D&D General How to be a Not-Terrible DM: Thoughts on the Upcoming DMG

[Snarf Zagyg]

I just like looking at all the words. THE WORDS!!!!! So many words.

I've seen words... words that you've seen. But you have no right to call me verbose. You have a right to kill me. You have a right to do that... but you have no right to judge me.

It's impossible to describe what is necessary to those who do not know what it is like to write so .... many ... words. Words... Words have a font... and you must make a friend of words. Words and lengthy paragraphs are your friends. If they are not, then they are enemies to be feared. They are truly enemies!

 

[KYRON45]

I've seen words... words that you've seen. But you have no right to call me verbose. You have a right to kill me. You have a right to do that... but you have no right to judge me.

It's impossible to describe what is necessary to those who do not know what it is like to write so .... many ... words. Words... Words have a font... and you must make a friend of words. Words and lengthy paragraphs are your friends. If they are not, then they are enemies to be feared. They are truly enemies!

View attachment 375019

Stare too long into the thesaurus and the thesaurus stares back.

 

[Snarf Zagyg]

Stare too long into the thesaurus and the thesaurus stares back.

That which does not kill me, only makes me write more.

 

[MGibster]

I agree 100 about the need to define terminology, especially in RPGs. I learned this lesson from watching 30 years of the the Nebraska Unicameral Legislature, in particular my favorite Senator, Ernie Chambers. He frequently hammered home the crucial idea that in order for a law to be enforceable the key terms must be defined in statute.

This is what they do in academia. If you listen to someone give lecture on philosophy they'll define their terms. If someone argues people are searching for personal peace & prosperity they'll define what that means. You know what doesn't happenwhen the lecture is over? Nobody chimes in and says, "That's not how I define personal peace & prosperity.

 

[Snarf Zagyg]

I agree 100 about the need to define terminology, especially in RPGs. I learned this lesson from watching 30 years of the the Nebraska Unicameral Legislature, in particular my favorite Senator, Ernie Chambers. He frequently hammered home the crucial idea that in order for a law to be enforceable the key terms must be defined in statute. And it was also equally clear to me, that this is not easy to do. This proved by the hundreds if not thousands of hours he dedicated to "cleaning up bills" especially in reference to the way "shall" and "may" are used, and what they imply in the enforcement of laws.

And I think for the this thread specifically, I don't know that a GM has to argue about the definition of either "railroad" or "fudge" they could just define what they mean by it.

I have written words, so many words, about the issues with jargon in TTRPG discussions.

Here's one example-

D&D General - Jargon Revisited: Why Jargon is Often Bad for Discussing RPGs

So long as the terms are undefined, people can continue on, happy in the oblivious notion that they agree. It is only when someone makes the tragic error of defining a term that the people realize that they were only in agreement because they were talking about different things the entire time...

www.enworld.org

If you're tired of the words, the TLDR is at the bottom-

That said, we should always be particularly mindful of our use of jargon. Personally, I think the following is helpful:

1. Does the jargon have a clear definition that people generally agree upon?
2. Is the jargon being used to exclude people from the conversation (gatekeep)?
3. Do people take the time to explain the jargon to those who are new to the conversation?
4. Is the jargon being used to describe a game or playing style, or is it being used to attack someone else's preferred game or playing style?
5. Is the person using the jargon conflating the technical definition and the common meaning of the term (the Texas Two Step).

 

[el-remmen]

I need a 5000 word essay from @Snarf Zagyg on Matt Colville’s recent video about making short videos (and on being a good player character).

 

[Mannahnin]

Bruh. I think Mannahnin just volunteered to do the CliffNotes for all of my posts!

I think in another universe we could have had a Qui-Gon / Obi-Wan relationship (with more gin and whisky).

...oop. New Snarf nickname / sockpuppet name idea just dropped: Qui-Gon Gin!

 

[payn]

I have written words, so many words, about the issues with jargon in TTRPG discussions.

Here's one example-

D&D General - Jargon Revisited: Why Jargon is Often Bad for Discussing RPGs

So long as the terms are undefined, people can continue on, happy in the oblivious notion that they agree. It is only when someone makes the tragic error of defining a term that the people realize that they were only in agreement because they were talking about different things the entire time...

www.enworld.org

If you're tired of the words, the TLDR is at the bottom-

That said, we should always be particularly mindful of our use of jargon. Personally, I think the following is helpful:

1. Does the jargon have a clear definition that people generally agree upon?
2. Is the jargon being used to exclude people from the conversation (gatekeep)?
3. Do people take the time to explain the jargon to those who are new to the conversation?
4. Is the jargon being used to describe a game or playing style, or is it being used to attack someone else's preferred game or playing style?
5. Is the person using the jargon conflating the technical definition and the common meaning of the term (the Texas Two Step).

Before you ask any of those questions, you need to ask yourself; Do you want a discussion or do you want to be right? Jargon aint no thang unless you just here to complain.

 

[Snarf Zagyg]

Do you want a discussion or do you want to be right?

I can't parse this question.

As is well known and cannot be disputed, I am always right. Sometimes, the world is wrong.

 

[Clint_L]

This is what they do in academia. If you listen to someone give lecture on philosophy they'll define their terms. If someone argues people are searching for personal peace & prosperity they'll define what that means. You know what doesn't happenwhen the lecture is over? Nobody chimes in and says, "That's not how I define personal peace & prosperity.

In Theory of Knowledge we do a unit on science versus pseudo-science, and one of the first things we have students do is look at an explanation from a numerology text and then work in groups to see if they can come to an agreement about what any of the key words actually mean, in plain English.

Like, "how do you define a "cosmic vibration"?***

We also look at cleanses, such as are sold by Gwyneth Paltrow, and consider what, if anything, is meant by the word "toxins" in that context.

***Edit: my favourite definition thus far is "space tingles."