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*Dungeons & Dragons
When a rule is clear but leads to illogical efffects
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<blockquote data-quote="Ath-kethin" data-source="post: 7020941" data-attributes="member: 6798775"><p>I suppose I should mention that we all had a hearty laugh at the situation last night and moved on; it's not like this scenario was a game stopper or anything. As noted above, better (or at least different) description on my part could have made the scenario make far more sense narratively. As it stood, however, we just noted the funkiness of the rules and kept going.</p><p></p><p>And at its core, my question here had nothing to do with the narrative, it had to do with the rules themselves. I wasn't asking for clarification on how I could have run the situation differently, I was asking others what similar experiences they'd had (and laughed at). The whole thing reminded me of an encounter with a water elemental in an old <em>Rules Cyclopedia</em> era Thunder Rift adventure where the PCs encountered and fought a water elemental. The cut-budget printing of the adventure left out the (very relevant) bit about the elemental being immune to damage from non-magical weapons, so my PCs were literally able to beat a creature made of water to death with a common shovel (they used swords, but still). Now, had I referenced the <em>Creature Catalog</em> or even the description of the elemental in the <em>Rules Cyclopedia</em> itself, the immunity was listed, but for a DM just using the monster stats out of the adventure, there was nothing to prevent the situation I described. </p><p></p><p>I don't run a video game, I run an RPG, and I am no slave to rules if they make no sense to me. I ruled on the swarm situation as I described because it wasn't a major or particularly relevant portion of the adventure, and I found the idea of killing a bunch of tiny spiders using a sword (and some amazingly precise morningstar action) to be pretty funny, and my players agreed. Encounters like this are the type my old group and I still talk about 20 years after they happened, and I expect this one will be different. </p><p></p><p>I don't play D&D to pass judgement on the fine details of international criminal law, I play to hang out with my friends and have fun. Last night we all had fun, and so it was a clear win in my book.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Ath-kethin, post: 7020941, member: 6798775"] I suppose I should mention that we all had a hearty laugh at the situation last night and moved on; it's not like this scenario was a game stopper or anything. As noted above, better (or at least different) description on my part could have made the scenario make far more sense narratively. As it stood, however, we just noted the funkiness of the rules and kept going. And at its core, my question here had nothing to do with the narrative, it had to do with the rules themselves. I wasn't asking for clarification on how I could have run the situation differently, I was asking others what similar experiences they'd had (and laughed at). The whole thing reminded me of an encounter with a water elemental in an old [I]Rules Cyclopedia[/I] era Thunder Rift adventure where the PCs encountered and fought a water elemental. The cut-budget printing of the adventure left out the (very relevant) bit about the elemental being immune to damage from non-magical weapons, so my PCs were literally able to beat a creature made of water to death with a common shovel (they used swords, but still). Now, had I referenced the [I]Creature Catalog[/I] or even the description of the elemental in the [I]Rules Cyclopedia[/I] itself, the immunity was listed, but for a DM just using the monster stats out of the adventure, there was nothing to prevent the situation I described. I don't run a video game, I run an RPG, and I am no slave to rules if they make no sense to me. I ruled on the swarm situation as I described because it wasn't a major or particularly relevant portion of the adventure, and I found the idea of killing a bunch of tiny spiders using a sword (and some amazingly precise morningstar action) to be pretty funny, and my players agreed. Encounters like this are the type my old group and I still talk about 20 years after they happened, and I expect this one will be different. I don't play D&D to pass judgement on the fine details of international criminal law, I play to hang out with my friends and have fun. Last night we all had fun, and so it was a clear win in my book. [/QUOTE]
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