this post was submitted on 06 Nov 2023
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You know, there's something I can't really grok in the TTRPG community, and it's the desire for a, how do I put it, "Paint by numbers" sort of adventure. A game where everything goes right, at the exact time its supposed to, with the players only ever making an impact via backstory. No desperate struggle, no clever ideas or unexpected turns, never using the sword of doom to punch through the dread citadel's walls, only using it for its +3 bonus to strike enemies. I just don't see the appeal, because to me, that's just what video games are!
" A game where everything goes right, at the exact time its supposed to, with the players only ever making an impact via backstory"
You never DMed a game before have you ?
I have, and I do. Its why i find the desire for that kind of game so alien
The DM expecting a game to go exactly as planned is a new DM. Nobody with experience on this side of the DM curtains actually expects this. As for the players, it only makes their surprise more tasteful.
Dont know what game you played where everyone expected things to go according to plan, but plans never survive long for anyone, DM or players
I didnt, I'm referring to the attitude you see in posts like this. Like, in the OP, the fictional GM is picking up the ball and going home because the fictional player is doing something zany. And in the other comments, just take a look at em. There's a pretty clear air of disdain for that kind of behavior, like its bad manners to do things "clever" in an RPG.
Without the chaos of player agency, you've pretty much just got low quality fiction without any sort of deviation from the course. And I dont know about you, but I dont think thats particularly compelling, dramatic, or memorable. Antics can be messy, but thats kind of the point.
Eh, but maybe its because I dont play with PUGs anymore. It's been years since ive played with anyone I could consider a problem player, so maybe ive just lost perspective.
Heh. A lot of problems also come from the DM not saying no enough. Too much is like not enough. Not saying no every is bad. Saying no too much is bad. Balance like in everything is how you get a great game.
Nah, I haven't checked the comments, and following what you said I won't.
I see it as the DM realising the items he gave the players are too OP and deciding to remove them. A bit clunky, but reasonable depending on the item, imo.
I would've thought from your previous rant, that you'd be against players having too many OP items, as that can easily lead to the situation you described where everyone always succeeds and there's no "desperate struggle", as you put it.
Novice GMs are bad at improvisation and don't know to prep effectively, hence the railroady nature of the games they run. If you have a GM like that, buy a copy of "The lazy DM" by Mike O'Shea for them.
This is why I run Paranoia. There's no danger of anything going according plan in that game. Things will go wrong and they will go wrong catastrophically.
I mean, it is nice some times to have a linear plot. But it is also nice to have player's creativity give you ideas on what to do. Or shit being on fire, that's what dice are for.