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Yora I think the idea of bringing social issues into it is interesting. If it's "fantasy AIDS" or something, the issue might not be merely whether one will get cured, but whether one is willing to admit having it. If it's a disease that pertains to conduct that the good clerics are opposed to...

Some good points already. I like the way the series handles magic. For one thing, it's mysterious. While it's pretty clear something supernatural happens sometimes, it's often unclear what or how exactly has happened. For another, it's very much restricted, through bloodlines (with the worgs)...

The default assumptions about worldwide magic and power level do matter. I think very few games are assuming that wizardry is so rare that power brokers are not using it or aware of it. It is possible that rather than protection, retribution is the order of the day. After all, it's entirely...

What if it's a disease that causes sudden death, rather than a gradual accumulation of symptoms? It infects you with out being readily observable. You can't cast Remove Disease if you don't know you have it. Once this started spreading around, you might still see an effort to just cast the...

It reminds me in many ways of Star Trek, which is likewise a patchwork of technological "magic" with equally far-reaching implications. I do think you're fudging on some level, because of course truly playing everything all out is impossible. I think the point is that if you make common-sense...

A valid point. If the NPCs are specifically aware of the PCs' capabilities, an arms races is natural. There's also a general one-upsmanship occurring as everyone tries to get the best powers and shore up their defenses. It only becomes problematic when there's a metagame aspect added, where the...

Another interesting (and oft-ignored) source of advice: It goes on to provide a variety of common-sense advice for dealing with some of the more commonly game-breaking effects. Turns out, they're not really all that game-breaking. Surprise! To a new DM though, it is a very important to just...

While I share that philosophy to an extent, it is difficult to do in most versions of D&D which have alignment-based magical effects. You either have to find a way to work with detecting/smiting evil and the like (which requires you to label everyone with alignments), or just ban that stuff.

In terms of DMing advice, I think GR's Advanced Gamemaster's Manual has the cleanest take on it, and sets up categories of "how far do you want to go". The thing to me is to make that decision clear and abide by it consistently.

True. This being the DMing thread, talking about evil seems more natural. But having NPCs be the good guy just because is equally problematic. Oh, I think we do. On one hand, there's simply a lack of stomach in a lot of cases. I understand not wanting to delve into graphic elements sometimes...

Kinak No doubt. Moderation in all things. I tend to have plenty of opposition forces be people acting in their own legitimate self-interests. Some are of alien mentalities (or are just mindless) and simply don't conform to human notions of morality. Others are pawns of greater evil forces that...

It is indeed a guideline, and not a rule. You definitely don't want to get into sundering/stealing/etc. just to conform to this guideline. If you come upon material wealth, it's yours. If that ends up being a lot, so be it. Sometimes, a DM might more indirectly manage things, say by throwing...

No, indeed you don't. There are plenty of other conflicts. The thing to me is that it's important that whatever evil there is, you don't half-ass it. I hate faux evil.

Another very simple piece of DMing advice from the 3e DMG (among other sources) on NPCs: One of the challenges of DMing is realizing that you are (among other things) the bad guy. In fact, you're a whole bunch of bad guys and girls. One of the perils of DMing is setting the PCs up against some...

No, I'm discussing how they can't. Modeling on the scale of a person's actions is a lot easier than modeling on the scale of a species' history.

The only tone that I think is really conveyed by the relative automaticity of magic is a "magic as technology" vibe that is really specific to D&D. And, somewhat independently of textual subtleties, I think magic is best DMed the same way the social skills are: by treating the rules as a...

I would think that the solution, inasmuch as one is needed, would be to make the second scenario more like the first.

To me, the thing with social skills is to be clear about what they mean. That is, to focus on process, rather than outcome. Establishing Diplomacy, for example, as a measure of how eloquent and persuasive the character is makes it much clearer to adjudicate. It's entirely possible, for example...

A ludicrous and nonsensical one, I imagine. Just like the implications of every other skill, including Survival. I mean, if feeding yourself only takes a DC 10 Survival check, surely the Neanderthals would still be with us? It's fantasy.

Well, dictionary.com gave me this: I think the word pretty clearly pertains to killing things, but describes the search for something to kill rather than the actual act of killing things. When have you ever heard someone say they hunted a deer to death? People kill animals while they are...