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<blockquote data-quote="Bawylie" data-source="post: 6315348" data-attributes="member: 6776133">IMX, &quot;that's how it was&quot; because meta-gaming was verboten &amp; DMs tended to try to &quot;win&quot; by defeating the Players with traps, SOS &amp; SODs. The only way to survive that combo, for my group (when I was still a player), was to pixel-bitch - to go over every square inch of dungeon with an 11ft pole. It wasn't until much later that I realized that's a crappy and boring way for me to play. Now, as DM, I don't mind meta-gaming and I'm not out to defeat players or win. My objectives are to deliver a fun game session and engage the players emotionally.&nbsp; My players (many of whom are reformed pixel-bitchers) have embraced this enthusiastically. So I'll do a dungeon crawl, but instead of &quot;gotcha&quot; traps and ambushes, I openly frame the challenges so the players can make intelligent decisions on what to do about it. This means SODs &amp; SOS are in, but instead of requiring meticulous play to avoid missteps and make sure you don't stumble into anything, I take that burden to let you know what the hazard is, what shape it will take, and when it becomes an imminent peril - then it's up to you to deal with it. No gotchas. Better trust. Fun sessions.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Bawylie, post: 6315348, member: 6776133"] IMX, "that's how it was" because meta-gaming was verboten & DMs tended to try to "win" by defeating the Players with traps, SOS & SODs. The only way to survive that combo, for my group (when I was still a player), was to pixel-bitch - to go over every square inch of dungeon with an 11ft pole. It wasn't until much later that I realized that's a crappy and boring way for me to play. Now, as DM, I don't mind meta-gaming and I'm not out to defeat players or win. My objectives are to deliver a fun game session and engage the players emotionally. My players (many of whom are reformed pixel-bitchers) have embraced this enthusiastically. So I'll do a dungeon crawl, but instead of "gotcha" traps and ambushes, I openly frame the challenges so the players can make intelligent decisions on what to do about it. This means SODs & SOS are in, but instead of requiring meticulous play to avoid missteps and make sure you don't stumble into anything, I take that burden to let you know what the hazard is, what shape it will take, and when it becomes an imminent peril - then it's up to you to deal with it. No gotchas. Better trust. Fun sessions. [/QUOTE]

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