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Message: <blockquote data-quote="RFisher" data-source="post: 3740962" data-attributes="member: 3608">In my experience, that's the only distinction that matters. Most of the TRPG sessions I've played in were good. Most of the GMs I've played with were adequate. Sure, a good GM can mean a great session, but a great session doesn't necessarily mean you had a good DM.No, ignoring rules is not always easy for everyone. It is work for me to search for the gems I want to use when they're mixed in with a lot of rules I don't want to use.Yes, I can. Watch: I love classic Traveller because it doesn't have classes. I love oD&D because it doesn't have skills.Actually, I'm not sure that it even did that.Look, I've got a list of criticisms a mile long for previous editions of (A)D&D starting with the fact that they didn't adequately--for my thick skull--explain how they were meant to be played.& I've said that I have used social combat, like it, & am looking forward to what 4e is going to give us in this area.But the (for lack of a better term) negotiation/fiat style of play is a perfectly valid & enjoyable option as well.Actually, I believe I said that once I stopped worrying about them, such problems went away.If I'm not going to use social skills or mental attributes, then I'd prefer that they not be in the game. Then how people have allocated their resources isn't an issue. (Though attributes tend to be less of a problem in this way than skills.) If players have spend resources on mechanical abilities, I do feel a need to make them count for something.Which is probably why I tend to dislike such things. I'd rather be predisposed to saying "yes" to whatever a player wants his PC to do & then let the player express the character's strengths through actions than to have the players struggle to express their character concept through mechanics & then feel like I have to go out of my way to make those mechanical choices seem to matter.That predisposition to yes, by the way, means that I'm going to let the shy guy's attempts at diplomacy succeed as well as anyone else's. At least, I'm going to do my best, & I can certainly say that more rules don't make my best any better.The only things I've seen make a bad DM are immaturity & inexperience. Mostly immaturity. I've never seen unclear rules, poor rules interpretation, or poor judgements be a real problem with a mature DM & mature players. In fact, some of the greatest sessions I've been lucky enough to be a part of probably included all of those things.</blockquote>

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