When the rules can go hang...

[MerricB]

I was happily running a RPGA (LGR) adventure last Saturday when the barbarian decided to charge an opponent.

The opponent was in water. Okay, perhaps the barbarian can jump that far. (Makes roll) nope. Oh well, perhaps after landing, he can do a Thorpie and swim the remaining distance. 5 foot short? Oh well.

Would it be more fun if he made it? Yep. Very well, I'll do that - and ignore the reach of the creature as the barbarian has only a few hit points left.

The barbarian ran, flew and swam towards the opponent, and hit it with his greatsword. Threat. Critical confirmed. Ouch.

Then, ever so gently, the opponent critted the barbarian in return and bit his head off.

Was that fun? I thought so. The players thought so.

I love keeping the play of the game accurate to what the rules say, but every so often, someone does something so stupid (and fun) that the rulebook can go out the window whilst people enjoy the game.

Cheers!

 

[Hanuman]

I love it! Thats the way D&D should be played, fun should always come first.









Did you know? The names of the three wise monkeys are: Mizaru: See no
evil, Mikazaru: Hear no evil, and Mazaru: Speak no evil.

 

[der_kluge]

Yea, but he still died. It would have been just as funny to have him do a bellyflop into the water, and then to have his head bitten off the round afterwards.

Has "Ian Thorpe" become a verb in Australia?

 

[MerricB]

Yea, but he still died. It would have been just as funny to have him do a bellyflop into the water, and then to have his head bitten off the round afterwards.

Has "Ian Thorpe" become a verb in Australia?

Not quite a verb. An adjective, perhaps.

Cheers!

 

[Herremann the Wise]

Either way would have been quite a moment.
Perhaps what is cooler is a DM and Players collectively willing to not be bound hip and thigh to the rules when someone does something heroically stupid.

Wait a second... I'm a rules lawyer! You can't do that! What are you doing having fun!! The rules state...

Thorpie: Noun? (As used above)
Thorpified: Verb (transitive verb I think? Grammar experts out there?)
Thorpe: Verb (I'll Thorpe my way across this raging torrent and... )
The joys of the english language huh?

Best Regards
Herremann the Wise

 

[Lord Pendragon]

*shrug* As a player, the game is less fun for me if the drama of the moment is entirely dependent on the whim of the DM.

But it sounds like your group had a great time, and that's what the game is all about.

 

[Dareoon Dalandrove]

I think that the two sides have to be delicatly balanced. Fun first, but how do you divert from the rules and not offend anyone? If you give a break to someone others may think that you favoring them if they don't get the same treatment. And of course you don't want to stifle an "amazing moment" with rules. In many movies the hero falls over dead AFTER dealing the killing blow. It sounds like you've got good players that allow for cinematic scenes dispite rules.

 

[MerricB]

I'm generally very much a rules lawyer of a DM: I know the rules very well, and adhere to them.

Every so often, however, it will enhance the fun of the game to allow a little more flexibility. It's fairly rare that such occurs, but it did on this occasion.

Cheers!

 

[seankreynolds]

I might've ruled that by going underwater as part of his dive, the barbarian was "around the corner" and thus the monster couldn't AOO him.

 

[niastri]

Here here to Marric.

Rules rule.

But fun prevails.