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Mearls On D&D's Design Premises/Goals
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<blockquote data-quote="epithet" data-source="post: 7761595" data-attributes="member: 6796566"><p>You didn't ask me, but I'm gonna give you some advice anyway, since you said you were going to be running your first 5e game here soon. Forget "RAW" and "RAI" as concepts in your first session, and for a few after that, too. They'll poison your thinking. Be flexible and adaptive, because you will be nervous (everyone is, even after they've been DMing for years) and you'll forget all kinds of things if you try to focus on details.</p><p></p><p>What you want to start with is "rules that work." That's got to be your foundation, and you can work from there. If you don't remember what the rule is for a situation, just think "what are they trying to do?" and "how hard is that going to be for them?" Wing it, make a ruling instead of looking up a rule, and the game will flow much better.</p><p></p><p>That said, when you get more comfortable with running the game, a few sessions in, trying to bring your game more in line with the technical rules isn't a bad idea. With a few exceptions, the 5e rules are a marvel of consistency and provide a pretty great framework to hang a narrative off of. Just remember that there will always be circumstances where you need to toss them out, even if just for a moment. Chris Perkins is a legitimately great DM, and he pulls stuff out of his butt when the situation calls for it. Your players <em>will </em>do things you're not prepared for, so be prepared to go off-roading.</p><p></p><p>Just remember, "the rules say you can't do that" is right up there with "rocks fall, you all die."</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="epithet, post: 7761595, member: 6796566"] You didn't ask me, but I'm gonna give you some advice anyway, since you said you were going to be running your first 5e game here soon. Forget "RAW" and "RAI" as concepts in your first session, and for a few after that, too. They'll poison your thinking. Be flexible and adaptive, because you will be nervous (everyone is, even after they've been DMing for years) and you'll forget all kinds of things if you try to focus on details. What you want to start with is "rules that work." That's got to be your foundation, and you can work from there. If you don't remember what the rule is for a situation, just think "what are they trying to do?" and "how hard is that going to be for them?" Wing it, make a ruling instead of looking up a rule, and the game will flow much better. That said, when you get more comfortable with running the game, a few sessions in, trying to bring your game more in line with the technical rules isn't a bad idea. With a few exceptions, the 5e rules are a marvel of consistency and provide a pretty great framework to hang a narrative off of. Just remember that there will always be circumstances where you need to toss them out, even if just for a moment. Chris Perkins is a legitimately great DM, and he pulls stuff out of his butt when the situation calls for it. Your players [I]will [/I]do things you're not prepared for, so be prepared to go off-roading. Just remember, "the rules say you can't do that" is right up there with "rocks fall, you all die." [/QUOTE]
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