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Message: <blockquote data-quote="jcbdragon" data-source="post: 5660177" data-attributes="member: 6676432">Why do you have to be all the way up in NY?  I'd *LOVE* to find a 1e or 2e game!  lolYou're almost certainly going to end up with a fair number of "house rules" on different things, and you should probably record them so you can refer back later.  There are also going to be times when a "rules question" comes up.  Depending on the "severity" of the issue, we used one of several different approaches:Have someone who is also fairly familiar with the rules act as a DM's Assistant.  When something comes up and you need information, ask this person to look it up for you while you keep the game moving.  If the person causing the question to arise is one of the players, you may want to have them find the relevant material for you.If it is a particularly thorny question, call for a DM conference.  Most of our players were also DMs.  We would call a short break in the game and the DMs would adjourn to another room to hold a quick discussion on the issue.  Regardless of the opinions of the others, the one running the current game has the final say.Tell your players that you're going to go with [insert temporary interpretation of rules here] for this session, but that you reserve the right to think about/discuss it further and change your mind later.  i.e. warn them that this is not to be considered a binding precedent.That my players will enjoy it more if I make things challenging for them, and make it something more than a hack-and-slash exercise in statistical mathematics.That I need to build in ways to "reclaim" treasure from the characters (expenses such as taxes, guild fees, etc) without turning the world into one huge bureaucracy.That Guilds, Temples, and even family members are sadly under-utilized "hooks" for adventures.That my players will always find the one thing I never expected them to do, didn't plan for at all, and do it!That is entirely up to you and your players, and the style of gaming that you prefer.  If you're willing to spend the time, and give your NPCs credit for having at least SOME brains, you can turn low-level monsters into challenging encounters for moderately powerful characters.For example, I had a group of Lvl 5-6 PCs who were trying to take out a local warlord.  The warlord was known for using orcs as his basic foot-soldiers.  The PCs spotted a group of 4 orcs, who promptly took off running.  When the party gave chase, the orcs separated into two groups.  The party split in half and continued pursuit... right up until the orcs led each half of the party into a set of pit traps.  Since the orcs knew where the traps were, they could cross the area at a full run, but the party was moving way too fast to have any hope of spotting the traps until it was too late. We never saw the logic behind them, so did away with them completely.  I never noticed any particular game-unbalancing effects from it.Arcana had a few good things about it, but taken as a whole tended to be more trouble than it was worth, in my opinion.  The Survival Guides have some interesting information in them, but we used them so rarely I couldn't give you an informed opinion on their contents.</blockquote>

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