D&D General When do you overrule RAW?

[James Gasik]

Did you play much in the TSR era?

AD&D made me the gamer I am today!

...mostly by me unlearning a lot of things that it taught me.

 

[Reynard]

Not in the rules, no. From an in-character perspective it was a silly and foolhardy action, and I said as much at the time.

Why? The characters know they are demi-gods, power wise.

 

[James Gasik]

Why? The characters know they are demi-gods, power wise.

A couple hundred hit points is no excuse for characters to stop violating common sense....unless it's fun, like a Dwarf launching themselves from a catapult!

 

[Micah Sweet]

AD&D made me the gamer I am today!

...mostly by me unlearning a lot of things that it taught me.

Fair enough. I on the other hand mostly internalized them.

 

[Micah Sweet]

A couple hundred hit points is no excuse for characters to stop violating common sense....unless it's fun, like a Dwarf launching themselves from a catapult!

And then, you accept the consequences of your choices (not saying she didn't, speaking generally). Dwarf-a-pult!

 

[James Gasik]

Fair enough. I on the other hand mostly internalized them.

Don't get me wrong, I don't hate AD&D- I still occasionally get a chance to play to this day, though it's been awhile. I certainly miss the huge sprawling mass of LORE (sweet, sweet lore), and options for both player and DM alike. By the end of it's run, 2e was gonzo as hell, where the sky was the limit and just about anything went in games.

But there were a lot of simply unfun things in the system, and in the way some people played that made me start looking for other ways to do things. The most important of which was to try and treat my players fairly, something a lot of my AD&D DM's seemed to feel was anathema.

"Never give the dirty, dirty player characters a break." -E.G.Gygax, probably.

 

[Reynard]

A couple hundred hit points is no excuse for characters to stop violating common sense....unless it's fun, like a Dwarf launching themselves from a catapult!

If that were true, the 200 hit point character should still take cover when a couple goblins with short bows fire at them. they don't do that, because they know how powerful they are. I think it is silly to ask the players to pretend they are playing a different game than the one they are using. High level 5E D&D characters know they are powerhouses that can shrug off dragon's breath and wrestle giants. That is a good thing. It means they will play the game. if you don't want them doing those things, run a different game where characters remain fragile.

 

[billd91]

There were a small pond and they were "practically gods." High level characters can do crazy stuff in D&D, no particular reason to assume that this specific crazy stuff wouldn't be possible.

Yes, the whole event really was a situation where a high level character did something completely unnecessary simply because being high level and "practically gods" she thought she could. That's why it ended up being so funny. It was an "eff around and find out" situation. And while it was a mistake on Matt's part to not cap the damage at 20 dice, Marisha really did find out. It was (and still is) hysterical.

 

[James Gasik]

And then, you accept the consequences of your choices (not saying she didn't, speaking generally). Dwarf-a-pult!

Naturally, I'm reminded of a sidebar in the original Spelljammer boxed set, "The Adventurer that Fell to Earth", where they discuss the fact that technically, a character could survive a fall from orbit. That didn't mean the DM had to allow it!

Whether or not things like people falling off mountains and dusting themselves off was suitable for the theme of a campaign is something that needs to be decided early on, however. And to what degree everyone is ok with suspending disbelief. Indy's fall from an airplane in Temple of Doom was a lot more kosher to audiences than him surviving an A-bomb blast in an old fridge, for example!

 

[James Gasik]

If that were true, the 200 hit point character should still take cover when a couple goblins with short bows fire at them. they don't do that, because they know how powerful they are. I think it is silly to ask the players to pretend they are playing a different game than the one they are using. High level 5E D&D characters know they are powerhouses that can shrug off dragon's breath and wrestle giants. That is a good thing. It means they will play the game. if you don't want them doing those things, run a different game where characters remain fragile.

Well when Gary described hit points, he said they included various factors that an experienced warrior would use to mitigate damage- so I've always assumed that the 200 hit point character is, in fact, treating goblin arrows as dangerous, but they're so skilled that their efforts to protect themselves don't even require actions.