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<blockquote data-quote="Neonchameleon" data-source="post: 5526833" data-attributes="member: 87792">Apparently you have no interest in listening and learning.&nbsp; D&amp;D is not the only thing to give you instructions and then encourage you not to use them.&nbsp; I wonder why you bother discussing things at all rather than just post your sometimes interesting material on your blog.&nbsp;To take another example that does exactly the same thing, think of lego.&nbsp; When you buy lego, you buy a kit with a specific model on the front and a set of instructions.&nbsp; If you follow the instructions on the packet of lego you bought you get a pre-packaged single model.&nbsp; Which is equivalent to following the instructions on the meaning of the CR system and getting four CR-equivalent encounters per day.&nbsp;But is following the instructions to get the pre-packaged result the most fun way to play with lego?&nbsp; Although tastes differ, I know no one who just follows the instructions.&nbsp; It's dull.&nbsp; This is despite the instructions in the box.&nbsp; Everyone I know who has or had lego might have followed the instructions once - but after that the lego would always end up in a big tub.&nbsp; Because making your own stuff is far more fun.&nbsp; And every kid would do so whatever the instructions said.&nbsp; And the makers of lego know this - they neither expect you nor want you to follow the instructions on the box of lego.&nbsp; The subtext and expectation in lego (throw all your legos into a tub and make whatever you want with them) is therefore diametrically opposed to the instruction leaflet to make this one specific toy with the lego you bought.&nbsp; Call this tinfoil hat crazy if you like.D&amp;D is slightly different but along the same lines for a lot of reasons.&nbsp; Like Lego it pre-packages monsters with their instructions for the most basic use.&nbsp; That's the CR.&nbsp; It is also much more fun if you mix things up and do other things than the most basic one the designers laid out.&nbsp;However unlike lego there's a penalty for screwing up.&nbsp; The penalty being boring or irritating your friends - and destroying their toys.&nbsp; As far as I know in order to get lego wrong you have to feed it to people (or make a crossbow, but that's another story).&nbsp; This means that new DMs are going to be much more worried about messing up than kids playing with lego.&nbsp; So they need a second set of guidance - this saying that varying within a given range is a good idea and that you don't always have to follow the very basic instructions.&nbsp;&nbsp; It also itself gives a set of instructions for how much to vary what's printed on the box.&nbsp; This is because starting to DM is scary and structures and instructions give you some sort of security.&nbsp; And it's abstract.&nbsp; Any idiot can stick two lego blocks together.You effectively have concentric circles of instructions about balance.&nbsp; Circle 1: &quot;This is what the game is balanced around.&quot; (The four encounter day)&nbsp; Circle 2: &quot;Mix it up.&nbsp; Here's a way that works.&quot;&nbsp; (The encounter range in the DMG).&nbsp; Circle 3: &quot;Pitch to your PCs and if everyone's having fun that's the goal.&quot;&nbsp; Note that circle 2 is in tension with circle 1 and if you take circle 1 as gospel (rather than a part of the game) you are going to see those in circle 2 as heretics.&nbsp; And Circle 3 is in tension with circle 2 and if you treat circle 2 as rigid you're going to have problems with circle 3.&nbsp; It's not crazy to accept that all these rings of guidance are within the game - and aimed at different people.&nbsp;One of the marks of mastering a skill is knowing how tightly to stick to the guidance.&nbsp; And when you teach you sometimes contradict later.&nbsp; What happens if you take four from three?&nbsp; Ask a young kid who's started to learn arithmetic and he'll (or she'll) tell you you can't.&nbsp; It's only later you teach about negative numebrs.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Neonchameleon, post: 5526833, member: 87792"] Apparently you have no interest in listening and learning. D&D is not the only thing to give you instructions and then encourage you not to use them. I wonder why you bother discussing things at all rather than just post your sometimes interesting material on your blog. To take another example that does exactly the same thing, think of lego. When you buy lego, you buy a kit with a specific model on the front and a set of instructions. If you follow the instructions on the packet of lego you bought you get a pre-packaged single model. Which is equivalent to following the instructions on the meaning of the CR system and getting four CR-equivalent encounters per day. But is following the instructions to get the pre-packaged result the most fun way to play with lego? Although tastes differ, I know [I]no one[/I] who just follows the instructions. It's dull. This is despite the instructions in the box. [I]Everyone[/I] I know who has or had lego might have followed the instructions once - but after that the lego would always end up in a big tub. Because making your own stuff is far more fun. And every kid would do so [I]whatever the instructions said[/I]. And the makers of lego know this - they neither expect you nor want you to follow the instructions on the box of lego. The subtext and expectation in lego (throw all your legos into a tub and make whatever you want with them) is therefore diametrically opposed to the instruction leaflet to make this one specific toy with the lego you bought. Call this tinfoil hat crazy if you like. D&D is slightly different but along the same lines for a lot of reasons. Like Lego it pre-packages monsters with their instructions for the most basic use. That's the CR. It is also much more fun if you mix things up and do other things than the most basic one the designers laid out. However unlike lego there's a penalty for screwing up. The penalty being boring or irritating your friends - and destroying their toys. As far as I know in order to get lego wrong you have to feed it to people (or make a crossbow, but that's another story). This means that new DMs are going to be much more worried about messing up than kids playing with lego. So they need a second set of guidance - this saying that varying within a given range is a good idea and that you don't always have to follow the very basic instructions. It also itself gives a set of instructions for how much to vary what's printed on the box. This is because starting to DM is [I]scary [/I]and structures and instructions give you some sort of security. And it's abstract. Any idiot can stick two lego blocks together. You effectively have concentric circles of instructions about balance. Circle 1: "This is what the game is balanced around." (The four encounter day) Circle 2: "Mix it up. Here's a way that works." (The encounter range in the DMG). Circle 3: "Pitch to your PCs and if everyone's having fun that's the goal." Note that circle 2 is in tension with circle 1 and if you take circle 1 as gospel (rather than a part of the game) you are going to see those in circle 2 as heretics. And Circle 3 is in tension with circle 2 and if you treat circle 2 as rigid you're going to have problems with circle 3. It's not crazy to accept that all these rings of guidance are within the game - and aimed at different people. One of the marks of mastering a skill is knowing how tightly to stick to the guidance. And when you teach you sometimes contradict later. What happens if you take four from three? Ask a young kid who's started to learn arithmetic and he'll (or she'll) tell you you can't. It's only later you teach about negative numebrs. [/QUOTE]

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