I Owe Wizards an Apology

[Dannyalcatraz]

As Ariosto pointed out, what do you do when the main campaign book actually points out that all these other sources are canon in the setting?

As I basically stated in the forked thread this one inspired...I say "Tough cookies!"

If info for an RPG that has generated published fiction isn't in the actual RPG books themselves, that non-gamebook info is relegated to "alternate universe" status.

OTOH, if it is an RPG that is based on a piece of fiction, I adopt that fiction as core info- assuming its (inexplicably) not already in the campaign sourcebook.

 

[Rykion]

As a side bar, I would get to this point like you did but my next line would differ slightly...



Me: "This one's not afraid of water how odd...what's your AC again?

Certainly you can just change things/ignore canon as a GM, but once you start doing that what's the point in running a game in an established setting? The players that really know the setting will be annoyed, and those who don't know the setting probably don't care. I just find it easier to homebrew unless I am very familiar with a setting.

 

[Doug McCrae]

Only run a setting if you know it better than the players.

Roleplaying only works when the DM is dad and the players are children. When the kids know more than dad does, the whole power balance has been overthrown.

 

[wayne62682]

As Ariosto pointed out, what do you do when the main campaign book actually points out that all these other sources are canon in the setting?

You take a "common sense approach". Like I said, if an obscure novel lists something as a fact halfway through in a single sentence uttered by a character, then you can safely ignore it. But if the information is in a major rulebook, that the vast majority of people playing that setting would have (as opposed to a fanboy who collects/reads all of the novels) then IMO you're a lousy DM if you change it for no reason other than you forgot about it.

 

[Mustrum_Ridcully]

Certainly you can just change things/ignore canon as a GM, but once you start doing that what's the point in running a game in an established setting? The players that really know the setting will be annoyed, and those who don't know the setting probably don't care. I just find it easier to homebrew unless I am very familiar with a setting.

Yes, that is the real "problem". Of course a DM shouldn't let his players dictate everything, but a fan of a particular setting has expectations on what happens and what is true. It is part of what makes it so exciting and interesting for him to play in the setting.

Of course, a player that is not willing to "negotiate" his expectations with the DM isn't the kind of player one would have, but even if he is willing to do so, you have to make compromises and this can lessen the enjoyment of the setting.

 

[Dragonhelm]

So I would like to own up to my comments made to and about Wizards of the Coast. I am sure their decision was not easy to make. I am sorry for my comments, and I wish you well in the future.

I think this is very big of you and I wanted to commend you on your post.

I was a freelance writer for the Dragonlance RPG back in 3.5. I know how hard it can be to work a bunch of continuity into a more cohesive whole. You have contradictions to work through, some of which may seem silly in retrospect. And yet some of that can be hard if you were a pretty die-hard fan in the past and even liked some of the materials you were retconning.

All you can do is your best. You may accidentally omit something, or you may have to make some hard choices. Then again, you may make something better. While fans can be brutal at times, you may find that a number of fans can also be forgiving.

Hang in there, and good luck with Traveller.

 

[Krensky]

So I would like to own up to my comments made to and about Wizards of the Coast. I am sure their decision was not easy to make. I am sorry for my comments, and I wish you well in the future.

You're doing it wrong, have you learned nothing from the prescient pre-founder of internet discourse, Harlan Ellison?

You're supposed to curse out Wizards for this, while cursing out the people complaining about you doing the same thing.

 

[Obryn]

Is this in regards to that many-hundred-post thread I've heard about regarding psychic aslan - whatever the heck those are, being familiar neither with Traveller or a race called the aslan?

I saw a reference to this little debate over at TheRPGSite and it seems insanely heated.

 

[rkwoodard]

As a side bar, I would get to this point like you did but my next line would differ slightly...



Me: "This one's not afraid of water how odd...what's your AC again?

For my group it would go

Me: That is odd...isn't it
And then the group would become obsessed trying to figure out that mystery, while I rewrite my notes to include this new plot.

And that is why, I put my dreams of being a writer to rest. I can do that as a DM, and make it a wonderful opportunity (or blow it completly).

RK

 

[Storminator]

I saw a reference to this little debate over at TheRPGSite and it seems insanely heated.

As they say, "the politics are so vicious because the stakes are so small."

PS