tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post8805361627459187613..comments2023-10-14T03:58:59.333-06:00Comments on The Tao of D&D: A Desert IslandAlexis Smolenskhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10539170107563075967noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-6511273621641026502019-05-18T15:25:02.288-06:002019-05-18T15:25:02.288-06:00Brilliant post, Alexis. I have a couple of avid v...Brilliant post, Alexis. I have a couple of avid video-gamers in one of my gaming groups and you've articulated some of the challenges and frustrations I struggle with at times when playing with (and DMing) them. I know they're not doing the things they do to intentionally try and disrupt the game, but it's clear that the world of video games has taught them a very different style of playing. One of the folks in my group recently began trying his hand at DMing, and I see these same characteristics carried over to the way he DMs as well. Zilifanthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02112191677478234721noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-30805880738032142652019-05-16T10:21:59.670-06:002019-05-16T10:21:59.670-06:00: ): )JBhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03263662621289630246noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-11769573385618093402019-05-16T08:02:15.718-06:002019-05-16T08:02:15.718-06:00Then I will amend my statement.
If you can't ...Then I will amend my statement.<br /><br />If you can't try very, very hard to be a desert island, then I don't want to be trapped on you.Alexis Smolenskhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10539170107563075967noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-85113510898069210092019-05-16T07:54:04.444-06:002019-05-16T07:54:04.444-06:00I am having a little difficulty formulating my com...I am having a little difficulty formulating my comment in a coherent fashion, but I'm going to try taking a stab at it anyway:<br /><br />There is, I guess, another "issue" (for lack of a better word) that also arises at the D&D table that doesn't have anything to do with players being natural (or trained) "wreckers" but, again, is due to the fact that they are gaming with a human being (i.e. the DM) rather than a computer or a desert island. A computer or desert island is absolutely, utterly IMPERSONAL...we may rail at it while playing a game ("Oh, you blankety-blank!" or "Damn you, God! Why are you throwing a storm at me along with everything else!") but we know, not-very-deep down, that the challenges being thrown against us are not "personal" in nature...the computer game kills our avatar and there's no need for it to say, "sorry, nothing personal, them's just the rules" because it's a fucking computer, and we don't expect a computer to be doing anything other than running a program.<br /><br />A DM is NOT a computer. He/She may put on a blank face and give every appearance if impartiality, but we know (again, not-very-deep down) that this is a flesh-and-blood human being sitting before us. Not a robot. And we know just how personal and partial and fallible humans can be, as we ourselves ARE humans, too...and we see reflections of ourselves in others. And we can't know for certain that this person isn't going to screw us (or is already, in fact, screwing us) at any given moment, on a whimsy, when SO MUCH OF THE GAME is coming directly out of the DM's head.<br /><br />I'm not talking about the rules; I'm talking about the game play as created and presented in the form of situation/scenario by the DM. <br /><br />Placing trust in another person's authority, in their ability to be not just an impartial arbiter of the rules, but a neutral presenter/facilitator of "game" is a damn tall order. Writing this, I wonder how much of my proclivity to act as DM is due to my lack of trust in others' abilities to "do it right;" I know that *I* will strive to DM in a certain way that I find "correct" but how can I know others will? And when I make mistakes at the table (as we all do at times), how can the players trust it is an "honest" mistake and not just me shafting them or fudging something or otherwise being arbitrary and capricious? How long till they start to question my authority and start to push back against what they see as a "rigged game?" Maybe not the first time, but there's a finite limit that depends on each player's nature.<br /><br />This is an issue that has to be accounted for and cannot simply be "ruled away;" it is always there, inherent in the game because of the manner in which the game is expressed. D&D is played with a human Dungeon Master. Computers are stable and consistent, even with regard to their flaws. Nature is outside of our full understanding and control and we (generally) accept that. A card game or board game has limits and boundaries set by its physical pieces. But human DMs, creating and applying meaning, color, narration right from their imagination? There's always going to be some degree of "push" against that. Regardless of how much (or how little) someone cares about "wanting to be liked."JBhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03263662621289630246noreply@blogger.com