The "I Didn't Comment in Another Thread" Thread

[Cadence]

Beef-A-Roo?

I had no idea they had spread out of the state!

(And now I wonder if it can claim part credit for Chainmail via Jeff Perren - and thus part of D&D. Which should have been my first thought given what kind of site this is.)

 

[prabe]

I'm helping my 19-year old nephew develop a custom species for his brand-new D&D campaign. At first it was very frustrating for me, but after about the fifth or sixth round of the email chain I realized something very important:

The internet lied to me.

I've been told by the Internet that game balance is extremely important--no one character race/class/background should be more powerful than any of the others, for example. The Internet has been telling me for years that rules are not only important, they are absolutely vital if anyone can ever hope to enjoy themselves while playing a tabletop RPG. I was told that there can only be four elements; that is a lie. I was told that psions must be separate from sorcerers; that is a lie. I was told that swords can't deal bludgeoning damage; that is a lie. I was told that dragons have to be a certain color, there are only nine alignments, barbarians can't use spells, these are all bald-faced lies.

My nephew has reminded me of something important....something so important that it's kind of embarrassing to admit I forgot it in the first place. The point is always (ALWAYS!) to have fun. Full stop. So if I'm ever required to choose between (a) doing the Boring Thing because the rules say so, and (b) doing the Fun Thing even though it breaks the rules, the answer is forever and always B. If I can't even remember that simple concept, why am I even sitting in the DM chair?!

This custom race is going to be awesome. Is it going to be balanced? Is it going to be unique? Is it going to at least follow the rules? (flips table) Who cares?! I signed up to have fun with my nephew, not attend some bulls-- game design seminar on "bounded accuracy" or whatever.

Of course, some people will find, e.g., balance to be more important, or more useful, than others. Likewise rules. You and I might end up running very differently, and your nephew will probably end up running differently from both of us; this is good.

 

[CleverNickName]

Of course, some people will find, e.g., balance to be more important, or more useful, than others. Likewise rules. You and I might end up running very differently, and your nephew will probably end up running differently from both of us; this is good.

Yeah, that's why I posted that rant here instead of in another thread.

I'm not going to throw away my rulebooks just yet; I just needed to blow off some steam. For just one shining moment there, I remembered what it was like being a teenager playing D&D, and how incredibly dull some of the older kids could be about it. I feel like I just woke up from a nap.

(And I really meant every word about "the answer is always B." That's gospel.)

 

[Snarf Zagyg]

I'm not going to throw away my rulebooks just yet; I just needed to blow off some steam.

One of the yung 'uns I run games for said that the D&D rules were absolute fire, and that they're lit.

...so I used the core rulebooks for kindling.

 

[Scribe]

The internet lied to me.

 

[billd91]

I had no idea they had spread out of the state!

I guess we're about to get 3 of them in Wisconsin. Beloit (no surprising being so close to Rockford), Janesville, and Monroe.

 

[CleverNickName]

I didn't believe the threat at first. It seemed to preposterous, too absurd to ever be taken seriously.

Now it's too late. They've arrived. They're already at my local grocery store.

I know what must be done.

 

[prabe]

I didn't believe the threat at first. It seemed to pereposterous, too absurd to ever be taken seriously.

View attachment 295347

Now it's too late. They've arrived. They're already at my local grocery store.
View attachment 295348

I know what must be done.

 

[Ryujin]

I'm helping my 19-year old nephew develop a custom species for his brand-new D&D campaign. At first it was very frustrating for me, but after about the fifth or sixth round of the email chain I realized something very important:

The internet lied to me.

I've been told by the Internet that game balance is extremely important--no one character race/class/background should be more powerful than any of the others, for example. The Internet has been telling me for years that rules are not only important, they are absolutely vital if anyone can ever hope to enjoy themselves while playing a tabletop RPG. I was told that there can only be four elements; that is a lie. I was told that psions must be separate from sorcerers; that is a lie. I was told that swords can't deal bludgeoning damage; that is a lie. I was told that dragons have to be a certain color, there are only nine alignments, barbarians can't use spells, these are all bald-faced lies.

My nephew has reminded me of something important....something so important that it's kind of embarrassing to admit I forgot it in the first place. The point is always (ALWAYS!) to have fun. Full stop. So if I'm ever required to choose between (a) doing the Boring Thing because the rules say so, and (b) doing the Fun Thing even though it breaks the rules, the answer is forever and always B. If I can't even remember that simple concept, why am I even sitting in the DM chair?!

This custom race is going to be awesome. Is it going to be balanced? Probably not. Is it going to be unique? Count on it. Is it going to at least follow the rules? (flips table) Who cares?! I signed up to have fun with my nephew, not attend some bulls-- game design seminar on "bounded accuracy" or whatever.

Don't completely set aside the idea of balance. In a group if one player always gets to shine, then others can feel left out. That's no less damaging to fun than limiting creativity, for no reason other than "Rules!" I once played in a group in which one player's character would always seem to die, very early on, and then that player would replace his character with the munchkinized version of my character. Suddenly the place I'd staked out for myself in the party wasn't mine anymore. It was absolutely no fun for me and it happened maybe 4 times, while I was playing with that group, in three different games.

 

[FrogReaver]

??? The two aren’t mutually exclusive…