Why You Don't Let the Sage Answer Psionics Questions

[Kae'Yoss]

The nuance turned the whole ruling on its head. Beyond that, it's not the first error, and it wasn't that hard to look it up properly, and the guy's from the company who makes the game, and it's basically his job to answer questions, and answer them properly.

 

[Nifft]

"Uncharitable?" I'd think that fixing bugs for free is quite a charitable service (provided by Bacris in this case).

The charity may sacrifice the pride of the Sage for the benefit of the community, and my sympathy isn't for the Sage's ability to save face.

Basically, if you're getting paid to do something, aim for perfection. If you get it wrong, be humble and both admit and correct your mistake. But frankly, I think it'd be better if questions went to knowledgeable folks in the relevant area, rather than to a single "question guy". D&D is a big game with a lot of rules, and not everyone can know all of them.

Cheers, -- N

 

[IanB]

Given that they have a history of fixing their mistakes in the FAQ, I think it is going a little far to criticize them on the grounds that they don't.

 

[Jhaelen]

But frankly, I think it'd be better if questions went to knowledgeable folks in the relevant area, rather than to a single "question guy". D&D is a big game with a lot of rules, and not everyone can know all of them.

Exactly what I think, too. The 'Rules of the Game' article series about psionics was also riddled with errors.

There's a reason the Knowledge skill in D&D is split into several different fields of study - noone can know everything

 

[Bacris]

The problem isn't the service - I think it's a great avenue for common questions to be asked that aren't quite frequently asked enough to warrant going into the FAQ.

But, The Sage has shown (especially w/re: to psionics) that he doesn't quite know the rules. Which is fine - there are a LOT of rules in D&D 3.5. But he'll go off the top of his head, rather than actually look up the rules.

That's what I take issue with. And I'm not exactly up in arms, but given how much of a stigma psionics gets, a large part due to people not understanding the rules, seeing someone who is supposed to be the WotC rules authority posting incorrect rules was something I felt worth mentioning

 

[Legildur]

Given that they have a history of fixing their mistakes in the FAQ, I think it is going a little far to criticize them on the grounds that they don't.

Maybe they do, but it takes them forever to achieve it.... I can get legislation changed quicker than the error correction in the FAQ...

 

[geosapient]

Moral of the story: don't consult "experts." Consult the rules.

I agree. I remember a question in Dragon Magazine about how long the elven gestation period was.

The answer (paraphrased); There are no written rules defining the elven gestation period.

In actuality; Elves have a gestation period of 1 1/2 years as stated in the Complete Elven Handbook (Life and Death chapter).

The Sage was none too happy and somewhat haughty with his response when called on the issue.

This was pre-3.0

 

[Cameron]

I agree. I remember a question in Dragon Magazine about how long the elven gestation period was.

The answer (paraphrased); There are no written rules defining the elven gestation period.

In actuality; Elves have a gestation period of 1 1/2 years as stated in the Complete Elven Handbook (Life and Death chapter).

The Sage was none too happy and somewhat haughty with his response when called on the issue.

This was pre-3.0

And which Sage was that? There has been at least one change in Sage since 2005...

 

[Christian]

And which Sage was that? There has been at least one change in Sage since 2005...

Skip, I'd imagine ... I'm pretty sure he held that title through the entire reign of AD&D 2nd Ed.

 

[Tiberius]

In actuality; Elves have a gestation period of 1 1/2 years as stated in the Complete Elven Handbook (Life and Death chapter).

The Sage was none too happy and somewhat haughty with his response when called on the issue.

To be fair, that does sound like fluff rather than rules; IMO, the Sage was correct in that there were no written rules for elven pregnancy duration (I imagine, not having read the book in question), but would have been incorrect had he stated that there was no written material on elven gestation.