Search results

FWIW, I'm not trying to make a value judgement on it. It's just a completely alien concept to me.

There's a distinction there, though, if not multiple ones. A DM changing the rules beforehand and telling everyone (houserules) is not cheating by any definition. The cheating being referred to here is different in that it is: 1. Inconsistent. The rules for Finger of Death are still the same...

Ever since the close of the WotC store, there has been a surprising and noted dearth in the general geographical area. The few comic book stores and such that do gaming I haven't been to in a very long time. I would say that it isn't quite that simple, though. For one thing, the amount of...

Absolutely not. Unquestionably. The concept of an adventure is a stretch, but any specific proper nouns associated with one, definitely not. And that was true even at the old (now defunct) WotC store where I met a lot of the people I didn't personally play with. If that store had any interest...

That's what I thought. Completely different cultures, for whatever reason.

True. To me, the expectations are universally set at what these boards would term as homebrew. I never heard of anyone using a published adventure (other than once as a failed experiment) in my high school community, my college gaming clubs, or even my local WotC store. If some DM showed up and...

To me, it's the equivalent of a singer lip-syncing. The aesthetic qualities of the sound may be good (and very possibly better than what the singer would have generated by performing live), but there's something fundamentally dishonest about presenting content that someone else wrote beforehand...

I would. If someone else wouldn't because they place less value on NPCs lives, I suppose that's fine. A conceivable (if unlikely) scenario. It would take some very powerful PCs. Again, I would put this in the category of "cheating" that is potentially acceptable depending on one's disposition...

Here's one bit I was thinking of: The important idea is that everyone should follow the same rules. Thus, if a human ranger can go out and kill a deer with a Survival check, it would also be reasonable to expect that a Red Dragon could go out and kill a PC with a Survival check. Comparable...

System mastery and some feats being better for adventuring than others, however, are (relatively) realistic, compared to the conceit that everyone is equally capable at combat and the like. Not what I read in the books themselves. Not by a long shot. That's quite a rationalization. Not one that...

I don't use them in any way. Never even read an entire adventure. I try to draw from as many diverse sources of inspiration when preparing a game as I can, and I try to leave as much as I can to improvisation at the table.

I have never bought one. I had one given to me as a gift once (by someone who didn't know anything about D&D and thus bought me something I didn't need), which I'm not counting.

It does. Actually, another paragraph that I didn't quote comes between the two that I did (I do have to type these things manually): This posits a compelling rationale for not "cheating": consistency. If you believe that NPCs and PCs should be treated the same way, DM cheating makes less sense...

One salient piece of advice from the 3e DMGII: I think it's important because so many people on these boards are either very negative about individual DMs, or about the idea of a DM, or both. This piece is an important reminder of two things. First, that DMing is a big job, it carries more...

Gee, I would have said the complete opposite on all of those points. I saw in 3e an attempt to model out of combat capabilities in a much more detailed and naturalistic way than NWPs. I saw arbitrary restrictions lifted (like race/class restrictions, and indeed 3e's multiclassing system is far...

I think there are quite a few particular experiences that would fit into that category. Not that I'm not sure there are games that my style isn't conducive to as well. Pretty much what I thought. An impossible check, however, is well within the mechanics, and is a decision that is very likely...

Can be, or is by default? Big difference. Which is fine, but if we're talking about what the game itself is for, isn't it about treasure hunting? That's fine. Write what you know, as they say. Or worldbuild what you know. If some DM wants to have a more permissive culture, that's fine, and it...

I've done that before and I'm not a huge fan of where it leads. Neither were the players, I might add. I won't come in and force players not to be evil, but I don't particularly like it when they are so I do think that encouraging them not to kill people at random is a worthwhile end. Of...

I know that. I'm not contesting that. What I'm trying to do is draw a distinction between the system and the operator. There may indeed be megalomaniacal DMs, and they may cite text as an excuse, but they'd be wrong to do so. There's plenty of other text in any DMG about not being a douche. The...

Daredevil Softpaws look like a pretty good item for enhancing your combat capacity if you plan on tumbling a lot. Of course, the most cost-efficient item will always be the Cloak of Resistance, which still leaves over half your money to save or spend on nonmagical gear.