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<blockquote data-quote="clearstream" data-source="post: 8287080" data-attributes="member: 71699">For me, what [USER=7025508]@Crimson Longinus[/USER] is drawing attention to is the possibility that all modes contain imperatives. I read Gygax calling attention to an imperative for skillful DMing to offer surpassing challenge.Running Tomb of Annihilation the other day, the characters were faced with numerous skeletons. Seeing as these must be of unwilling Omuan dead who were victimised by Acererak, I decided they had no free will - effectively automatons - and the players made good use of spirit guardians on that basis. Although I was attempting to present the scene neutrally, without any curated story imperative, I think I influenced it greatly in my choices. I have made choices about the rest rules that make attrition a larger factor in my campaign, so I wasn't too concerned that an easier or harder fight with the skeletons would diminish the overall lethality of the Tomb. Still, I could have well decided that these were warrior skeletons (and maybe should have, given other context) and had them fight shrewdly... increasing greatly the chance of a character death at that point.I felt free from imperative, but perhaps I can never really - as a human - accomplish that? More importantly, if Gygax was an authority on &quot;skilled play&quot; his words present DMing imperatives.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="clearstream, post: 8287080, member: 71699"] For me, what [USER=7025508]@Crimson Longinus[/USER] is drawing attention to is the possibility that all modes contain imperatives. I read Gygax calling attention to an imperative for skillful DMing to offer surpassing challenge. Running Tomb of Annihilation the other day, the characters were faced with numerous skeletons. Seeing as these must be of unwilling Omuan dead who were victimised by Acererak, I decided they had no free will - effectively automatons - and the players made good use of [I]spirit guardians [/I]on that basis. Although I was attempting to present the scene neutrally, without any curated story imperative, I think I influenced it greatly in my choices. I have made choices about the rest rules that make attrition a larger factor in my campaign, so I wasn't too concerned that an easier or harder fight with the skeletons would diminish the overall lethality of the Tomb. Still, I could have well decided that these were warrior skeletons (and maybe should have, given other context) and had them fight shrewdly... increasing greatly the chance of a character death at that point. I felt free from imperative, but perhaps I can never really - as a human - accomplish that? More importantly, if Gygax was an authority on "skilled play" his words present DMing imperatives. [/QUOTE]

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