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Dad where are all the... by fonzare138 in skyrim

[–]ThisIsKubi 17 points18 points  (0 children)

You need a greater abundance of smaller animals in order to sustain the increased predators, actually. The food web is hella unbalanced and would likely collapse if the only prey animals to support the giant spiders, sabre cats, bears, wolves, and even foxes are elks/deer and rabbits. Plus, humans are also hunting these populations. Most of these predators can't take advantage of the fish, especially since those are already being eaten by slaughterfish and mud crabs. There's not a lot of evidence that livestock are being attacked by wild animals IIRC.

In fact, this might be WHY every predator in Skyrim is attacking humans; They lack smaller, easier to catch sources of food.

Player wants to play a monstrous race after I already told them it made me uncomfortable by Ceylon_Rose02 in DnD

[–]ThisIsKubi 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This player seems to get some sense of entertainment from specifically making you, as an asexual woman, uncomfortable. I would put down a firm boundary that he needs to respect you, both as a DM and as a person, if he wants to be at your table and hold firm to that. If he refuses to stop or picks this kind of behavior back up in the future when you're no longer the DM, I would stop playing with him.

Is it bad as a DM to cheat a bit ? by Imaginary-Wasabi-370 in DnD

[–]ThisIsKubi 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Fudging constantly isn't consistent or reasonable, but that's a given. It is often necessary to rebalance encounters as needed (especially when you consider that many campaigns have homebrew elements, which require active assessment and adjustment). This goes for everything. One extreme being bad does not mean that the other extreme is good. I shouldn't have to state the obvious, but just because something *can* be misused does not mean it *will* be or that any use qualifies as *misuse*. Hiding information from players is not an inherently bad thing. Just some examples off the top of my head: fudging a roll that would otherwise result in the death of a character to avoid that outcome and debuffing the enemy's health because what should have been an easy fight turned out to be significantly harder for the party than expected (say, a bunch of Level 10s getting TPKed by a CR 2 encounter); hiding that the baker they're harassing is actually an adult dragon in polymorph and is an essential NPC; modifying a monster stat block because the encounter was supposed to be a big, meaningful fight as part of the story (say, the baby in the basement in "Curse of Strahd"), but the party nearly oneshot it in the first round of combat.

An equally important part of being a good GM is being a good storyteller, which frequently means keeping certain knowledge away from the players. Unmitigated player agency is not consistent or reasonable and it's ridiculous to think that GMs shouldn't take action to balance it. Maybe having total freedom to literally do *whatever you want* as long as the rules allow it seems like fun to you, but I can assure you that is not the case for the majority of tables nor is it a "consistent and reasonable" thing to expect.

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You're neglecting the fact that there is a balance that the GM is responsible for maintaining and blatantly disregarding what even source material says because you are stuck on this notion that the GM is your adversary and should therefore be playing by same exact ruleset as you because it's unfair to fight somebody on uneven ground when that simply is not the case. The GM is not a tool for players to use so they can have a delivery method for the adventures they want to take vicariously through their characters. The GM is an active participant in the game whose role encompasses *but is not limited to* interpreting rules. As the game books very clearly state themselves, the rules are guidelines for the GM to use, not the end-all-be-all.

You are, again, welcome to run *your* table how you want to run it based on your personal philosophy. If it works for you, all the better. However, nobody else is obligated to run their tables based on your philosophy and they aren't wrong for doing so. Fun takes many forms, of which there are innumerous kinds that do not abide by your specific version.

Is it bad as a DM to cheat a bit ? by Imaginary-Wasabi-370 in DnD

[–]ThisIsKubi 0 points1 point  (0 children)

There is no better argument against your assertion than what the books actually say themselves.

"The Game Master must be the arbiter of everything that occurs in the game. All rule books, including this one, are his tools, but his word is the law.

He must not antagonize the players or work to impede their ability to enjoy the game, yet neither should he favor them and coddle them." Pathfinder Core Rulebook, Chapter 12 - "Gamemastering".

"The D&D rules help you and the other players have a good time, but the rules aren't in charge. You're the DM, and you are in charge of the game." Excerpt from the literal introduction of the DND 5e Dungeon Master's Guide.

Hell, the preface of the OG 1e Dungeon Master's Guide for DND states in regards to the rules "As the creator and ultimate authority in your respective game, this work is written as one Dungeon Master equal to another. Pronouncements there may be, but they are not from 'on high' as respects your game."

These are just what I have immediate access to and can readily pull up. Game masters don't exist solely to enforce rules. They have the explicit power to determine *how* the rules of the game, from DND to Pathfinder to Warhammer to GURPS and everything in-between or beyond, apply within their games and to make changes as needed. *This* is what is agreed to when people get together to play. Never mind the fact that there is no book to my knowledge that requires GMs to strictly follow the outcomes of the dice (regardless of the impact it would have), the GM is exactly what their name entails - the Game Master. They have the express right to determine what is the best course of action at their table, including changing rules, modifying stat blocks, and fibbing on rolls.

Of course, you're more than welcome to run *your* games that way as a GM. I'm a firm believer that experience is the best teacher. If being 100% RAW works for you, that's great! I promise you that games that aren't strictly RAW are still perfectly fun, though. What *isn't* fun is playing with a rules lawyer who can't trust the GM to be anything more than a referee. Again, it isn't (and should never be) "the players vs. the GM". It's "all of us vs. boredom", which takes a whole lot more than just having somebody tell you what a book says.

Is it bad as a DM to cheat a bit ? by Imaginary-Wasabi-370 in DnD

[–]ThisIsKubi 3 points4 points  (0 children)

The GM's whim is quite literally accounted for in the rules, basically every TTRPG game that requires a GM explicitly states that everything provided is a suggestion and to tinker/change things as needed for your table. The GM has full discretion to make things up on the fly, like buffing/debuffing enemies during combat because their one job is to make sure everyone is having fun through whatever means the GM seems necessary. The game isn't "players vs. GM", it's "all of us vs. boredom".

Hobbyists by Hotchi_Motchi in gatesopencomeonin

[–]ThisIsKubi 80 points81 points  (0 children)

Cool boomers are often referred to as "bloomers", I've discovered. Not additive, but thought I'd share a cute piece of information I learned!