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<blockquote data-quote="Crazy Jerome" data-source="post: 5967959" data-attributes="member: 54877">I was going to write a new post on this, but it fits here so I'll just say it:&nbsp; Gary was your wacky uncle.&nbsp; He wasn't your kindergarden teacher.&nbsp;I agree with Arnehnois to the extent that D&amp;D examples, adventures, advice, etc. trying to be your kidergarden teacher is a kind of crutch.&nbsp; You aren't going to learn how to run your game until you throw the crutches off, try it, fall flat on your face, and learn from the experience.&nbsp;OTOH, your wacky uncle was often a better, faster teacher than that nice lady worried about proper useage of &quot;may I?&quot; versus &quot;can I?&quot;&nbsp; If you asked the nice lady, &quot;Can I try some of that chewing tobacco?&quot; she corrected, &quot;May I?&quot;&nbsp; Then when you asked it to her satisfaction, she said, &quot;No.&quot;&nbsp; Meanwhile, the wacky uncle took the question at face value, and said, &quot;Sure, go ahead.&quot;&nbsp; Because you can try it.&nbsp; Then you got sick and learned something from it--not least of all the real difference between &quot;can I,&quot; &quot;may I,&quot; and &quot;should I.&quot; <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f600.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":D" title="Big grin&nbsp; &nbsp; :D"&nbsp; data-smilie="8"data-shortname=":D" />&nbsp;This was valuable later, because when you said something like, &quot;Can I drive your car down to the store with the guys and buy some beer? ... the answer was, &quot;No.&nbsp; Heck no!&quot;&nbsp; Why?&nbsp; &quot;Because you'll wreck my car, get into trouble, possibly hurt yourself or someone else, and your aunt will kill me.&quot;&nbsp; &nbsp;Gary wrote a lot like that.&nbsp; Don't give out too many magic items because you'll turn your game into a Monty Haul game, and your players won't respect you in the morning.&nbsp; Don't change this rule, because then it won't be official D&amp;D with this consequences.&nbsp; After awhile, you learned that Gary was your wacky uncle, with emphasis on both, which meant he always had a reason, but the reason might not always apply.&nbsp; &nbsp;D&amp;D examples, adventures, etc. should tell you how to do something and why you should do it that way.&nbsp; Otherwise, they are worthless for anyone beyond the age of, well, about kindergarden.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Crazy Jerome, post: 5967959, member: 54877"] I was going to write a new post on this, but it fits here so I'll just say it: Gary was your wacky uncle. He wasn't your kindergarden teacher. I agree with Arnehnois to the extent that D&D examples, adventures, advice, etc. trying to be your kidergarden teacher is a kind of crutch. You aren't going to learn how to run your game until you throw the crutches off, try it, fall flat on your face, and learn from the experience. OTOH, your wacky uncle was often a better, faster teacher than that nice lady worried about proper useage of "may I?" versus "can I?" If you asked the nice lady, "Can I try some of that chewing tobacco?" she corrected, "May I?" Then when you asked it to her satisfaction, she said, "No." Meanwhile, the wacky uncle took the question at face value, and said, "Sure, go ahead." Because you [B]can[/B] try it. Then you got sick and learned something from it--not least of all the real difference between "can I," "may I," and "should I." :D This was valuable later, because when you said something like, "Can I drive your car down to the store with the guys and buy some beer? ... the answer was, "No. Heck no!" Why? "Because you'll wreck my car, get into trouble, possibly hurt yourself or someone else, and your aunt will kill me." Gary wrote a lot like that. Don't give out too many magic items [B]because[/B] you'll turn your game into a Monty Haul game, and your players won't respect you in the morning. Don't change this rule, [B]because[/B] then it won't be official D&D with this consequences. After awhile, you learned that Gary was your wacky uncle, with emphasis on both, which meant he always had a reason, but the reason might not always apply. D&D examples, adventures, etc. should tell you how to do something and [B]why[/B] you should do it that way. Otherwise, they are worthless for anyone beyond the age of, well, about kindergarden. [/QUOTE]

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