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Message: <blockquote data-quote="SHARK" data-source="post: 435785" data-attributes="member: 1131">Greetings!Hey, thanks Lone Gunman!<img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" /> I'm glad that you enjoy my campaign! Indeed, my campaign has nothing in common with "video games".<img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" />Long ago--I suppose it has been over 20 years ago now since I started playing D&D, my best friend at the time, who taught me how to play D&D, later on when I was DMing, we were talking about campaign concepts and such, and one of the things that he said which has stayed with me ever since, was the following:"I think that the +5 Vorpal swords are in the game for a reason, just like all the other cool spells and magic items are. If my characters can never have such items, and enjoy using such spells, abilities, and items, then what is the point? I'm not playing so that I can struggle to ever get to be 20th level and be lucky to have a +1 sword. That isn't fantastic, that isn't wondrous, and at the end of the day, it isn't very fun. Part of the fun of D&D is getting the opportunity to have all of these strange abilities, magic items, races, and so on."I have thought about that a lot, and it has guided my games ever since. I don't have "Monty Haul" games, where mountains of treasure are gained for silly combats, or defeating absurd or weak opponents. But the enemies that the characters do face off against are epic, terrible, and fantastic. It was true in 1st Edition, as it is in 3rd Edition, that the strange races, the wierd abilities, the incredible spells, and the awesome magic items are essential ingredients to the game. Assuredly, not for all, but for myself, and for the players that I have always played with, being willing to embrace all of the fantastic that the game makes possible and available to the players and DM's alike has always been a key element of having the greatest deal of fun throughout the campaign.I'm not afraid to use all the fantastic stuff in the game, and I embrace it fully. I have played in other systems, and other campaigns, where there is low magic, and only humans, or where other races are unusual. Such campaigns can be fun for awhile, but after a time, they seem to wind down. They just aren't as fun, because by default, they don't have as many options as more fantastic games. For example, say you are in the kitchen, proceeding to cook a meal. If you only have three types of vegetables to choose from, you are limited in what you can make. On the other hand, if you have 10 different vegetables, then what you can make is increased in variety. You thus have more freedom, and more creativity. You don't have to actually *use* every vegetable, but having them in the kitchen--or the campaign--provides you with more options than if you only have three kinds of vegetables. The same thing can be said for game campaigns.As anyone who reads stuff about my campaign would recognize, my campaign certainly doesn't lack direction or focus, or drama. I have found that making use of all the different monsters, abilities, and so on, and letting my players just run wild with their imaginations, and embracing the different races and magic items in the books, encourages them to blossom creatively, and have more fun. They can dream. They can play characters that stretch the boundaries of their imaginations, and that isn't something that you can do if all that you are is a 5th level fighter with a +1 sword, you know?It is with these thoughts in mind that I allow most of the spells; I allow all kinds of strange monsters and creatures in the game, both as opponets, and as player characters; I embrace high levels, and I use just about any and all magic items to build a fantastic, bizarre world that not only is fun, but continues to amaze and inspire my players.<img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" />This is my sincere hope, and this is my sincere committment.<img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" />Semper Fidelis,SHARK</blockquote>

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