A short story cautioning Dungeon Masters against being so restrictive with their vision that they crush their player's creativity.
By Riley Rath
This blog is NOT an "ultimate guide to ____," nor is it outlining some DM theory, nor is it critiquing Dungeons and Dragons fifth edition rules as written.
Instead, I'm going to tell a quick cautionary tale...
Several years ago, when I was still getting the hang of D&D 5e, I was about to begin my third campaign.
And boy was I EXCITED.
The previous two adventures had been very short, and I had made all the amateur mistakes. I'm talking about classics like:
1. Taking way too long to choose which spell to cast.
2. Insisting I get the lion's share of the loot for "character reasons."
3. Being confused by action economy.
4. Arguing with the DM.
... reeeeeeeeeal amateur stuff.
(Side note: I will forever be grateful to my first DM for tolerating my eager, but annoying, ignorance!)
But this time was different. I had finally grasped that I was one part of a whole, and that I didn't need to be the big hero that could do everything. That I could play a flawed character that grows overtime. I could stop taking myself so seriously, support others, be silly, and just have fun :)
One day, I came up with an absolutely 'genius' play on words: instead of "owlbear"... what about "owl bard"?
That sent me down a creative rabbit hole that led me to... well... dear reader, allow me to introduce you to Fagaceae Quercus (Latin for oak tree); my "owlbear bard" character.
Image does not belong to Awesome Dice
Before you say anything, this character of mine was going to be heavily homebrewed. The idea was that some wizard awakened a small owlbear that was the runt of the litter/pushed out of the nest (not sure how owlbears weed out the weak).
The small owlbear would have grown up in the wizard's tower, witnessing great magical wonders as well as transmutation horrors and evocation devastation. After all, as everyone knows, crazed wizards tend to be neglectful, and rarely live in environments safe for children.
As a result, this small owlbear was scared of darn near everything. If something was even remotely unknown, he would be convinced that the worst possible outcome would happen.
To cope with living in constant danger, Fagaceae comforted himself by playing simple, plucky tunes on a lute and hooting to himself quietly.
In the campaign, Fagaceae Quercus would be an adult, but like so many adults his traumatized upbringing left him with a significant vice: COWARDICE. He was just like the Cowardly Lion in the Wizard of Oz... with just as much crying and less jumping out of windows (that scene always scared my sister).
Image does not belong to Awesome Dice
He compensated by being exceedingly kind and resolving uncomfortable conflict with mirth and music. He was a jolly, feathery monster, playing a tiny lute and singing everything with an owl hoot.
I was so eager to present this character idea to my DM. I had vision, but no knowledge of the game to make it a reality. He, on the other hand, had been playing for well over a decade, knew all the little rules of D&D 5e. I was relying on him to help me make it a reality.
I was shocked when he refused to even entertain the idea.
Keep in mind, it's not like we're doing some ultra-serious campaign of survival through the Underdark or the Gothic horrors of Curse of Strahd. It was a standard, western European, high fantasy-inspired Dungeons and Dragons campaign. The D&D setting equivalent of white bread. And there was nothing about my character that would ruin his vision of the plot or composition of the party.
The DM didn't care. When I asked why, he just said it was "against the rules."
I tried to reason with him. I said I would take a huge reduction to my HP and my speed. I insisted he would be staunchly pacifist, refusing to get close enough to involve himself in combat. Under no circumstances would he fight, having only Bard spells to support, heal, inspire, and entertain others.
It didn't matter: "No, that's a monster, that would be unfair."
I told him about the "hero's journey" I had for this character. How his cowardice would inevitably let down his friends, forcing him to remain in shame or find another way. At some point, still remaining a pacifist, he would need to stay in danger and face his fears.
But my begging and reasoning got me nowhere:
It didn't matter that I was excited...
It didn't matter that I had some research...
It didn't matter that I was flexible...
My creativity didn't fit the DM's preferences or taste. So it was never going to happen.
Looking back, we could've easily just reskinned the owlbear with the Goliath or Firbolg playable races. I could've still rolled stats and filled out a character sheet like any other character. And given that there are now space hippos, clearly it was never THAT big of an ask.
Image does not belong to Awesome Dice
I don't know... maybe he knew that being an owlbear would prevent me from entering any of the towns or cities, or my large size would prevent me from delving into some dungeons with narrow passageways. But that is REALLY giving him the benefit of the doubt, and wasn't what I experienced in the campaign.
The whole experience was really confusing and caused me to kind of resent the DM a bit. I found another character to play, but even that one felt really constricted and noticeably under powered compared to some other characters in the party.
All of that is bad enough, but you wanna know the worst part?
My creative spirit was crushed.
I felt like there was some mysterious, invisible, unwritten code about what a player character could and should be, and I was wrong for stepping out of bounds. There was a "right way" to play D&D... right characters to play... and because I wasn't Vex or Vax from Critical Role, I had to head back to the drawing board.
Granted, it's just a game. And I wasn't so discouraged that I quit the game forever. But I don't think it is a coincidence that I took a 2 year break before making any serious effort to find people to play with again.
And I only got back in when I found a DM who knew not just the rules, but the SPIRIT of the game (thanks Aaron).
I remember reading somewhere that Gary Gygax said players should be allowed to play ANYTHING so long as you can start out weak and gain strength as they level up. I understand that this wouldn't work for some campaign settings and adventures, but as a general rule, I couldn't agree more.
Image does not belong to Awesome Dice
This post wasn't meant to be a bitter rant... and hopefully it has not come across that way. And lord knows DMs sometimes MUST reign players in and bring them down to earth.
But to conclude, my message for Dungeon Master's is this:
You are definitely carrying the biggest creative burden of anyone at the table... no doubt about it. But do not forget that D&D 5e is a creative outlet for your players too... many of whom are allowing themselves to truly think outside the box for the first time in YEARS.
So encourage creativity in your players.
Work with them so creativity can flourish.
Make concessions so everyone has space to be creative.
Always go the extra mile to weave your player's creativity into your fantasy world. Many of them are already taking a vulnerable leap of faith and going outside their comfort zone. So create an environment where they (and everyone else) can safely be creative, and then get out of the way.
Like Saint Gygax said: don't let them be overpowered god-men... but it's fantasy... let their creativity thrive in a way the regular world won't.
Riley Rath
Riley is a freelance copywriter, content writer, and marketer based out of Spokane, WA. He is thankful to have the opportunity to combine his passion for imaginative role-playing to help FLGS, tabletop, board game, and D&D related businesses communicate their distinct value to players everywhere. When not playing or writing about board games or DnD, he is busy hiking, cooking, and gardening... very hobbit-like for a 6'4" dude.
Honestly, I kinda agree with everyone here, and I tried to communicate that in the post. There has to be give and take from both players and DMs when it comes to character creation. All are players… all are meant to have fun.
Personally, I believe the characters players make should impact the world building of the DM as much as the world building of the DM impacts the character creation… but I totally understand if you disagree. Every table is different!
Imo, the REAL solution would be for the DM to have run a session 0 where he explained the nature of the campaign and was there as we all built our characters. And on THIS hill I will die… always have a session 0!!! Saves you so many headaches down the road
Further, nobody “makes” you feel a certain emotion and nobody can crush your creative spirit. You control the perspective you take and the reactions you make to a situation. The way you write about this, it seems you are disempowering yourself with a victim mindset. A situation like that is an opportunity for learning and growth. You can’t control other people, but you can control yourself. Don’t argue with your DM, but do ask them questions so you can move forward in a positive way. .
I would have said “no” to you too, because that’s not the style of game I enjoy. That doesn’t mean you are objectively wrong or that I am objectively right, it just means that I’m not the right DM for you. Play your owlbard at a different table; it’s that easy. And if there are no tables where your owlbard is welcome… well then maybe that’s a learning opportunity for you… or perhaps that will give you push to start your own table.
I don’t agree with what the other comment here says because I think they’re missing the point of Riley’s article.
Riley explained that he was neither an experienced player nor as familiar with the rules as the DM. The DM should have taken the time to make sure that their player understood why they couldn’t play that character. This isn’t about being the main character, this is about a rule being laid down with no explanation, and apparent retaliation after the fact.
Now that may have been all in Riley’s head that he felt underpowered the rest of the time, but that was because his DM made rules without explaining to their players why. Everyone is playing the game, not just the DM and as such, everyone needs to understand the rules that are being made and followed.
Riley had been made to feel that he or his ideas weren’t welcome at the table, and that is on the DM. No one else.
I’m a perma DM. I love DMing, maybe more than I like being a player. I’ve been playing and DMing for a decade now, and I’ve been in and run multiple campaigns that ran from level 1 to level 20.
I can say with complete certainty that I have built a trust with my players that means I can answer any question with “No, but I can’t tell you why” and my players NEVER question it. They know I have a good reason and will work with them to find a solution, because I’ve built that trust by being honest in what my abilities and knowledge are.
If the reasons are that you’re not comfortable or confident with homebrew or that their idea doesn’t work for what you’ve created right now, that’s so easy to explain to your players. You HAVE to explain it though, you can’t just make an arbitrary ruling.
This also doesn’t always just have to do with homebrew, obviously if you’re running a cyberpunk-esque story, a Gandalf type wizard with a pseudodragon familiar would be extremely out of place, so you would need to work with your player to make that roll fit. Perhaps the wise old engine tech, skilled beyond belief with any high tech equipment on the ship? I don’t know, but the DM needs to work with the player to figure that out, not the other way around. The player can’t know everything the DM has planned, so it’s the DMs responsibility to navigate that through character creation.
I’ve told many players that while their idea was great, it didn’t work for the particular campaign I created, and I explained why or explained that I had a good reason they couldn’t know(yet).
There is NEVER a reason for a player to feel demoralised at your table, and regardless of your intent you need to be aware of your players feelings. I’ve been at too many tables where the DM needed to go back to kindergarten to learn how to be nice to their friends.
Part of being a DM is that you have a responsibility to your players to make sure they’re enjoying themselves, and part of that is being able to admit when you’re not sure about something or not confident in your abilities. I promise you, your players won’t think less of you. If they do? Get new players. Those ones suck.
Dungeons and Dragons is a collaborative game, and a lot of DMs make the mistake of thinking they’re a God in their world. I think a better way to think about it isn’t that you’re a deity shaping a world you’ve created, but a deity chronicling the events of the world you created. Once people start seeing DMing like this, they tend to have more fun at their table, and as a consequence, their players do too.
At the end of the day though, while I’m a player at the table just like everyone else, I have a job to do. That job is making sure that every player that sits down at my table has a good time. Feels welcome to explore and play in a very vulnerable space. Role-playing isn’t easy for most people, and they’re often scared when they do it the first time.
I am the caretaker of my world, both in game and out. So at the end of the day I am responsible for everything that happens. Just like the captain of a ship is responsible for what the lowest ranked member of their crew does. No different.
If MY players don’t feel comfortable at MY table because of MY actions, I’m sorry. That’s on me. No one else.
This can be a tough one… As a DM who creates his own worlds, it may very well be that off the wall races or classes would not work well. On some of my worlds there’s racism against elves and
Dwarves. When your DM says you are creating a monster, maybe he is saying that in his world the population will see the character as a monster. This can affect his ability to run stories he has prepared.
Roleplaying is as fun as you make it within what the DM creates. If you are to limited to roleplay, maybe this isn’t the game for you…