Upgrade your account to a Community Supporter account and remove most of the site ads.

Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="I'm A Banana" data-source="post: 5538815" data-attributes="member: 2067">That's a false dichotomy, mang.I think "You can only hit creatures unless the DM gives you special privileges" is really dumb, because I think its fun when rules elements are like tools, with many possible uses. If I have an axe, I shouldn't need to ask permission to chop down a door, or use it to gather firewood, or hack my way through underbrush. These are all very predictable uses of an axe. As a DM, I shouldn't have to stop and give permission all the time, either. I should have players confident enough and imaginative enough to say, "This is what I do," and I can say, "Okay, here's what happens."You don't need much of a "system" to tell you that you can use an axe to chop things other than enemies. You actually just need the "system" to get the heck out of the way of your imagination and not tell you to ask the DM's permission before you go and do something as insane and possibly unbalancing as using an axe to gather firewood. Again, it's a balance thing. If my axe can clear underbrush, I guess it can chop away this underbrush that is ranked as difficult terrain in this combat, thus making it easier for me to move and possibly giving me a supreme edge in a combat. If my fire ray can light things on fire, I guess it can light that underbrush on fire, clearing it and killing anything inside of it, making the combat super easy. In this case, it's not a problem of trust, it's a problem of degree. I shouldn't need permission to do something that is clearly within the realm of my character's abilities.It's like asking my DM for permission for my character to breathe, or digest his lunch, or swallow that sip of ale. It's micro-managing on a pretty absurd level.It exists for a fairly valid balance reason, but I'm of the opinion that fun trumps balance. If my astounding ability to cut things with an axe ruins the DM's plan for an epic battle on a rope bridge, perhaps the DM needs to develop some basic on-the-fly skills (with the help of the system) instead of denying me the ability to hit anything aside from a designated target. I'm used to that in a computer game, but D&D is better than that in part because you can do anything you imagine.I'm not asking to get rid of the DM. I'm just disputing the benefits gained from this micro-management.</blockquote>

Verification