Here's a quick baker's dozen:
- Occasionally fudging die rolls, and reserving the right to roll behind a screen while requiring players to roll openly
- Employing prominent NPCs/GMPCs
- Disallowing (or even placing restrictions of any kind on) full casters
- Enforcing alignment in clear and definitive fashion
- Imposing an objective morality on paladins, such as disallowing prevarication for selfish gain, torture, baby- (including baby monster) killing and casual sex as inherently evil and/or chaotic
- Not providing the "required"/desired magical paraphernalia on schedule
- Believing the DM's role is benevolent autocrat rather than either gleeful tyrant or impotent fantasy tour guide
- Refusal to permit evil (or even chaotic neutral) PCs
- Disallowing classes that violate the campaign's established and specific tone
- Laying the smack down, hard, on abusive meta-gaming
- Requiring immersive role-play rather than simple recitation of mechanics
- Taking control of PCs who refuse to role-play honestly when charmed, dominated, etc.
- Retaining control over magical weapons, cohorts, mounts, animal companions, eidolons, etc.
I have committed at least ten of these at one point or another during my nefarious DMing career, and still unswervingly swear by at least eight or nine of them.
Which of these do you espouse? Which are at least comprehensible to you, even if they're not quite your style? Which do you find abhorrent? Which of you think I should be found, shorn, tarred, feathered and run out of town? (Note that last may have nothing to do with this thread, but feel free to make your feelings known.)
