"Dear JB" Mailbag #35

Still in Mexico and having a great time...

Dear JB:

My sample size isn't dozens and dozens, but I do DM for more than one group. A really sad pattern I've seen from my players over the last few years is fewer and fewer players having actually read the fucking rules. And I don't mean cover to cover. I mean, they haven't read the just the main section of rules for Ability Scores, Combat, and Spells. Those 20 ish pages give you everything you need to actually play DnD beyond reading your personal race and class, and yet more and more players (especially if they are 25 y.o. or younger in my experience) just haven't actually sat down and read the rules. This is doubly true if they got their first exposure through a DnD show or podcast. And this isn't just for new players either. I've had people playing for months and months who, even after deciding they like DnD and want to keep playing have never actually figured it out. Don't actually know what the numbers on their sheet mean. Can't read a spell block. I can't think of any other game where anyone would tolerate playing with someone for months who has never actually read the rules. I've tried to enforce it, and yet no one wants to. So we tolerate the pseudo-understanding of the rules. Instead of sitting down and really understanding it all from day 1, we get constant slowdowns each session from rules confusion. I'm just frustrated. Rant over. 

 Tl:dr Old man shakes fist at illiterate zoomers

No One Reads The Rules Anymore

Dear NORTRA:

So f'ing what?

I've had people with zero experience sit down at my table many times over the last four decades. We make characters and we get them up to speed and then we play the game. Those who enjoy the game will return and play again (when invited, of course); those who love the game will go out and buy the book(s) and read the rules, so that they're informed.

We are talking about players here, right? I often joke (well half-joke) that players are a lazy lot. And they ARE...in comparison to the Dungeon Master. It is imperative that the DM knows the rules because the DM is the conductor and arbiter of the game. The Dungeon Master does the bulk of the work of the game, certainly all the 'heavy lifting' (creating and running scenarios). It's not that players are stupid or incapable; many are very intelligent and very capable. But they don't have the burden of responsibility that a Dungeon Master has. 

That being said, there is a reason that players who -- after trying the game a few times and deciding they love it and want to continue playing it -- go out and buy the books and read the instructions. It is because they want to get better at playing, and having knowledge gives them more power. Power to overcome the consequences of playing a challenging game.

So, NORTRA, let me ask: Is your game challenging? Is it consequential?

Because I'll tell you this: my game is. Players who walk around my world, blissfully unaware that their actions have consequences, usually DIE. Often badly. 

That is to say, their characters die, of course...characters being the avatar and vehicle by which the player interacts with the game world. Presumably you play 5E, so you are probably operating under a myriad of misapprehensions about what D&D is and the objectives of play and whatnot, mainly because the publishers (Wizard of the Coast) don't care whether or not people understand the game or even read the rules, so long as they BUY the rules and put money in their coffers (*ka-ching!*). 

As such (that is, because of those misapprehensions), it is quite possible that you DON'T run a challenging, consequential game. Because 5E play is not about challenging players these days, and it's not about enforcing consequences, certainly not for poor play. With its "death saves" and required "player consent"...are you kidding me? The 5E DM is expected to be a dancing monkey for the players, and it sounds like what you're running up against is that you don't like being a dancing monkey for a bunch of lazy slackers who (suffering no consequences for their ignorance) can't be bothered to lift the smallest finger when it comes to making the game run smoothly.

So, "old man," my advice to you is to run a different game, preferably 1st Edition Advanced Dungeons & Dragons. As the Dungeon Master, YOU get the say over what system you run. It shouldn't matter to players who don't read the instruction manual anyway, and if they bitch and moan just point to the 5E PHB where it says:

The D&D rules help you and the other players have a good time, but the rules aren’t in charge. You're the 5e DM, and you are in charge of the game 

 Ultimately, the Dungeon Master is the authority on the campaign and its setting, even if the setting is a published world

And the 5E DMG where it says:

the DM interprets the rules and decides when to abide by them and when to change them

Then tell the players: "I am exercising my authority as a 5E Dungeon Master to change the entirety of the system to conform with 1st edition AD&D rules."

Once you've done that, you'll find it far easier to manage the game: the instruction you need to give the players (when they fail to read the rules) are plenty easy to explain, and you'll have far more time for world building and adventure creation...the main draws for a person wanting to be a Dungeon Master. What's more, the AD&D rules can be downright punishing to players who fail to learn or give effort; you will soon cull your table of those who wish only to be "tourists" of the D&D game, and instead you'll find yourself with quality people striving to refine their skills and improve the campaign as a whole.

Sincerely,

JB

"Dear JB" Mailbag #34

I am in Mexico for the next couple weeks; expect posting to be light, as I am using the time to chill out.

Dear JB:

My players never keep track of their abilities. Sometimes they jot down one number with no context on their character sheet, after i tell them to keep track. Other times they tell me "i'll just remember it", and they forget either in the same session or definitely by the next. I've been telling them for months to keep track. This one time they asked me whether i had any feedback for them. The one thing i told them is to start keeping track.

Next session, i plan to ask my players at the start how many spell slots/other "per long rest" resources they have left. The players that don't answer correctly are not allowed to use them.

Is this too harsh? All it takes is writing down the ability names on your phone and changing the numbers after you've used them. Should i do something else? How would you handle this?

Am I Overreacting?

Dear AIO:

Generally speaking, the data recorded on a player's character sheet is theirs to do with as they want. As the Dungeon Master, it is your duty and responsibility to keep your own record of pertinent game resources, such as hit points, experience points, and accumulated treasure.

Here's how I do it:

I keep a spreadsheet for all PCs and henchfolk (NPCs) in the players' party. This records their accumulated x.p., treasure, maximum HPs and current HPs. During the session, I do not use my laptop, but I do have a pad of notebook paper on which I keep notes, especially regarding damage sustained by PCs in the game. I also have a printout of the adventure I'm using (if any) on which I track enemies defeated and treasure found. 

At the end of a game session, I take the notes from my notepad and from my (printed) adventure and update my spreadsheets on the laptop, keeping a running total of accumulated data. I then inform the players of their new x.p. totals, treasure totals, etc. which they can choose (or not) to record on their character sheets. If a PC has gone up in level we roll the new HPs, choose new spells, etc. either then or before commencing play in our next session.

Most abilities and spells in AD&D have a finite use; so it's fairly easy for me to rememeber whether or not a player has already used their "lay on hands" (or whatever) class feature for the day. In my house game, I only allow one use of (non-cleric) spells so, again, I don't have to worry about a MU having "multiple sleep" spells or something...they get one such use, and afterwards, they get nothing before sleeping for the night. Easy-peasy. With regard to clerics, I keep a tally on the same notepad as HPs, so I know when a PC has reached their limit of 1st level (cure light wounds) spells, or whatever. If the session ends mid-day (game time) and we intend to pick up where we left off, I make notes for myself to remember what abilities might still remain for when we start our next session.

I expect the players to keep their own notes as well and, for the most part, they do...players like to know when they are running low on spells and hit points, or when they are getting closer to advancing in level. However, I do not rely on players to track pertinent game records for me...doing that would be shirking my responsibility as Dungeon Master, and inviting a plethora of chaos into my game.

AIO, I understand that you are running a different type of D&D, with "long rests" and class resources and whatnot, but the principal remains the same: it's not the players' job to run the game, it's YOURS. This is the game you've chosen to run, now you have to deal with the consequences of that decision by responsibly and diligently tracking your PCs' (game-affecting) resources. 

That doesn't mean you coddle the players: if they forget that they have a skill, or forget that they have already used it up (and then get killed because they were relying on it to be there), that's on the player, not the DM. The player has the responsibility for knowing the limits of the character they're playing, and the character sheet is the way they have for tracking those limits and abilities. If they don't exercise the opportunity to keep track of their own notes, then they'll suffer the consequences.

However, as the Dungeon Master, YOU need to know where the PCs stand at any given time as well, so that if a player DOES want to do the responsible thing and asks "how many more times can I cast heal?" you can inform them "you have X number of castings left."

See how that works?

So, are you "overreacting," AIO? Clearly, your proposed intention of upending the normal rule procedure as a punitive measure is extreme. But (sadly) I don't think your reaction is particularly atypical: frustration with players' lack of interest and unwillingness to engage with the game and its systems seems to be a 'standard rant' of many would-be DMs these days. I'd even go so far as to speculate that this frustration is one of the reasons so many modern DMs revert their game to a "basic" system (like OSE) or throw out rules willy-nilly, instead simply "winging" game play in aid of not ruining the "fun."

Sad, I say. 

Own your power, AIO. Assert your authority by taking the reins of responsibility and running a tight ship. Build a consequential world with imperative situations that force your players to engage...or suffer. Demand quality game play by holding everyone at the table...including yourself...accountable. Not by being arbitrary, but by running the game as designed.

Sincerely,

JB