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Message: <blockquote data-quote="sniffles" data-source="post: 2449912" data-attributes="member: 30035">Good question, Joshua. Like most people, I'm better at complaining than finding solutions. <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 know one thing I've thought a lot about that would make the game a more enjoyable experience for me (I think) and would support my suspension of disbelief. It's what I call "taking the 'game' out of the game". That is, trying not to refer to game rules and game terminology all the time. Instead of saying, "I rolled a 20", saying "My sword slices right through his armor like it was made of paper". Instead of "I'm casting Magic Missile", describing it as "Four tiny balls of bright blue energy shoot out of my fingers and fly unerringly toward the orc".  The problem with this concept is, it takes away some of the common language that players use to communicate. Especially in reference to spells. The other players and GM can probably figure out that it's Magic Missile when I say the energy flies unerringly toward my target, but it could be something else. Saying it's Magic Missile lets everyone know exactly what it is. It's verbal shorthand, too. Describing the action in more colorful, less rules-oriented terminology takes longer. Some people just aren't good at that kind of descriptive phrasing.  The same thing holds true for things like avoiding deus ex machina resolutions, or avoiding "railroading" to progress the plot. If you need to bail the party out of a bad spot suddenly you may not have time to come up with a really effective solution other than having a high-powered NPC show up and save the PCs butts. If you want the party to get from point A to point B so they can find the neat treasure or the MacGuffin that your plot hinges on, you may have to throw them on the GM express train to get them there. (And yes, I realize this also applies to one of my own complaints regarding NPC behavior - playing a particular race in a stereotypical way is easy and helps communicate to the players that this NPC is a dwarf and that one is a halfling or whatever). <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=":)" /></blockquote>

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