Infiniti2000
First Post
Can I git an amen? Amen!werk said:
DM's and Rules Lawyers - How Would You Rule this Deadly Situation?
- Thread starter Herremann the Wise
- Start date
JimAde
First Post
Rules do rule, but I think Balok's point (and correct me if I'm wrong) is that since the rule designers can never anticipate every situation, there will come a time when the rules make no sense. When they will get you a result you don't expect because they way they are written doesn't mesh with the current situation.
The OP's case is a good example. By that GM's reading of the rules as written, the fighter was stuck. Now if it was my game, I would be wanting the fighter to escape (since I generally avoid killing PCs) so even if I interpreted the rule the same way, I'd still let him slip by the 'Steed, without making a big deal about it. And most likely the player would be none the wiser.
Of course the GM should use the rules as they're written 99% of the time, but that other 1% is the reason you have a GM.
The OP's case is a good example. By that GM's reading of the rules as written, the fighter was stuck. Now if it was my game, I would be wanting the fighter to escape (since I generally avoid killing PCs) so even if I interpreted the rule the same way, I'd still let him slip by the 'Steed, without making a big deal about it. And most likely the player would be none the wiser.
Of course the GM should use the rules as they're written 99% of the time, but that other 1% is the reason you have a GM.
FreeTheSlaves
Adventurer
Especially as a universal "common sense" is hampered by every individuals assumptions based on their own personality & the world that they interact with. While I admit there are some senses which are common, a common consensus over this ruling seems to be elusive.JimAde said:Naughty Sean! Trying to introduce common sense to a rules discussion. Go lay by your dish!
I.e. common sense does not yet apply.
pdmiller
Explorer
Reporting for Punishment...
Hi, I was the culprit DM....
My error was based on a long-held belief in our group (inexplicable as it turns out) that a character could pass through an ally's space freely *unless* that character was in combat.
That's the way we've always played it.
I wasn't attempting to kill the character at all, just playing by (my interpretation of) the rules - I thought he could take the extra hit in any case, but I'm not one to pull punches...
Another error I made was in not permitting the medium sized Ftr to pass through the squares occupied by gargantuan and colossal centipedes (Lucifus, Lucifus, tsk, tsk, tsk... the party looks ever more nervous with each passing summoning).
As for the PS - I was treating that as a large object rather than an ally. Earlier in the prior session a group of panicky peasants tried to mount and ride off on the PSs that the party had left parked in the fields outside a plagued village. Unfortunately they were getting nowhere due to the fact that the steeds hadn't been conjured specifically for any of them, and they ran off in terror when one of them noticed that the horses had no feet.
My concept of the PS was of a solid mule-like critter that couldn't be budged by anyone except the "owner". Hence, in the Ftr vs GSG case, I allowed the Ftr a bullrush attempt, which he failed.
So all in all, three errors, which I chalk up to experience.
It's a sad tale, but one that has a happy ending, as I'm sure Lucifus' story will relate.
For the record, the GSG was not destroyed, but the group (actually the Ftr!) figured out how to placate and bypass the ornery lumpkin.
Any they all adventured happily ever after....
Hi, I was the culprit DM....
My error was based on a long-held belief in our group (inexplicable as it turns out) that a character could pass through an ally's space freely *unless* that character was in combat.
That's the way we've always played it.
I wasn't attempting to kill the character at all, just playing by (my interpretation of) the rules - I thought he could take the extra hit in any case, but I'm not one to pull punches...
Another error I made was in not permitting the medium sized Ftr to pass through the squares occupied by gargantuan and colossal centipedes (Lucifus, Lucifus, tsk, tsk, tsk... the party looks ever more nervous with each passing summoning).
As for the PS - I was treating that as a large object rather than an ally. Earlier in the prior session a group of panicky peasants tried to mount and ride off on the PSs that the party had left parked in the fields outside a plagued village. Unfortunately they were getting nowhere due to the fact that the steeds hadn't been conjured specifically for any of them, and they ran off in terror when one of them noticed that the horses had no feet.
My concept of the PS was of a solid mule-like critter that couldn't be budged by anyone except the "owner". Hence, in the Ftr vs GSG case, I allowed the Ftr a bullrush attempt, which he failed.
So all in all, three errors, which I chalk up to experience.
It's a sad tale, but one that has a happy ending, as I'm sure Lucifus' story will relate.
For the record, the GSG was not destroyed, but the group (actually the Ftr!) figured out how to placate and bypass the ornery lumpkin.
Any they all adventured happily ever after....
Lonely Tylenol
Explorer
FreeTheSlaves said:
You can demand that the DM play the game by the rules, is what you can do. I'd hand the DM the PHB and the DMG and say "show me where I can't move through this Phantom Steed."
Liquidsabre
Explorer
Just wanted to put in a third on that nicely done there for pdmiller. This should be how all table discussions end:
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