D&D General Alternate thought - rule of cool is bad for gaming

[payn]

What's nice about the Rule of Cool to me is that it doesn't matter a gosh-darned thing what any of you or anyone else thinks of it. Not even WotC. I can do things however the heck I want... can rule my games however I think would make the game most fun... and if a bunch of you would throw up down your shirts by what I was allowing... too bad! This is one of those things where it's not even worth arguing about because there is literally nothing anyone can do to see things change at other tables.

Well, to be fair, its not about how each individual applies rule of cool, its a philosophy of game running/playing. Sometimes examples are used to demonstrate why folks felt the need to invoke the rule, but rarely do folks state specific examples and argue over those.

 

[Micah Sweet]

It was good if you were great at calculating cubic volume or you and your friends were immune to fire, but most of the time it was that fireball, the iconic wizard spell, was bad in most situations.

What's life without a little risk? Iconic is overrated.

 

[Umbran]

What's life without a little risk?

What is life without needing a calculator at the gaming table?

 

[Micah Sweet]

What is life without needing a calculator at the gaming table?

You don't need it. You can eyeball stuff like that. It's certainly better than the IMO ridiculous conceit of always dropping it in the most advantageous location that stops just short of your allies.

 

[aco175]

I'm not Miles Davis so I try to keep the coolness in terms of rogues being able to dodge a fireball and barbarians somehow taking half damage from a sword. Granted there are times when things do not make sense or there are no rules so we need to come up with something. The more it happens though, the more the bus starts to smell.

 

[Cordwainer Fish]

What is life without needing a calculator at the gaming table?

"I missed my slipstick. Dad says that anyone who can't use a slide rule is a cultural illiterate and should not be allowed to vote. Mine is a beauty - a K&E 20-inch Log-log Duplex Decitrig. Dad surprised me with it after I mastered a ten-inch polyphase. We ate potato soup that week - but Dad says you should always budget luxuries first. I knew where it was. Home on my desk."

 

[Remathilis]

What's life without a little risk? Iconic is overrated.

Most third level spells were like that. Lightning bolt bounced, haste aged you (with a chance of system shock death!).

One of the funniest/worst things I saw was a mage who cast fireball in medium sized room, miscalculated the size, and fried himself and his allies. Thief died, ranger is in negatives. The fighter got up, and opened his two attacks for that round on the mage and then went to help his fallen friends.

Last game of that campaign, but it makes a funny story.

 

[Micah Sweet]

Most third level spells were like that. Lightning bolt bounced, haste aged you (with a chance of system shock death!).

One of the funniest/worst things I saw was a mage who cast fireball in medium sized room, miscalculated the size, and fried himself and his allies. Thief died, ranger is in negatives. The fighter got up, and opened his two attacks for that round on the mage and then went to help his fallen friends.

Last game of that campaign, but it makes a funny story.

Now that's an emergent story!

 

[mamba]

The OP of this thread did not state certain types of cool is fine, they argued it's a bad idea in general. So I have to assume they meant Die Hard is as bad as Kill Bill or the Avengers.

they gave an example of what they considered bad, and jumping onto a dragon was still ok…

 

[Umbran]

You don't need it. You can eyeball stuff like that.

Eyeballs are poor simulators.

And, when my eyeball doesn't match the GM's eyeball, we either break out the calculator anyway, have an argument, or players get hosed? No thanks.