The Guards at the Gate Quote

[Vyvyan Basterd]

Why are you even asking this? I'm speaking to the situation as presented in the quote that you posted...

Tell the players they get through the gate without much trouble and move on to the fun.

"We want to speak with the guards."

It's that simple.

 

[Imaro]

It's that simple.

Not when the DM has been advised and/or instructed that that won't be FUN!!! And to skip it purposefully.

 

[jonesy]

Why are you even asking this? I'm speaking to the situation as presented in the quote that you posted...

Well first, no, I didn't.

And second, this whole time I thought the problem was the first sentence in the quote. The one about the fun.

 

[Scribble]

Except it doesn't say that. It literally says "These things are not fun; don't bother with them." The people reading in meaning that isn't there are the people apologizing for Wyatt and suggesting that here somehow forgot to add, as the Auld Grump said, the word "if."

Well, if that's how you feel that's how you feel. Have at ye.

Again reading the whole quote I read it as, don't spend a lot of time with stuff that doesn't add to the game feel free to move on. (Especially in light of the fact that in other areas of the book he talks about encounters that aren't combat.)

We can probably spend countless posts going back and forth about our opinions, but, I'm out- if saying I'm apologizing for Wyatt for some reason makes you feel better go for it!

 

[Vyvyan Basterd]

No, no no... you have to get to the FUN!!!! Interaction with NPC's (unless it's a skill challenge or a fight) isn't FUN!!!

The 4E DMG (you know, one of the actual core books, not a preview book with one passage of throw-away quotes) gives advice on running combats, skill challenges and other encounters.

 

[Vyvyan Basterd]

Not when the DM has been advised and/or instructed that that won't be FUN!!! And to skip it purposefully.

Maybe those "instructions" were a test for bad DMs.

 

[Imaro]

The 4E DMG (you know, one of the actual core books, not a preview book with one passage of throw-away quotes) gives advice on running combats, skill challenges and other encounters.

Yet the question posed by the OP was why people had issues with the quote. But if you want to start a thread about the advice in the DMG and whether people had issues with that, feel free to... I might even give my own opinion on it.

 

[technoextreme]

No, no no... you have to get to the FUN!!!! Interaction with NPC's (unless it's a skill challenge or a fight) isn't FUN!!!

It isn't. In the context of a plot driven story interactions that really don't do anything are pretty dumb.

 

[Imaro]

It isn't. In the context of a plot driven story interactions that really don't do anything are pretty dumb.

We already covered the fact that everyone isn't running their game as a plot driven story. This also ignores the fact that it can serve to illustrate the player's characters through interactions with the NPC's.

 

[Mallus]

I run pretty... chatty campaigns. Whole sessions without dice rolling and all that (sometimes). Virtually everything has the power of speech, and the will to use it!

Wyatt's quote never bothered me. I think you need to willfully misread it in order to make it offensive, or even poor advice.