Menu
News
All News
Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
Pathfinder
Starfinder
Warhammer
2d20 System
Year Zero Engine
Industry News
Reviews
Dragon Reflections
White Dwarf Reflections
Columns
Weekly Digests
Weekly News Digest
Freebies, Sales & Bundles
RPG Print News
RPG Crowdfunding News
Game Content
ENterplanetary DimENsions
Mythological Figures
Opinion
Worlds of Design
Peregrine's Nest
RPG Evolution
Other Columns
From the Freelancing Frontline
Monster ENcyclopedia
WotC/TSR Alumni Look Back
4 Hours w/RSD (Ryan Dancey)
The Road to 3E (Jonathan Tweet)
Greenwood's Realms (Ed Greenwood)
Drawmij's TSR (Jim Ward)
Community
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions, OSR, & D&D Variants
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Resources
Wiki
Pages
Latest activity
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Downloads
Latest reviews
Search resources
EN Publishing
Store
EN5ider
Adventures in ZEITGEIST
Awfully Cheerful Engine
What's OLD is NEW
Judge Dredd & The Worlds Of 2000AD
War of the Burning Sky
Level Up: Advanced 5E
Events & Releases
Upcoming Events
Private Events
Featured Events
Socials!
EN Publishing
Twitter
BlueSky
Facebook
Instagram
EN World
BlueSky
YouTube
Facebook
Twitter
Twitch
Podcast
Features
Million Dollar TTRPG Crowdfunders
Most Anticipated Tabletop RPGs Of The Year
Tabletop RPG Podcast Hall of Fame
Eric Noah's Unofficial D&D 3rd Edition News
Top 5 RPGs Compiled Charts 2004-Present
Adventure Game Industry Market Research Summary (RPGs) V1.0
Ryan Dancey: Acquiring TSR
Q&A With Gary Gygax
D&D Rules FAQs
TSR, WotC, & Paizo: A Comparative History
D&D Pronunciation Guide
D&D in the Mainstream
D&D & RPG History
About Morrus
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions, OSR, & D&D Variants
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
Upgrade your account to a Community Supporter account and remove most of the site ads.
ShortQuests -- Pocket Sized Adventures! An all-new collection of digest-sized D&D adventures designed for 1-2 game sessions.
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
Druids - wildshape and controlling an animal companion
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="jgsugden" data-source="post: 1301211" data-attributes="member: 2629"><p>I think the key underlying all of our arguments is this: If the players enjoy it, do it. If the players don't enjoy it, don't do it (or replace the players). </p><p></p><p>I've run groups where the players look bored any time there is not active combat. "The King is getting Married? I attack! I see a peasant? I attack! There is an earthworm in the road? I attack!" Any rules issue not directly related to combat slows these games down, so I minimize everything I can to compress as much violence into a session as possible.</p><p></p><p>I've run groups where characters spend days in their little house in the country discussing how they'll approach a minor change in the political structure in their country created when a king in a country hundreds of miles away dies (for reasons unknown to the PCs) and a steward (who is also unknown to the PCs) is put on the throne. The players themselves sat for days discussing the ramifications, doing research, summoning experts to provide information, casting spells to gather information, etc ... I had to make up hundreds of rules and pieces of info on the fly for that game to keep the sense of realism going. "What is on the map? I mean, specifically, what types of stains? Are there any tea stains? What do I need to roll to determine what types of stains are on the map? How long does it take?"</p><p></p><p>You're making the 'movie'. If you don't give your 'audience' what it wants, they won't enjoy it. A good 'director' can make a movie with surprising elements that 'audiences' did not realize that they enjoyed, but in general, if the players don't like what the DM does, the game is boring or annoying.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="jgsugden, post: 1301211, member: 2629"] I think the key underlying all of our arguments is this: If the players enjoy it, do it. If the players don't enjoy it, don't do it (or replace the players). I've run groups where the players look bored any time there is not active combat. "The King is getting Married? I attack! I see a peasant? I attack! There is an earthworm in the road? I attack!" Any rules issue not directly related to combat slows these games down, so I minimize everything I can to compress as much violence into a session as possible. I've run groups where characters spend days in their little house in the country discussing how they'll approach a minor change in the political structure in their country created when a king in a country hundreds of miles away dies (for reasons unknown to the PCs) and a steward (who is also unknown to the PCs) is put on the throne. The players themselves sat for days discussing the ramifications, doing research, summoning experts to provide information, casting spells to gather information, etc ... I had to make up hundreds of rules and pieces of info on the fly for that game to keep the sense of realism going. "What is on the map? I mean, specifically, what types of stains? Are there any tea stains? What do I need to roll to determine what types of stains are on the map? How long does it take?" You're making the 'movie'. If you don't give your 'audience' what it wants, they won't enjoy it. A good 'director' can make a movie with surprising elements that 'audiences' did not realize that they enjoyed, but in general, if the players don't like what the DM does, the game is boring or annoying. [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
Druids - wildshape and controlling an animal companion
Top