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Nah, those parts aren't in contradiction to each other, they are two requirements for the help action that both need to apply. You need to be able to do it alone AND additional help needs to be productive. Note that the second sentence starts with "Moreover", implying that it is an additional...

I think the stronger influence here is from the background that I'm a game designer myself (for RPG video games). As such I probably value game designer decisions much higher than anyone else who is not a game designer. Another background that's relevant is that I've worked on an open source...

No, my position is still the same. The order of priorities is: 1. Rule is clear? Yes -> Use the rule 2. Sage Advice exists? Yes -> Use sage advice 3. Rule not clear and no sage advice? Discuss with your players. 4. Agreement -> Use agreement 5. No agreement -> DM decides

You think he'd go against what he posted on Sage Advice?

Maybe it's a semantics issue - for me a house rule is a rule that is in conflict with an existing rule. A ruling is just deciding how to handle something that's not in any rule. I don't mind the latter. And yes, in D&D it's harder to figure out how something works compared to an easier ruleset...

Yeah, but as I stated before, I'm only interested in playing official campaigns / modules. Indeed, but it's demanded by me.

I've yet to see an issue that cannot be resolved without breaking the rules. I mean I run into these problem as DM myself and resolved them all so far. It intentionally leaves things a bit vague and leaves various decision to the DM because playing is faster and consequently more fun if you...

What rules contradict each other? Got an example?

Of course they are comparable. Why would it be okay to change the rules in one game and not in another game? The only reason D&D 5e isn't for me as a player is that there aren't any other DMs that want to play by the rules.

If I play a game, I want to play the game as intended by the game designer. I want the balance and the challenge exactly how the designer made it. The game is a game designer's beloved child, a lot of thoughts and combined effort went into creating it that a single person never could oversee. I...

Yep, what Nagol said.

Trying to get the players killed IS being a neutral element not siding with either. That's because the monsters do want the players to be killed. If I went easy on the players so they survive I'd side with them, I have to go all out, but without messing with what's given to me (no adding...

That's why I'd like to agree on using whatever Sage Advice decided. Then it's neither my subjective nor the DM's subjective opinion on it but an objective thing everyone can rely on. Of course if the rule is unclear and there's no Sage Advice on it, then there needs to be a ruling by the DM...

What sounds like one?

I think boss monsters are super exciting to fight. I'm always looking forward to my players facing one. Even though you can't retry the fight, I still think so. For me if there's TPK, the adventure is simply over, I do an ending narration and then start with a new adventure path. It might not...

I'm not sure the rules do give the DM that kind of power (except for certain situations where it clearly states that the DM decides what to do). In any case, that's not a game I'd like to play, I want to play a game with fixed and clear rules. Oh, but then your mindset it a bit different than...

I don't like house rules in general, but if a DM announces his house rules ahead of time I immediately know it's not for me and don't apply, so that's definitely better than wasting time and effort only to realize you're not having fun. Optional rules that are in the DMG are not really house...

For my games it's: Roll a new PC at level 3 (assuming other party members already reached level 3); level 1+2 are too squishy for me and seem to be intended more for getting new player introduced into the ruleset, so I allow to skip those I guess gone means no chance of revival? Because I...

I started to follow unwritten rules for good DMing based on discussions in the old WotC forum and later on this forum. Some which I remember right now: - Never hide rolls - Never lie to your players - Reward creative ideas - If you feel some player is not having fun, talk with him - Never make...

You can do that but you won't have me as player. (Aren't there some optional flanking rules somewhere in the official sources that could be used?)