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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Celebrim" data-source="post: 2234798" data-attributes="member: 4937">No.  Things like whether the players have any idea of what the game rules system is or what it says on thier character sheets (or what exactly the things that it says on thier character sheets mean) are irrelevant.  I don't really have a preference about that except to repeat that players that know the rules can share the work load, and can speak with greater preciseness when necessary.What is accurate is that I do prefer as much of the game to be an exchange of story as possible (what you call 'plain english'), and for the rules to intrude only when that absolutely must.  You see, what player's want from the game is to be entertained, and what I want from the game is to be entertained.  When I'm a player, what I expect from a DM is a conveyance of story.  I don't need the DM telling me what the rules are.  I need the DM to tell me what happens, what I see, what I experience, and what I touch, smell, etc.  I want the DM to be an entertaining storyteller, with memorable and colorful characters, plot twists, puzzles and exciting combat.  That's what I consider fun as a player, and that's what I try to give my players.Likewise, when I'm a DM, what I find entertaining in a player is a colorful character who stays in character.  A skillful tactician is only interesting in so far as it ensures that he'll be able to overcome the challenges put before him and keep the story going.  A PC comes in who knows all the rules but who only tells me what happens within the frame work of the rules, "I take a 5' step and then make a full attack action on the ogre." is within his rights to do so, but he's boring to me as a DM.  And to a certain extent if I have players doing that and nothing but that I feel I've failed as a DM because I haven't engaged people's imaginations.  By experience, the players that have entertained me the DM don't need to know the rules in order to do so.  In fact, several of the great pleasures I've had as DM's were DMing a completely new player that didn't know ANY of the rules, and just watching thier natural 'innocent' role play unfold for the first time without any metagaming, without any rules lawyering, and without any attempt to make the game a competition between me and them.  Instead you get a naturally compelling story which wraps me up in events every bit as much as the players.  It's just simply beautiful, and you want to throw your arms around them after the session and go, "Thank you. Thank you.  That's what we DM's live for."  And some of the best enjoyment I've had a PC came playing Chill when not only did I not know any of the rules, but unbeknownst to me the referee was learning the rules too.  But because I didn't know the rules, I never once knew that he ever did anything wrong.</blockquote>

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