DM, Players, rules as "guidance" or infallible?

[TheGogmagog]

I consider the rules to adhered to mostly....

When it comes to creatures however, what appears in the Monster Manual is a Typical Base creature of that type. Not only is advancement possible, but different feat selection is possible. Different spell selection is almost a garuntee. You won't find a dragon that has lived 500 years and hasn't picked up a greater ring of elemental resistance to his vulnerable element.

Ultimatly it's the DM's job to keep the encounters balanced which keeps the game fun. If a character says don't worry, a vampire only drains two levels once a round. Well he's applying more information than needed. If the teleporting Demon killed the group, then the switch was too powerfull. But if it gets away leaving the players drawn into the story and wanting revenge, you've done a good job.

 

[Kurotowa]

The DM has no obligation to remain absolutely faithful to the published material. What the DM does have is an obligation to play fairly.

What I mean by that is that players have two sources of information about the gameworld; the published material and the DM. The players have to depend on those two sources to supply everything that their characters, natives of the gameworld, should know about their surroundings. If one of those sources is unreliable and the players don't know it, it can cause a great deal of trouble and unhappiness. So a DM who plans to go off-book has a responsability to play fair and inform the players that this is the case and of major world alterations that they'd have some knowledge of.

With that caveat, go wild.

 

[Artoomis]

Rules regarding player's capabilities and actions should be pretty much followed for predictabliity with players, and so that players that play with multiple DMs don't go a little crazy trying to know the various long lists house rules.

NPCs should be following the same rules as players, for the most part, for the same reasons.

As for monsters, do what you will. Keep your players off-balance. Just reward the according the challenge overcome.