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Are Hit Points Meat? (Redux): D&D Co-Creator Saw Hit Points Very Differently
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<blockquote data-quote="EzekielRaiden" data-source="post: 8439329" data-attributes="member: 6790260"><p>I have worked in a similar field, and I can tell you, it doesn't matter how prominent you make the warning. It could be a full-page spread with inch-tall holographic red-and-yellow letters saying</p><p></p><p><span style="font-size: 26px"><strong><em><u>"DO NOT PLAY AT 1ST LEVEL IF YOU ARE A NEW PLAYER."</u></em></strong></span></p><p></p><p>LOTS of people would still overlook it, despite being highly intelligent etc.</p><p></p><p>I worked at a company where a verification phone call was required for all first-time customers. This was prominently displayed at the top of every single page of our website, in yellow text on a black background. It was displayed in the text box of every single item available for purchase on the website, again in separate, bold, brightly-colored text. It was displayed on every shopping cart page, on the "are you sure you wish to make this purchase" page, on the "your purchase has been confirmed, please expect a phone call if this is your first order" page, and in the "your order has been received" email sent to every customer.</p><p></p><p>Easily three-quarters of all first-time customers were shocked and angry that I would call them for verification (or, just as often, cancel their orders because no phone number was provided, so no phone call could be made).</p><p></p><p>It legit <em>does not matter</em> how prominent you make the warning, nor the intelligence of the audience. LOTS of highly intelligent, thoughtful, careful people will miss it. </p><p></p><p>More importantly than that, though? It's not <em>players</em> you need to drill this into. It's DMs, and I've seen how pig-headed they are about this. The vast majority of DMs I've spoken to are absolutely certain that, unless there's a really <em>really</em> good <em>personal</em> reason (e.g. "I have a specific campaign idea that simply won't work at 1st level"), literally 100% of campaigns should start at 1st level. I know this because I've tried to persuade numerous DMs to consider starting at a higher level in 5e, <em>specifically</em> to help brand-new players get into the swing of things. I have been turned down literally 100% of the time, not a single DM has considered running the game at a higher level unless their campaign premise required it in the first place.</p><p></p><p>There's no defeating <em>that</em> level of ingrained "knowledge." The practical choice is to accept that that's what DMs think, and provide a solution which accepts that belief, rather than insisting that if you can just <em>teach</em> them the<em> correct</em> way, then everything will be fine.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="EzekielRaiden, post: 8439329, member: 6790260"] I have worked in a similar field, and I can tell you, it doesn't matter how prominent you make the warning. It could be a full-page spread with inch-tall holographic red-and-yellow letters saying [SIZE=7][B][I][U]"DO NOT PLAY AT 1ST LEVEL IF YOU ARE A NEW PLAYER."[/U][/I][/B][/SIZE][U][I][/I][/U] LOTS of people would still overlook it, despite being highly intelligent etc. I worked at a company where a verification phone call was required for all first-time customers. This was prominently displayed at the top of every single page of our website, in yellow text on a black background. It was displayed in the text box of every single item available for purchase on the website, again in separate, bold, brightly-colored text. It was displayed on every shopping cart page, on the "are you sure you wish to make this purchase" page, on the "your purchase has been confirmed, please expect a phone call if this is your first order" page, and in the "your order has been received" email sent to every customer. Easily three-quarters of all first-time customers were shocked and angry that I would call them for verification (or, just as often, cancel their orders because no phone number was provided, so no phone call could be made). It legit [I]does not matter[/I] how prominent you make the warning, nor the intelligence of the audience. LOTS of highly intelligent, thoughtful, careful people will miss it. More importantly than that, though? It's not [I]players[/I] you need to drill this into. It's DMs, and I've seen how pig-headed they are about this. The vast majority of DMs I've spoken to are absolutely certain that, unless there's a really [I]really[/I] good [I]personal[/I] reason (e.g. "I have a specific campaign idea that simply won't work at 1st level"), literally 100% of campaigns should start at 1st level. I know this because I've tried to persuade numerous DMs to consider starting at a higher level in 5e, [I]specifically[/I] to help brand-new players get into the swing of things. I have been turned down literally 100% of the time, not a single DM has considered running the game at a higher level unless their campaign premise required it in the first place. There's no defeating [I]that[/I] level of ingrained "knowledge." The practical choice is to accept that that's what DMs think, and provide a solution which accepts that belief, rather than insisting that if you can just [I]teach[/I] them the[I] correct[/I] way, then everything will be fine. [/QUOTE]
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Are Hit Points Meat? (Redux): D&D Co-Creator Saw Hit Points Very Differently
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