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Message: <blockquote data-quote="OptionalRule" data-source="post: 9521103" data-attributes="member: 6680">There’s a segment of the community that will reflexively deny anything.The most ironic part of those type of responses here is that the D&D designers openly acknowledge this is a problem. There’s an entire section in Chapter 1 of the 2024 DMG discussing problem player exploitation of the rules.This article highlights the missing piece in the conversation: how the game’s own design encourages the very behavior the designers explicitly warn against. Reading the DMG, you might think this issue emerged out of nowhere, as if it’s solely a product of fanbase toxicity. Without question, there’s an element of online culture that amplifies discussions about exploitation, misaligned goals, and other problematic behaviors. However, the designers are absolutely failing to acknowledge that their own design choices contribute to this issue as well.The resulting cycle is that DMs often adopt Wizards of the Coast’s attitude—that the problem lies entirely with the community and the players. They take actions to address player behavior, never realizing that those efforts can only go so far. This leads to further cycles of arguments and resentment, with many missing a critical piece of the puzzle.The reality is that the game is designed to incentivize this behavior. This is simply how the system works for many players, often without them even realizing it. Trying to address this with a single subsection that essentially says, "Don’t let the thing we set up to happen, happen," is a profoundly weak attempt to solve a problem the designers themselves created. It encapsulates the root cause of many issues with modern D&D.</blockquote>

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