When I run a game, dramatic is far more important than realistic, mainly because I get the dramatic less wrong.
Frankly, the idea that any DM --outside side of a few rare fatbeard polymaths whose names should be venerated in secret rites-- could actually run a realistic game environment is more-or-less absurd. Pure gamer hubris. The sheer amount of knowledge, of practical experience you'd need to, well, sim a world, is... staggering, no?
I can tell you if an action seems genre-appropriate --like Celebirm said in his smart post earlier. Outside of that, all bets are off, unless we're talking about a swim lava. Mostly what I've seen over the years are DM's/GM's conflating expertise in a specific area --firearms, fencing, wilderness survival-- with general 'realism'.
So make mine 'dramatic'... because the idea I could evaluate and enforce anything deserving of the term 'realism' is laughable.
Frankly, the idea that any DM --outside side of a few rare fatbeard polymaths whose names should be venerated in secret rites-- could actually run a realistic game environment is more-or-less absurd. Pure gamer hubris. The sheer amount of knowledge, of practical experience you'd need to, well, sim a world, is... staggering, no?
I can tell you if an action seems genre-appropriate --like Celebirm said in his smart post earlier. Outside of that, all bets are off, unless we're talking about a swim lava. Mostly what I've seen over the years are DM's/GM's conflating expertise in a specific area --firearms, fencing, wilderness survival-- with general 'realism'.
So make mine 'dramatic'... because the idea I could evaluate and enforce anything deserving of the term 'realism' is laughable.
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