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<blockquote data-quote="James Gasik" data-source="post: 9434207" data-attributes="member: 6877472">The way I see it, if the rules get in the way of the game being fun, then the rules have to go.&nbsp; If &quot;realism&quot; gets in the way of the game being fun, then it also has to go.&nbsp; By the same token, if &quot;fantasy&quot; gets in the way of the game being fun, it also has to go.Fun being subjective, of course.&nbsp; My current group seems to enjoy magical chaos and I've rarely heard anyone complain about &quot;that's not realistic so I'm no longer having fun&quot;- but it can happen, and I've done it myself.For example, way back in 4e, I was playing this Living Forgotten Realms adventure called &quot;Dancing Shadows&quot;.&nbsp; The penultimate encounter is with a black dragon.&nbsp; The adventure calls for the dragon to get away when seriously wounded, so that the final battle will have it (somewhat healed) and it's mate present.We had it slowed and prone when the DM announced &quot;it gets away&quot; and my instant reaction was &quot;how?! why?!&quot;.&nbsp; That &quot;the adventure says so&quot; wasn't good enough for me in that moment.&nbsp; Granted, after the fact, I realized that it wasn't the dragon escaping that bothered me, it was the fact that there was no explanation, nothing to interact with, it just happens.&nbsp; If the adventure presented a reason, like maybe a magic item that teleports the dragon away when it's near death, it still feels cheap, but it's not out of bounds for a fantasy TTRPG.But in the end, it's a concession I had to make because what's the alternative?&nbsp; The final battle is easier and less challenging?&nbsp; Does that make the game more fun?&nbsp; Maybe in the short run, you can feel good about &quot;winning more&quot; due to your actions...but ultimately, unless that last battle ended up being a TPK (which it wasn't for me), the only real change is that the DM goes from having the fun of &quot;two dragons!&quot; to &quot;oh well, I know you can beat one dragon, ho hum&quot;, lol.In a similar vein, by letting the PC's sleep in armor, they can't really complain when they surprise their evil Fighter villain in his lair and find he's wearing his +1 Plate jammies!</blockquote>

[QUOTE="James Gasik, post: 9434207, member: 6877472"] The way I see it, if the rules get in the way of the game being fun, then the rules have to go. If "realism" gets in the way of the game being fun, then it also has to go. By the same token, if "fantasy" gets in the way of the game being fun, it also has to go. Fun being subjective, of course. My current group seems to enjoy magical chaos and I've rarely heard anyone complain about "that's not realistic so I'm no longer having fun"- but it can happen, and I've done it myself. For example, way back in 4e, I was playing this Living Forgotten Realms adventure called "Dancing Shadows". The penultimate encounter is with a black dragon. The adventure calls for the dragon to get away when seriously wounded, so that the final battle will have it (somewhat healed) and it's mate present. We had it slowed and prone when the DM announced "it gets away" and my instant reaction was "how?! why?!". That "the adventure says so" wasn't good enough for me in that moment. Granted, after the fact, I realized that it wasn't the dragon escaping that bothered me, it was the fact that there was no explanation, nothing to interact with, it just happens. If the adventure presented a reason, like maybe a magic item that teleports the dragon away when it's near death, it still feels cheap, but it's not out of bounds for a fantasy TTRPG. But in the end, it's a concession I had to make because what's the alternative? The final battle is easier and less challenging? Does that make the game more fun? Maybe in the short run, you can feel good about "winning more" due to your actions...but ultimately, unless that last battle ended up being a TPK (which it wasn't for me), the only real change is that the DM goes from having the fun of "two dragons!" to "oh well, I know you can beat one dragon, ho hum", lol. In a similar vein, by letting the PC's sleep in armor, they can't really complain when they surprise their evil Fighter villain in his lair and find he's wearing his +1 Plate jammies! [/QUOTE]

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