kid wrote:If you like your character, you're biased. Jeebes it's like asking one of the sides in a soccer game to also officiate the game.
You really can't see the issue with that Duck?
Now... If we're all officiating (same as a game of soccer in the neighborhood), meaning, we're all DMs, then im fine with it.
Otherwise I wouldn't play basketball under the understanding that one of the players is the one that has the single say if something is a foul or not.
And it wouldn't matter if he was in my team or not. I wouldn't enjoy the game.
It's really not that hard to understand.
You really make my point for me. Basketball is a competitive sport where the players are pitted against one another and the performance of one player changes the game of all, and an unfair ruling impacts all participants. D&D is not competitive, and one player's experience doesn't impact another (except of course if we're talking about PvP, which is only by player choice in ALFA). A better comparison would be golf where you're really out there to play against yourself and your own enjoyment of the game. If you cheat on your golf score, who cares, I can still play my round of golf and not be impacted by your cheating. This is why you don't see officials roaming the links, and golf is a self-officiated game (except of course where major professional tournaments are involved, and if ALFA ever starts offering prize money then I'll move into your camp on this issue).
If, for instance, I were to DM and also play Darhthmec, and succumb to whatever temptation there is and for whatever reason help Darhthmec out, it doesn't change your PC John or your chances for adventure. John's story is still John's story. His interaction with Darhthmec is no different that his interaction with Lady Alustriel, two other characters in his realm. Lady Alustriel didn't "earn" all that experience, levels, wealth, power, and influence she has. She is made up entirely on the spot and instantly granted all that. Nothing was "earned". Do you begrudge her power and status as being unearned? Does that ruin your game?
NPC's are no different from other players PC's as far as you and your character is concerned. Both can be part of your character's story, and both have positive or negative impact. In fact, if you're truly playing your PC correctly, you should approach them much in the same fashion. Why do you care what percentage of the other PC is fairly "earned", when absolutely none of the NPC's stuff is ever "earned"? The only question of fairness you should really be concerned with is, "Do the challenges being put in front of me give me a fair chance at adventure?"
Think of it this way: What if the game didn't have all of its flaws, and you couldn't tell an NPC from a PC, and never knew if the voice behind that other character was that of another player or a DM controlling an NPC? Would you care then how "legit" those other characters are? 99% of those characters are DM created fabrications, and 99% of the other 1% are probably entirely legit PC's, and the remaining 0.01% probably doesn't change your game's outcome, yet you are concerned with a policy to try to prevent that 0.01% from ever happening.
Let's try another tact then:
Things that defeat ALFA's policy:
Two players colluding: "Hey, you DM on that server, and I'll DM on this server, then we'll help each other's PC's out". Or "Hey, I'll give you all this wealth if you walk over to this other server and give my PC half" Or "hey, I'll give your PC a whole bunch of stuff, then in 30 days I'll roll up a PC and you give me half"
Doing it by yourself: build something into the module (dialogue branch that would only apply to very specific case) then later switch roll up a PC that fits that specific case
How about simply having two Gamespy ID's and labeling 1 and DM and 1 as player. (maybe separate CD keys and and IP spoofer for good measure). Why stop at 2? In fact go ahead make 6 or 8 and elect yourself DM admin while you're at it.
Truth is you can't really 100% stop all potential exploitation, and this particular rule while well-intentioned is preventing good honest people from offering more content. I would start a campaign on TSM tonight if this rule was changed. Even if people exploit it, it shouldn't change your game.