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I've seen the Fourth Edition PHB and MM

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Author Topic: I've seen the Fourth Edition PHB and MM  (Read 4548 times)
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randalls
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« on: May 30, 2008, 07:01:02 am »

He said that with rule zero gone, DMs "No longer have the right to cheat". Its amazing how the point of that rule has been missed- but it seems like that line of thinking is what led to 3rd edition and beyond.

There have always been players (and even DMs) who thought like this. As far as I can tell people who see it like that tend to fall into two major categories:

1) People who see D&D (and RPGs in general) as competitive games with the players trying to beat the DM and vice-versa. Naturally, if you are trying to win a competitive game, strict adherence to the rules is generally going to be important.

2) People whose early experiences with RPGs were with truly bad DMs: those DMs who are either totally incompetent or, worse, DM because they enjoy the power it gives them to mess over others (e.g. DMs who always see that the party dies no matter what it takes to kill them).

But yes, catering to these folks seems to be responsible for a lot of rules bloat. However, I think there was another reason for it. If one doesn't have to make any rules decisions let alone develop homebrew campaigns and adventures, it is probably easier to DM. Since sales really depend on having lots of DMs, WOTC was interested in making it easier for the average person to jump right into DMing without as many chances to goof up. Unfortunately, they chose lots of firm rules over lots of good advice and examples.
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