Menu
News
All News
Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
Pathfinder
Starfinder
Warhammer
2d20 System
Year Zero Engine
Industry News
Reviews
Dragon Reflections
Columns
Weekly Digests
Weekly News Digest
Freebies, Sales & Bundles
RPG Print News
RPG Crowdfunding News
Game Content
ENterplanetary DimENsions
Mythological Figures
Opinion
Worlds of Design
Peregrine's Next
RPG Evolution
Other Columns
From the Freelancing Frontline
Monster ENcyclopedia
WotC/TSR Alumni Look Back
4 Hours w/RSD (Ryan Dancey)
The Road to 3E (Jonathan Tweet)
Greenwood's Realms (Ed Greenwood)
Drawmij's TSR (Jim Ward)
Community
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Resources
Wiki
Pages
Latest activity
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Downloads
Latest reviews
Search resources
EN Publishing
Store
EN5ider
Adventures in ZEITGEIST
Awfully Cheerful Engine
What's OLD is NEW
Judge Dredd & The Worlds Of 2000AD
War of the Burning Sky
Level Up: Advanced 5E
Events & Releases
Upcoming Events
Private Events
Featured Events
Socials!
Twitch
YouTube
Facebook (EN Publishing)
Facebook (EN World)
Twitter
Instagram
TikTok
Podcast
Features
Top 5 RPGs Compiled Charts 2004-Present
Adventure Game Industry Market Research Summary (RPGs) V1.0
Ryan Dancey: Acquiring TSR
Q&A With Gary Gygax
D&D Rules FAQs
TSR, WotC, & Paizo: A Comparative History
D&D Pronunciation Guide
Million Dollar TTRPG Kickstarters
Tabletop RPG Podcast Hall of Fame
Eric Noah's Unofficial D&D 3rd Edition News
D&D in the Mainstream
D&D & RPG History
About Morrus
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
D&D Older Editions
The Best Thing from 4E
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="LostSoul" data-source="post: 6573742" data-attributes="member: 386"><p>I get the same feeling when I hear about "rulings, not rules". I always understood that to mean that the rules said: DM, now is the time to make a ruling. Instead what I'm getting from all the 5E posts is that the DM can override whatever's written for whatever meta-game considerations they have at the moment. Which seems like a terribly difficult way to DM! Not only do you have to keep all the NPCs in line, but you have to make sure you know how the players are feeling at any given time.</p><p></p><p>I'm busy with my own game and HP damage is determined by fictional positioning - I have a little table with some keywords and numbers associated with them. So as DM I'm expected to say, "I think that is a "Killing Blow", so it deals 24 damage." Determining where the damage falls on the chart is obviously a judgement call - a ruling. That's what I think of when I hear about rulings: points in the rules where they ask the DM to make a ruling. B/X Reaction Rolls are like that.</p><p></p><p>When I read the 5E posts, "rulings not rules" seems to mean "the DM should take meta-game considerations into every bit of action resolution". Are the players bored? Then you succeed and the conflict ends. Are the players feeling like this is too easy? Then make it more difficult - add some HP, make an NPC save, overrule a PC ability.</p><p></p><p>If I were running things that way I'd get burnt out in no time. I made my system so I trust it, and it hasn't let me down so far - well, during this last campaign, at least! I'm not afraid to attack the marrow of the system. (I'm considering going to a die-pool system instead of the bonus die system I have at the moment.)</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="LostSoul, post: 6573742, member: 386"] I get the same feeling when I hear about "rulings, not rules". I always understood that to mean that the rules said: DM, now is the time to make a ruling. Instead what I'm getting from all the 5E posts is that the DM can override whatever's written for whatever meta-game considerations they have at the moment. Which seems like a terribly difficult way to DM! Not only do you have to keep all the NPCs in line, but you have to make sure you know how the players are feeling at any given time. I'm busy with my own game and HP damage is determined by fictional positioning - I have a little table with some keywords and numbers associated with them. So as DM I'm expected to say, "I think that is a "Killing Blow", so it deals 24 damage." Determining where the damage falls on the chart is obviously a judgement call - a ruling. That's what I think of when I hear about rulings: points in the rules where they ask the DM to make a ruling. B/X Reaction Rolls are like that. When I read the 5E posts, "rulings not rules" seems to mean "the DM should take meta-game considerations into every bit of action resolution". Are the players bored? Then you succeed and the conflict ends. Are the players feeling like this is too easy? Then make it more difficult - add some HP, make an NPC save, overrule a PC ability. If I were running things that way I'd get burnt out in no time. I made my system so I trust it, and it hasn't let me down so far - well, during this last campaign, at least! I'm not afraid to attack the marrow of the system. (I'm considering going to a die-pool system instead of the bonus die system I have at the moment.) [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
D&D Older Editions
The Best Thing from 4E
Top