Rules translations weren’t the only thing about which I was concerned, however. I still had that tingle for the old times spent peering over the DM Screen at the miniatures and dice spread out over a table in a friend’s basement. Could an online game, particularly one that catered to a massive audience, maintain the DM dynamic?

“This is one of those topics where we put a great deal of thought into it,” responded Cardell. “We came up with point and counterpoint what it takes to be a good DM in an online world. What will a DM be able to do? We all know the answer in a pen and paper setting: Whatever you want. The golden rule of the [Dungeon Master’s Guide] is that you’re the person in charge.”

“Therefore,” he continued, “after talking about that for a good chunk of time, we decided that we’re going to focus first on the base game before determining what things the DM is going to want to change.”