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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Snarf Zagyg" data-source="post: 8277007" data-attributes="member: 7023840">FWIW, I think a lot of people tend to misunderstand early D&D.For example, this is what Gygax actually said here at enworld about how he DM's:BTW, when I am DMing AD&D, I tend to ignore rules that get in the wat of the flow of the game. When I have said so before an audience, there have always been some audience members who expressed shock, not to say horror and disbelief. I aon't a rules lawyer, and I believe my own advice--ignore and change as the DM sees fit to make the players' involvement intense and the game be a compelling experience....Many a PC has been killed in mu campaign, but all those losses were because of very bad luck or like play. I have never set out to eliminate a PC in my campaign, only for special events at cons where the participants expect to have that happen. When a player is distraught aboyt such a loss, I empathise strongly...Of course when I was DMing the rules were highly flexible and nor necesarily what was written in the books...James Ward, recounting going through D1-D3:We discovered a highly magical area with some type of dais. The Drow and Drider guards were quickly dealt with. Gary described the portal in wonderful detail. None of us were going to make any mistake in dealing with this thing. We started testing it using the same tests that we used for the demon mouth in TOMB OF HORRORS. We tied a rock to a rope and threw it in the hole. We could easily pull the rope back. We stuck a staff with a bit of raw meat on the end in the hole and again easily pulled it back. A small cage with a living plant and a mouse went in and came out healthy and fine. We had a wizard with a teleport spell. He memorized our area and we tied a rope to his middle and he walked through the portal. We easily pulled him back and he described a cool metal chamber with a metal door in the distance. We were filled with wonder and just had to check it out ourselves. Here is where we made the bonehead mistake.We all jumped into the portal; came out on the other side; and began exploring.Gary got up from his DM chair and asked me if I had my Metamorphosis Alpha starship Warden material. I said I did and he urged me to go and get it. I thought this was a strange request, but I went and got it. When I came back Gary was sitting in my chair with a character sheet in his hand. He told me to sit in his DM chair. I felt very uncomfortable sitting in Gary's chair. For years that chair represented the all-powerful DM. At first I was very unsure of DMing this group.Gary explained to all of us that we had just been transported to the starship Warden.Also ...Gary's beat them all for interesting encounters and fun puzzles. He never consulted his rules, while running a game, except for handing out experience points.Despite the joy some of us get from quoting the arcane rules in AD&D at each other, the fact of the matter is that the game itself, as played, was much more loosey-goosey.</blockquote>

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