Fantasy is not bound to rigid rules and rationales. If something is unclear as to how or why it works that way, remember that it is all fantasy. The second thing to remember is that these rules deal with fantasy. In Swords & Spells, the mass combat add-on, they note: Still, the metaphor is of the referee changing the rules as you proceed, with little discussion about ad hoc rulings. The gap between the mode of play and the written rules is so wide that reading the rules as an all-encompassing legal text on how to play is infeasible. ![]() This is supported by textual analysis as well – the game rules’ intent (medieval people having adventures!) versus the relative paucity of the rules basically required large degrees of interpolation and discretion just to run a game. – Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson, Dungeons & Dragons Volume 1, Men & Magic (1974), p.4 In addition, the players themselves will interact in such a way as to make the campaign variable and unique, and this is quite desirable. New details can be added and old “laws” altered so as to provide continually new and different situations. That way your campaign will build naturally, at the pace best suited to the referee and players, smoothing the way for all concerned. We advise, however, that a campaign be begun slowly, following the steps outlined herein, so as to avoid becoming too bogged down with unfamiliar details at first. They provide the framework around which you will build a game of simplicity or tremendous complexity - your time and imagination are about the only limiting factors, and the fact that you have purchased these rules tends to indicate that there is no lack of imagination - the fascination of the game will tend to make participants find more and more time. As with any other set of miniatures rules they are guidelines to follow in designing your own fantastic-medieval campaign. That is, they cover the major aspects of fantasy campaigns but still remain flexible. These rules are as complete as possible within the limitations imposed by the space of three booklets. Some wargames didn’t have a “referee” role, and those that did, the role was very much like a sports referee – to determine if some violation of the rules had occurred.īut in the very first version of Dungeons & Dragons, Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson open the OD&D Men & Magic book with this admonishment to the “referee”: You could (and often did) mod the rules prior to play, but the whole thing about wargaming is that, like board gaming, the rules are considered inviolate during an instance of play as a core assumption. ![]() In the origins of the game, Chainmail, there was no concept of straying from the rules – it was a wargame. ![]() Let’s stick mostly to the first two in the interest of space. in the surrounding publications considered semi-canonical (Dragon magazine, nowadays forums and designer blogs), and.implicitly in the text and detectable via textual analysis.directly and explicitly in the rules text.The balance between Dungeon Master’s discretion versus reign of the rules versus player empowerment has always been debated in D&D circles but there’s a clear evolution of thinking across the span of versions. The allowed scope of DM rulings has absolutely changed over time in D&D. A recent question on RPG Stack Exchange had me researching the attitudes of Dungeons & Dragons towards rule interpretation over the years and I thought I’d expand it into a post here.
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