"Dear JB" Mailbag #39

Dear JB:

When discussing rolling stats and how I wanted the characters to use the point buy system suggested on the D&D Next website. Players really didn't like this by some mumbling under their breaths. In fact, one said if he didn't have a character "with at least two 18 stats" he would suicide the character and re-roll. Implying he would do this until he got the stats he wanted. I communicated with the whole group that I wanted everyone to have fun but this type of power gaming is very difficult to run and make encounters fun and challenging but not turn into a total party kill. They still want nothing to do with it.

This whole situation has turned DM'ing off for me. I've been a DM since I was 16 (50 now). DM'd more than actually played. Idk. Guess I'll just play role-playing video games instead of tabletop D&D.

(Edit) I should add that the suicide character situation came about when discussing alternate stat rolling ideas. The group wanted to roll 4d6 reroll the 1 and 2, keep 3 highest dice. They didn't want to be Heroes, they want to be Demi-Gods in my opinion. 

(Edit 2) In person gaming. These are people I've gamed with for years. Just getting tired of the power gaming. Would rather have story telling adventures. 

Power Gamers Ruining D&D For Me

Dear PGRD:

I am so, so sorry. So sorry that you started DMing 34 years ago. If you learned your chops in 1991, you were learning from 2nd edition AD&D and that was one broken-ass game system when it came to explaining what the Dungeons & Dragons game is all about. TSR did you wrong, fella, and unfortunately, you've got some "un-learning" to do.

I mean, clearly you do, because what you're describing here is far from functional play. If you've been playing "in person" with these guys "for years," and they've come to the conclusion that they need high stats in order to have viable characters, these are based on expectations they've learned sitting at your table, and is typical of the schizophrenic nature of 2E that keeps one in the "game side" of the game, while all the while trying to make adventures sound like grand epic narratives (generally with railroad tactics). 

And now you've decided to lean hard into 5E's narrative ascendant bullshit and the players still want to blow shit up, or want to make sure their skill use is effective enough, or their sword-swingers are pumping out enough damage, or WHATEVER the reason is they feel they need great fistfuls of "18s" to play the game you're creating? First off, let's talk YOU:

WHAT DO YOU CARE WHAT THEIR STATS ARE?

Why does it matter? I mean, why does it matter At All?  Since getting back into AD&D, I've seen my son roll not one but TWO characters with "18/00" strength (and one, I believe, had an 18 constitution to boot). Doesn't matter: both DIED before they reached 2nd level. Having "18s" in your abilities doesn't mean jack or shit in D&D land. You can have all the 18s in the world and still get taken down by a passel of kobolds or have the life force drained out of you by a wight or vampire. Minor bumps in effectiveness are no proof against poor or stupid play.

Are you worried that one player is going to "upstage" the other players? Again, ACTION and BEHAVIOR over the long run will count more for whether or not players are respectful or resentful of their peers. And part of the DM's job (sorry to have to tell you) is MEDIATING the SOCIAL DYNAMIC between the players. You point out to the table what one player's character contributes to the party (that's your job, if no one else at the table has the balls/leadership to do so). The big honking fighter with all the muscles can't pick a lock, or heal an injured party member, or fire off a sleep spell. All the characters are designed to have their place in the adventure. And even characters that have duplicate abilities, build in redundancy, extending the resources of the party, allowing for "deeper delves" (i.e. longer sessions) that contribute to EVERY PARTY MEMBER'S SURVIVAL.

No player should resent the guy who has a couple 18s just because they're highest stat is 16 or 17. Their reaction should be: Oh...that's going to be the guy who kicks in the doors, OR that's the guy who does all the negotiations, OR whatever. We are establishing a TEAM here, and each party member is a part of that team, bringing (and utilizing) their specific strengths. 

So what else are you whining about? "They want to be demigods, not heroes." Again: boo-hoo. This is D&D. If you're playing 5E, then players are already closer to demigods than heroes in older editions, but it DOESN"T MATTER because the game has been SCALED to the power level of these powered up characters. If it doesn't scale CORRECTLY (and maybe it doesn't, I'm not a veteran 5E DM, so my experience with that edition is minimal), then again I will say: I'm so sorry. Play AD&D (first edition) instead.

The FIRST priority of a Dungeon Master is to the game they are playing. Regardless of the edition being played. The rules must have integrity. The rules must be respected. Without rules, there is no game, and you are just sitting around a table shooting the breeze. 

Does 5E allow players to roll characters with multiple 18 dice scores? Than one must assume the designers have taken such a potentiality into account with the game's design and it is FINE AND DANDY if such occurs. Who are YOU to gainsay the designers? Just let it go.

The SECOND priority if a Dungeon Master is to the world they are building. Here is where you, as an experienced DM should be focusing the bulk of your attention. It seems to me that you haven't yet grasped this concept, in part (BUT ONLY "IN PART") because of your focus on "telling stories."

The fact of the matter is that you haven't yet learned or grasped an essential part of Dungeon Mastering. Which, given that you have 34 years of experience with the DM's role, might sound like a substantial put down from Yours Truly. DON'T FEEL BAD. 34 years into MY career as a Dungeon Master, I DIDN'T GET IT EITHER. I know this, because I can read my blog posts from 2016 and see it with my own eyes! It's only towards the end of 2017 that I started to get a true inkling of what the hell I was supposed to be doing...and it really didn't crystalize till a year or two after that.

The issues with 2E...and 3E and 4E and 5E and, heck, even 1E!...only serve to confuse the matter for would-be Dungeon Masters. It's not your fault. Hell, it's not the fault of ANY of us who want to be Dungeon Masters yet can't quite grasp it. BECAUSE THE DESIGNERS THEMSELVES HAD A HARD TIME DISTINGUISHING, LET ALONE EXPLAINING, WHAT THE GAME IS AND HOW AND WHY IT FUNCTIONS AS THE GREATEST GAME OF ALL TIME. Instead (and unfortunately) for the most part they were blinded by dollar signs when they found they could sell this "thing" like hotcakes, and they tweaked their designs to MAXIMIZE PROFITS. Every company that has controlled the D&D brand has (eventually) fallen down this rabbit hole. Taking the time and effort to actually train Dungeon Masters just isn't a company priority; raising the corporate bottom line IS.

So, PGRD, since my own book on how to be a Dungeon Master isn't yet ready for publication, you're just going to have to take my word on this (for now): FOCUS ON YOUR WORLD BUILDING. Use the rules; build the world. Remember what the game is about: adventurers seeking fortune and glory in a dangerous world. Give them the dangerous world with the potential fortune and glory. And then let them go in it and see what unfolds. You won't care at all what their stats are.

NOW, you did say this:

"...this type of power gaming is very difficult to run and make encounters fun and challenging but not turn into a total party kill..."

Which I can interpret a couple different ways:

A) "I don't like doing the work required of a Dungeon Master," OR

B) "I can do the work required to challenge the 'power gamer' but the lazy ass players who aren't willing to up their game are all going to get wrecked."

If it's the former, then it may be that you need to take a break from DMing for a while. Maybe you should play in someone else's (5E) game where the DM is willing to be a dancing monkey to facilitate players sitting around doing their posturing/play-acting and engaging in collaborative "story telling." Let some other rube do the heavy lifting that WotC (and the expectations set by scripted live-stream games) places on its Dungeon Masters. Be a player for a while...make your tiefling artificer with "daddy issues" and piddle around for a few sessions. Relax and recupe, man.

However, if it's the latter interpretation, then I'm sorry but you have to stop molly-coddling your players. These are people you've been playing with for YEARS...it's time for them to get their shit together. Make adventures that the power gamer can cake walk (for very little profit), and more challenging/profitable adventures that will benefit your hardcore players and rough-up the "tourists."

That's how D&D works.

Now I know some people claim that they can make D&D work in other ways, and if they can: great. More power to them. Play the way you want if it works. I know my approach works: that's why I keep trying to hype it to people (here and elsewhere).

*sigh*

Run the game the way it's written. Build your world: the world YOU want to create/build. And then invite the players in (players are the THIRD priority, after all). Forget all about the "story telling." That's not why we're here, man. You want to write a story? Fine. Go write it.

Sincerely, 

JB