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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Ydars" data-source="post: 4639978" data-attributes="member: 62992">I think that D&D is a game with a number of different phases and as a DM, I tend to handle each phase differently with respect to detail and mechanics.  In 3.5E, for example, the first phase is when the PCs are under 3rd-4th level. At this point, cash is usually very short and the PCs are always scraping around for money.  The game is grittier and deadlier and the PCs are often one or two hits from death. There is also not so much meta-record keeping for me to do (i.e. buff/debuff, spell duration etc) and so I have some resources available to track this kind of stuff.  This phase is when I like to run site based dungeon type adventures because it allows the players to develop their characters a little without having to worry too much about story. Dungeon adventures also make more sense when the PCs are low level, at least IMHO. So in this phase, I want encumberance tracked (I have a copy of all character sheets on my laptop in excel and it calculates encumberance automatically) and I will track every last arrow and spell. I require spellcasting tell me what spells they have prepared and I keep the list and mark it off. In later phases of the game, the meta-resource tracking starts to take over, and besides, the PCs are beyond the stage where this kind of book-keeping makes sense. They often have bags of holding anyway and so it is not so important. So in summary, I would say that the different phases of D&D lend themselves to different levels of book-keeping and I find this refreshing and an important reason why low-level play is very satisfying for me. As a player, I insist of total track of my PCs resources because it allows me to focus on something and keeps my attention away from annoying the other players. I hate the DM emeritus and since I can easily become one, I will try any tactic to rein myself in.</blockquote>

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