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Why Rules Lawyering Is a Negative Term
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<blockquote data-quote="Fanaelialae" data-source="post: 7630967" data-attributes="member: 53980"><p>That's a very black and white way of looking at it. In my experience, very few DMs are bad all of the time. It's much more common for a decent DM to get a reputation as a bad DM because they get into a stubborn rut every now and again. And, respectfully, I've sat at my table whereas you have not. I know for a fact that there have been times when a bad call was changed because I was there.</p><p></p><p>As I've said, I follow the protocol outlined above myself in most cases. But sometimes a cherished PC's life is on the line and some DMs will occasionally behave irrationally in these situations. At those times, I think it's okay to dispense with protocol, and address the issue until an agreeable resolution can be reached. I think it's far better to hold up game than to allow a player's night to be unfairly ruined by a bad call. (And, yes, I feel this way irrespective of which side of the screen I happen to be sitting on.)</p><p></p><p>As to your question about pros vs cons, if you've been paying attention you should already know the answer. I'm a respected member of my table and have been at weekly games for roughly two decades. That's over a thousand sessions of D&D. Somewhere in the ballpark of 6,000+ hours. I certainly wouldn't tolerate a disruptive presence at my table for that long, and neither would they.</p><p></p><p>That said, my point is and has been that we can all benefit from being able to admit when we are wrong with grace and humility. We all have more fun at the table if we listen to each other rather than one figure bringing a "my way or the highway" attitude. Believe me, I have GM'd a great many times so I know it is a considerable amount of work, for which players oftentimes are less than grateful. But there is good rules lawyering/guruing and there's bad. I think it's important to remember that just like a DM usually isn't all good or bad, the same thing applies to rules lawyers/gurus and just about every other play style out there.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Fanaelialae, post: 7630967, member: 53980"] That's a very black and white way of looking at it. In my experience, very few DMs are bad all of the time. It's much more common for a decent DM to get a reputation as a bad DM because they get into a stubborn rut every now and again. And, respectfully, I've sat at my table whereas you have not. I know for a fact that there have been times when a bad call was changed because I was there. As I've said, I follow the protocol outlined above myself in most cases. But sometimes a cherished PC's life is on the line and some DMs will occasionally behave irrationally in these situations. At those times, I think it's okay to dispense with protocol, and address the issue until an agreeable resolution can be reached. I think it's far better to hold up game than to allow a player's night to be unfairly ruined by a bad call. (And, yes, I feel this way irrespective of which side of the screen I happen to be sitting on.) As to your question about pros vs cons, if you've been paying attention you should already know the answer. I'm a respected member of my table and have been at weekly games for roughly two decades. That's over a thousand sessions of D&D. Somewhere in the ballpark of 6,000+ hours. I certainly wouldn't tolerate a disruptive presence at my table for that long, and neither would they. That said, my point is and has been that we can all benefit from being able to admit when we are wrong with grace and humility. We all have more fun at the table if we listen to each other rather than one figure bringing a "my way or the highway" attitude. Believe me, I have GM'd a great many times so I know it is a considerable amount of work, for which players oftentimes are less than grateful. But there is good rules lawyering/guruing and there's bad. I think it's important to remember that just like a DM usually isn't all good or bad, the same thing applies to rules lawyers/gurus and just about every other play style out there. [/QUOTE]
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