What is the #1 most important thing to remember about DMing?

[Oryan77]

Heh, gamers sure hate it when they are told someone else knows more than them. Whether it's true or not, that minor statement will turn into a 20 page argument in an attempt to prove who is actually smarter.

I'm willing to assume a guy that works as a game designer knows more about game designing than I do. So I do think twice before I go changing a rule. Anyone care to argue with me over who is dumber? Or is it safe to say that I'm the dumbest?

 

[ExploderWizard]

Heh, gamers sure hate it when they are told someone else knows more than them. Whether it's true or not, that minor statement will turn into a 20 page argument in an attempt to prove who is actually smarter.

I'm willing to assume a guy that works as a game designer knows more about game designing than I do. So I do think twice before I go changing a rule. Anyone care to argue with me over who is dumber? Or is it safe to say that I'm the dumbest?

I'm not willing to assume that someone who has never played at our table knows more about what we find to be fun than we do.

Smarter in the strictly IQ sense has nothing to do with it.

 

[Patryn of Elvenshae]

Also, within the context of the contested quote, the poster said the following: "any rule change should have a valid reason other than "I don't think X should work that way" or "I don't like how Y is described"."

[...]

If it enhances the enjoyment of the game for everyone at the table, however, why is it something that should be avoided?

Sounds to me like you've found a better reason than "I don't think X should work that way" or "I don't like how Y is described."

 

[Rel]

I'm willing to assume a guy that works as a game designer knows more about game designing than I do.

I've met too many [-]Spaniards[/-] game designers.

 

[ExploderWizard]

I've met too many [-]Spaniards[/-] game designers.

LOL!!! I was thinking that. Somebody cover XP for me please

 

[Patryn of Elvenshae]

EDIT: Weird double post.

 

[Oryan77]

I'm not willing to assume that someone who has never played at our table knows more about what we find to be fun than we do.

That's not what wayne62682 nor myself was implying.

Smarter in the strictly IQ sense has nothing to do with it.

I'm pretty sure that wayne62682 was not referring to simply our IQ. I'm assuming he was referring to a game designers knowledge about game designing, not general intelligence. His statement was not worded all that well (I hope anyway).

Everyone knows that I'm smarter than any game designer. I have a 12th grade education after all. How many people can say they spent 12 years in school? I'm practically the smartest man alive.

But when it comes to game design, I'll assume that they know more than I do about it and I won't pretend that I know better. I prefer to put trust in a professional before I trust myself. I hope that if he's a working professional, then he's got a little more experience than I do. It doesn't mean I won't look at his work and change something if I think I have a good idea. But at least I'll give it some thought first before I just go changing things willy-nilly.

A lot of people pull house-rules out of their butt and create one mess of a game. Give it some thought first, maybe the game designer actually knows what he's doing. That's what I think wayne62682 is referring to.

 

[Raven Crowking]

But when it comes to game design, I'll assume that they know more than I do about it and I won't pretend that I know better. I prefer to put trust in a professional before I trust myself. I hope that if he's a working professional, then he's got a little more experience than I do.

If that works for you, great.

It doesn't mean I won't look at his work and change something if I think I have a good idea.

But, if your "good idea" is at odds with the profession who knows more than you, how do you know it is a good idea?

But at least I'll give it some thought first before I just go changing things willy-nilly.

Well, no one (that I have ever heard of!) recommends changing things willy-nilly.



RC

 

[ExploderWizard]

Well, no one (that I have ever heard of!) recommends changing things willy-nilly.
RC

While not recommending it as a general policy, I have at times, changed things willy-nilly. If it didn't work out then it was changed back.

Its a game houserule so its not exactly the mighty Mississipi. 'I'm on the East bank, I'm on the West bank.'

 

[Oryan77]

But, if your "good idea" is at odds with the profession who knows more than you, how do you know it is a good idea?

That's a tough question. So another words; if an irresistible good idea hits an immovable bad idea, does it make a sound in the forest?

I guess I start out with a set of algorithms. I twitter these to whoever is following me and I compile any responses I get back. I then post those results to my Facebook page and wait until a blogger rants about them on his website. Sooner or later, a ninja links to the blog and forwards it to a his clan deep in the forests of Ming Shi Yiaoh. Along the way, a Neckbeard picks up the transmission and accidentally posts the secret code while he is edition warring on the WotC forums. The game designer trolling the forums sees that code, and writes out his agreement or disagreement on a note that he attaches to a carrier pigeon that he releases out the window. The pigeon finds the nearest pay phone booth, looks up my phone number, and calls me. It chirps the response to me in Morse Code which I then transcribe on my computer using sophisticated software.

The rest is pretty self-explanatory, really.

Well, no one (that I have ever heard of!) recommends changing things willy-nilly.

Really? That's surprising. I've seen DMs do it all the time. Their reasoning is usually something like, "I don't like the way the books do it." Or often it's, "I'm doing it like they did in *previous version of D&D*."

Then the game begins and all hell breaks out. A lot of times it ends with either the DM or a player going online asking for help to fix their broken game.