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<blockquote data-quote="Celebrim" data-source="post: 3734327" data-attributes="member: 4937">Certainly.&nbsp; A well-written DMG should be a treasure trove of advice on the art of DMing.&nbsp; Naturally, this is most especially useful to a new DM.Here we come to the crux.&nbsp; As I've said before, we are in a fix, to the extent we are in a fix, mainly because the term 'rules' has been used way too loosely in 3E.&nbsp; Too many 3E players use the word 'rules' just as you are using it here - to mean all of the text in a rulebook.&nbsp; Just because it is in an RPG rulebook, doesn't make it rules.&nbsp; There is not a rule in 3E that characters must face 4 CR equivalent challenges in a day (or if there is, noone, and certainly not WotC has followed it).&nbsp; Rather, new DMs are advised to use this as a starting point.&nbsp; It's a good starting point, and its reasonably good advice so far as it goes, but its just a starting point.But not only are there no rules which prevent a DM from designing encounters which might result in a TPK, there are no concievable set of rules, guidelines, or suggestions which would allow DMs to both challenge players and not (when misapplied) run the risk of a TPK.&nbsp; This isn't a rules problem because changes to the rules can't fix it.&nbsp; Regardless of what system they come up with, its always going to not take into account some aspect of party composition, some feature of the encounter terrain, some 'minor' enhancement with vast consequences, some unantipated synergy of monster abilities, some failure of the DM to impart information the designer assumed players had, some extreme tactical failure of neophyte players, and some encounter of a giving 'rating' will suddenly turn into a TPK and some future 4E DM is going to be showing up at Enworld going, 'What did I do wrong? According to the rules, a party of 3rd level characters should have been able to handle this, but then...'There has never been a perfectly balanced game system in the history of the industry.&nbsp; It's ridiculous to imagine that with the right algorithm we are going to have a perfect system for balancing encounters.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Celebrim, post: 3734327, member: 4937"] Certainly. A well-written DMG should be a treasure trove of advice on the art of DMing. Naturally, this is most especially useful to a new DM. Here we come to the crux. As I've said before, we are in a fix, to the extent we are in a fix, mainly because the term 'rules' has been used way too loosely in 3E. Too many 3E players use the word 'rules' just as you are using it here - to mean all of the text in a rulebook. Just because it is in an RPG rulebook, doesn't make it rules. There is not a rule in 3E that characters must face 4 CR equivalent challenges in a day (or if there is, noone, and certainly not WotC has followed it). Rather, new DMs are advised to use this as a starting point. It's a good starting point, and its reasonably good advice so far as it goes, but its just a starting point. But not only are there no rules which prevent a DM from designing encounters which might result in a TPK, there are no concievable set of rules, guidelines, or suggestions which would allow DMs to both challenge players and not (when misapplied) run the risk of a TPK. This isn't a rules problem because changes to the rules can't fix it. Regardless of what system they come up with, its always going to not take into account some aspect of party composition, some feature of the encounter terrain, some 'minor' enhancement with vast consequences, some unantipated synergy of monster abilities, some failure of the DM to impart information the designer assumed players had, some extreme tactical failure of neophyte players, and some encounter of a giving 'rating' will suddenly turn into a TPK and some future 4E DM is going to be showing up at Enworld going, 'What did I do wrong? According to the rules, a party of 3rd level characters should have been able to handle this, but then...' There has never been a perfectly balanced game system in the history of the industry. It's ridiculous to imagine that with the right algorithm we are going to have a perfect system for balancing encounters. [/QUOTE]

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