I try and play the rules as written - I can't see the point of paying a large amount of cash for a set of rules and then not actually use them. If you don't like the rules then get a game that better suits what you want.
Remember that even the rulebooks you spend all that money on state, explicitly, that these are all guidelines and you should change anything to make your play feel more enjoyable, so, fundamentally, everyone is following the rules as written.
Which also says that the way you are doing it is wonderful and amazing, and worth recognizing -- but not worse and not better than what anyone else is doing.
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Only a DM since 1980 (3000+ Sessions) / PhD, MS, MA / Mixed, Bi, Trans, Woman / No longer welcome in the US, apparently
Wyrlde: Adventures in the Seven Cities .-=] Lore Book | Patreon | Wyrlde YT [=-. An original Setting for 5e, a whole solar system of adventure. Ongoing updates, exclusies, more. Not Talking About It / Dubbed The Oracle in the Cult of Mythology Nerds
Whenever a new DM asks for advice I always give them the link to Matt Colville’s “Running the Game” series, and then follow that up with the same four points. Point #1 is always:
If everyone at the table is having fun, even if you’re not strictly following the rules, you did it right.
The only metric by which any DM can or should be judged is not by how well they know or follow the rules, but by how much fun their players have. If any DM is ever unsure if they’re a “good DM,” all they need do is look around the table to see if their players are enjoying themselves. That’s the only “unbreakable” rule: everyone should be having fun.
This seems like a hot topic but here are my thoughts before it gets buried.
I agree with many posters that rules are meant to be bent to make the game more fun, whether we are playing Monopoly or DND. Also, I will bend/break any rule to increase mechanical ease of play.
The DM has final say and the rulebooks give good guidance. But when my players inevitably try something outlandish ("I flying tackle the golem and knock him off the castle top!" <last campaign session>) it is time to make something up.
Lastly, although I don't play many 5E rules, I don't understand the idea or an ability score giving a character insight into an adventure. A recent 5E adventure I bought was a mystery and the higher the ability check, the more information they received about the plot and villain. Scant information on whom the PCs would talk to receive that information from and why that NPC would know intricate details about the antagonist's life. I totally trashed that and gave multiple NPCs in the world partial knowledge about the villain and plot and it is the PCs job to find and question them. (No rolls required of course, just explore the world and role play a bit).
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Velstitzen
I am a 40 something year old physician who DMs for a group of 40 something year old doctors. We play a hybrid game, mostly based on 2nd edition rules with some homebrew and 5E components.
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Remember that even the rulebooks you spend all that money on state, explicitly, that these are all guidelines and you should change anything to make your play feel more enjoyable, so, fundamentally, everyone is following the rules as written.
Which also says that the way you are doing it is wonderful and amazing, and worth recognizing -- but not worse and not better than what anyone else is doing.
Only a DM since 1980 (3000+ Sessions) / PhD, MS, MA / Mixed, Bi, Trans, Woman / No longer welcome in the US, apparently
Wyrlde: Adventures in the Seven Cities
.-=] Lore Book | Patreon | Wyrlde YT [=-.
An original Setting for 5e, a whole solar system of adventure. Ongoing updates, exclusies, more.
Not Talking About It / Dubbed The Oracle in the Cult of Mythology Nerds
Whenever a new DM asks for advice I always give them the link to Matt Colville’s “Running the Game” series, and then follow that up with the same four points. Point #1 is always:
The only metric by which any DM can or should be judged is not by how well they know or follow the rules, but by how much fun their players have. If any DM is ever unsure if they’re a “good DM,” all they need do is look around the table to see if their players are enjoying themselves. That’s the only “unbreakable” rule: everyone should be having fun.
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This seems like a hot topic but here are my thoughts before it gets buried.
I agree with many posters that rules are meant to be bent to make the game more fun, whether we are playing Monopoly or DND. Also, I will bend/break any rule to increase mechanical ease of play.
The DM has final say and the rulebooks give good guidance. But when my players inevitably try something outlandish ("I flying tackle the golem and knock him off the castle top!" <last campaign session>) it is time to make something up.
Lastly, although I don't play many 5E rules, I don't understand the idea or an ability score giving a character insight into an adventure. A recent 5E adventure I bought was a mystery and the higher the ability check, the more information they received about the plot and villain. Scant information on whom the PCs would talk to receive that information from and why that NPC would know intricate details about the antagonist's life. I totally trashed that and gave multiple NPCs in the world partial knowledge about the villain and plot and it is the PCs job to find and question them. (No rolls required of course, just explore the world and role play a bit).
Velstitzen
I am a 40 something year old physician who DMs for a group of 40 something year old doctors. We play a hybrid game, mostly based on 2nd edition rules with some homebrew and 5E components.