Quote from: Exploderwizard;625463Otherwise the GM risks becoming like one of those idiots that drive into a river because thier GPS told them to.

Quote from: Kaiu Keiichi;625455Rules sets don't teach people how to gm, they're not supposed to. But GMs who refuse to read and learn rules sets and want to improvise like mad free form gamers are ones who I'm pretty sure suck.

Quote from: Kaiu Keiichi;625455Crappy GMs are a perrenial blight upon this hobby. While players and GMs have the right to tinker, GMs can't hide behind their viking hats. These are games, games have rules, and often I've seen good rules sets trip up craps GMs who never even bothered to read the rules sets they promised to. This happened to me in Traveller, of all places, when an old gm I had wanted to arbitrarily change the charge rules. Another case was in Exalted, when a gm wanted to deny all Solar exalted use of perfect defenses. I walked in both cases, and each game collapsed a few sessions later.

Rules sets don't teach people how to gm, they're not supposed to. But GMs who refuse to read and learn rules sets and want to improvise like mad free form gamers are ones who I'm pretty sure suck. every time I've stuck around for gms who refuse to deal with players and negotiate in a reasonable manner has always turned into a massive clusterfuck of epic proportions where no one has fun and everyone walks away from the table pissed.

Bad gaming starts from a fundamental lack of respect of players and arbitrary demands of authority. This is not a trade vs story game thing. This is s not being a jerk thing.

Quote from: Blackhand;625461I can only guess why.

Quote from: gleichman;625594They've told you why, but they attempted to make it sound like a virtue instead of the failure that it is.

Let me translated the OP and others into what they really are saying.


As GM I have unlimited power. I get to decide every decision made by an NPC, map every bit of the world, place every creature. Only the PCs are off limit to me, and truth to be told- that's only when, where and if I allow it.

I also pick the physics of the world (i.e. the rules being used). But I suck at picking and using rules. They don't do what I want them to. Yes, the rules must be to blame- it can't be I.

I won't learn to better use those rules, I will not improve those rules, I will not attempt to understand the abstractions of the rules, nor will I change to better rules. To do so would be to admit that I suck.

Therefore I'll override the rules whenever I wish, claim that doing so is being a great GM, and praise myself for such weakness while saying people who are doing things right are losers.


I cannot overstate the contempt I have for that mindset.

Quote from: Bill;625599Allthough I am a fan of clearly communicated and consistant houserules, I would share your contempt for gm's that change stuff randomly because they suck.  

Always remember that most bad gm's don't actually know they are bad.

Quote from: Blackhand;625621Nope.  Most of them come here and circle jerk each other, telling them that it's ok not to use the rules because hell, they are the only person they know in real life who has even read the rulebook.

Certainly not their players, because if more of the GM's here had rulebook toting, rule slinging players those players would be GM after throwing the old shitty GM off the boat.

Quote from: Gib;625626Actually, such players are far more likely to stop gaming altogether, because while knowing the rules is important, it is the easiest part of being referee. Willingness to read the rule book and willingness to sit behind the screen are two different things.

Quote from: Blackhand;625628In my experience, they either find or become the DM they respect.

Quote from: Gib;625626Actually, such players are far more likely to stop gaming altogether, because while knowing the rules is important, it is the easiest part of being referee. Willingness to read the rule book and willingness to sit behind the screen are two different things.

Quote from: gleichman;625632Doesn't match my experience. Nearly everyone I know that took the time to learn most of the rules went on to run games, even if only now and then. I think there is a strong link between interest in rules, and in applying them to creations of your own.

Also it's clearly not the easiest part, most of the posters here can't manage it.

Quote from: Gib;625642Furthermore, I am less and less likely assume the significance and meaning of points derived from observing what 'most of the posters here'  can and cannot manage with each passing day.

Quote from: gleichman;625594They've told you why, but they attempted to make it sound like a virtue instead of the failure that it is.

Let me translated the OP and others into what they really are saying.


As GM I have unlimited power. I get to decide every decision made by an NPC, map every bit of the world, place every creature. Only the PCs are off limit to me, and truth to be told- that's only when, where and if I allow it.

I also pick the physics of the world (i.e. the rules being used). But I suck at picking and using rules. They don't do what I want them to. Yes, the rules must be to blame- it can't be I.

I won't learn to better use those rules, I will not improve those rules, I will not attempt to understand the abstractions of the rules, nor will I change to better rules. To do so would be to admit that I suck.

Therefore I'll override the rules whenever I wish, claim that doing so is being a great GM, and praise myself for such weakness while saying people who are doing things right are losers.


I cannot overstate the contempt I have for that mindset.

Quote from: gleichman;625594
As GM I have unlimited power. I get to decide every decision made by an NPC,

Quote from: gleichman;625656I wish this site wasn't so typical of the larger hobby myself, however everything from my observations of other forums to the current best selling games tells me that the members if this hobby are very much the same with rare exceptions.

But that's to be expected of people these days. A numbing sameness...