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<blockquote data-quote="Lanefan" data-source="post: 8973859" data-attributes="member: 29398">&quot;Every word in the books is a firm rule&quot; should be the default, really; and the books need to be clearer somehow in defining what is intended to be a hard rule (e.g. Firefinger damage) or a guideline.&nbsp; (EDIT to add: Thus, when I say rules-as-guidelines I mean more that rules are malleable and kitbashable into being other rules, not that rules are wishy-washy and unclear.)As written, I too would interpret that spell-choosing piece to mean the player gets unfettered choice.&nbsp; To be a guideline it would have to be expanded to read something like &quot;When gaining a level the caster gains a new spell*.&nbsp; This spell can be assigned by the DM, chosen by the player, rolled at random, or selected by whatever other means you find appropriate.&quot;Here, the gaining of a new spell is a hard rule; the suggested assignment methods are guidelines.* - should be an added clause &quot;of the highest level that character can cast&quot; or something similar; but it's not in the original example so I left it off here.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Lanefan, post: 8973859, member: 29398"] "Every word in the books is a firm rule" should be the default, really; and the books need to be clearer somehow in defining what is intended to be a hard rule (e.g. Firefinger damage) or a guideline. (EDIT to add: Thus, when I say rules-as-guidelines I mean more that rules are malleable and kitbashable into being other rules, not that rules are wishy-washy and unclear.) As written, I too would interpret that spell-choosing piece to mean the player gets unfettered choice. To be a guideline it would have to be expanded to read something like "When gaining a level the caster gains a new spell*. This spell can be assigned by the DM, chosen by the player, rolled at random, or selected by whatever other means you find appropriate." Here, the gaining of a new spell is a hard rule; the suggested assignment methods are guidelines. * - should be an added clause "of the highest level that character can cast" or something similar; but it's not in the original example so I left it off here. [/QUOTE]

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