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<blockquote data-quote="WisdomLikeSilence" data-source="post: 816203" data-attributes="member: 3676">Re: Re: Feel the love!Then I understand your annoyance with the player.&nbsp; The thing is, though, that I also understand how the player might be frustrated.&nbsp; I'm not going to address what *characters* can be expected to know.&nbsp; That's something that will vary considerably campaign to campaign, and I don't think it's the important part here.*Players* can and occasionally do know the rules extremely well.&nbsp; I've certainly played in campaigns where some of the players knew the rules better than the DM.&nbsp; These rules set the shared world of the game.&nbsp; Fundamentally, they're what makes the game feel fair.As a player, if I saw a spell being applied incorrectly, I would be concerned and likely say something.&nbsp; I might wonder if the DM really understood how the rule was supposed to work (let's face it, DM's do make mistakes).&nbsp; I'd probably remind him what I'd cast.&nbsp; And I'd be confused and annoyed if I felt like he'd changed the rules with no warning.It's not that I think you were wrong to change the rule.&nbsp; It's that I think you would have gotten a better response from your player if you'd communicated your intentions more clearly.Although I'd be frustrated with a DM who arbitrarily changed the rules, I'd be perfectly happy with one who said something like:&quot;Hey, I think we've gotten a little hidebound in the past, and we're starting to rely on out-of-game knowledge too much.&nbsp; I'm going to modify rules a little bit, and mix up the standard monsters.&nbsp; Hopefully this will help us recapture the feeling of excitement and exploration new adventurers should have.&nbsp; I'll be keeping things balanced, but don't be surprised if not all your spells work exactly the way you think they will, or if creatures aren't what you expect.&quot;That way, when my spell didn't work as expected, I'd start thinking, &quot;Oh, this must be one of the world changes he mentioned.&nbsp; Better pay attention to the DM's description and try to figure out what's going on.&quot;&nbsp; Instead of thinking &quot;Hey, he does know I cast magic weapon, right?&nbsp; Does he know how it affects DR?&nbsp; Maybe I should remind him again...&quot;I don't think this is a huge incident, but you might want to explain a little more of your rules philosophy to your players.&nbsp; It could save a lot of frustration and annoyance all the way around.-WLS</blockquote>

[QUOTE="WisdomLikeSilence, post: 816203, member: 3676"] [b]Re: Re: Feel the love![/b] Then I understand your annoyance with the player. The thing is, though, that I also understand how the player might be frustrated. I'm not going to address what *characters* can be expected to know. That's something that will vary considerably campaign to campaign, and I don't think it's the important part here. *Players* can and occasionally do know the rules extremely well. I've certainly played in campaigns where some of the players knew the rules better than the DM. These rules set the shared world of the game. Fundamentally, they're what makes the game feel fair. As a player, if I saw a spell being applied incorrectly, I would be concerned and likely say something. I might wonder if the DM really understood how the rule was supposed to work (let's face it, DM's do make mistakes). I'd probably remind him what I'd cast. And I'd be confused and annoyed if I felt like he'd changed the rules with no warning. It's not that I think you were wrong to change the rule. It's that I think you would have gotten a better response from your player if you'd communicated your intentions more clearly. Although I'd be frustrated with a DM who arbitrarily changed the rules, I'd be perfectly happy with one who said something like: "Hey, I think we've gotten a little hidebound in the past, and we're starting to rely on out-of-game knowledge too much. I'm going to modify rules a little bit, and mix up the standard monsters. Hopefully this will help us recapture the feeling of excitement and exploration new adventurers should have. I'll be keeping things balanced, but don't be surprised if not all your spells work exactly the way you think they will, or if creatures aren't what you expect." That way, when my spell didn't work as expected, I'd start thinking, "Oh, this must be one of the world changes he mentioned. Better pay attention to the DM's description and try to figure out what's going on." Instead of thinking "Hey, he does know I cast magic weapon, right? Does he know how it affects DR? Maybe I should remind him again..." I don't think this is a huge incident, but you might want to explain a little more of your rules philosophy to your players. It could save a lot of frustration and annoyance all the way around. -WLS [/QUOTE]

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