the rule to work that way for the monsters? If so we have a new house rule.
Sage Jim 