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General Tabletop Discussion
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With the Holy Trinity out, let's take stock of 5E
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<blockquote data-quote="fuindordm" data-source="post: 6464665" data-attributes="member: 5435"><p>I don't think anyone can make a credible claim that AD&D was "meant" to be played in a particular way. Each table has always had a unique approach.</p><p></p><p>Official Setting <--> Homebrew?</p><p>Miserly Rewards <--> Monty Hall?</p><p>Let the Dice Fall Where They May <--> DM Rolls Behind Screen?</p><p>Torches and Rations <--> Mundane affairs handwaved away?</p><p>Rules light <--> Rules heavy?</p><p>Player Ignorance <--> System Mastery </p><p></p><p>Each of these spectra is perfectly valid in the AD&D era, and saw lots of variation among tables as evidenced by, for example, the letters and columns and articles in Dragon Magazine where people shared their experiences are argued that one side or the other was better.</p><p></p><p>Furthermore, no rule can ever stay behind the screen for long. There may have been a year or two after the release of the DMG when most players were ignorant of a lot of the information therein, but all that diffused outward very quickly. There is no way for a DM to keep their Assassin players from knowing about Poison Training, or the Wizard from learning (after the first mishap) that a fireball fills its designated volume, or that spell research is possible, or that drinking two potions at once can have strange effects. </p><p></p><p>In short, the level of mystery in your game has always been a moving target, requiring effort on the DMs part to maintain. Players and PCs learn from their mistakes and absorb the rules very quickly, even those which are nominally behind the screen. Nothing about 5E prevents us from creating an in-game atmosphere where the PCs are ignorant of many "rules" and the players must use their wits to survive. And it's pointless to lament that the distribution of information among the three books serves a different style of play. Had they chosen differently, it would have bought us at most a few months of player mystery before all the information diffuses and the DMs have to pick up the slack.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="fuindordm, post: 6464665, member: 5435"] I don't think anyone can make a credible claim that AD&D was "meant" to be played in a particular way. Each table has always had a unique approach. Official Setting <--> Homebrew? Miserly Rewards <--> Monty Hall? Let the Dice Fall Where They May <--> DM Rolls Behind Screen? Torches and Rations <--> Mundane affairs handwaved away? Rules light <--> Rules heavy? Player Ignorance <--> System Mastery Each of these spectra is perfectly valid in the AD&D era, and saw lots of variation among tables as evidenced by, for example, the letters and columns and articles in Dragon Magazine where people shared their experiences are argued that one side or the other was better. Furthermore, no rule can ever stay behind the screen for long. There may have been a year or two after the release of the DMG when most players were ignorant of a lot of the information therein, but all that diffused outward very quickly. There is no way for a DM to keep their Assassin players from knowing about Poison Training, or the Wizard from learning (after the first mishap) that a fireball fills its designated volume, or that spell research is possible, or that drinking two potions at once can have strange effects. In short, the level of mystery in your game has always been a moving target, requiring effort on the DMs part to maintain. Players and PCs learn from their mistakes and absorb the rules very quickly, even those which are nominally behind the screen. Nothing about 5E prevents us from creating an in-game atmosphere where the PCs are ignorant of many "rules" and the players must use their wits to survive. And it's pointless to lament that the distribution of information among the three books serves a different style of play. Had they chosen differently, it would have bought us at most a few months of player mystery before all the information diffuses and the DMs have to pick up the slack. [/QUOTE]
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With the Holy Trinity out, let's take stock of 5E
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