Assumptions

[The Insanity]

What are some popular assumptions that players have about the game? Things that most people just take as a matter of fact? I mean things like: no PvP, no sundering PC gear, monsters always the appropriate CR, etc. Basically stuff that on this boards would get you called a bad DM.

[Oracle_of_Void]

Evil orcs and goblins, don't trust the vizier (he wants to rule), dragons have a lot of treasure, spell-casters will always out shine the martial classes, empires are bad, only one random encounter between story missions (unless in a dungeon).

[Jowgen]

A NPC with a unique voice/name/personality has to be important to some plot somehow. There will probably be this much random unexpected stuff today for me to burn my spells/charges on. Once we've faced a challenge, it will never be a challenge again.

The Status Quo will wait for us.

[Forrestfire]

Personally, the first things that I assume when talking about a game is these two:

The Players will have the ability to decide which part of the plot to focus on, or make their own way in the world.
The DM is not power-tripping and controlling PC actions.


There's a third assumption that I'd like to make, but experience reading these forums has made me unable to add it to the above list:

The DM and the players are friends who trust each other enough to play a non-toxic game with one another.

[torrasque666]

There's a third assumption that I'd like to make, but experience reading these forums has made me unable to add it to the above list:

The DM and the players are friends who trust each other enough to play a non-toxic game with one another.


Any chance that one is related to a certain force-using craftsman? Because that's toned down lately. Actually bearable now.

[Curmudgeon]

If you can't go through a door, you can go through the wall. Nobody ever thinks to make a Knowledge (architecture and engineering) check to determine if that will cause the ceiling to collapse, or if there's a cistern on the other side which will cause flooding if the wall is breached.

[Forrestfire]

Nah, just years of reading "bad experience" threads, I guess. I've been playing since 3.0 came out, and have been lucky enough to not have anything remotely resembling the sorts of horror stories that crop up. I just wish that was everyone's experience :smallfrown:

[JBarca]

monsters always the appropriate CR.

I don't consider that necessary. A not-insignificant percentage of encounters, by RAW, should be completely overwhelming to the party. Running is a viable strategy. Plus, if players decide to take an action based on this assumption, it's better to let them see the error of their ways via near-death (or death, if they have resources at hand for Resurrection or if your table is alright with lethality) rather than by sad DM. Oh, you want to fight the Archmage now, regardless of the fact that you're level 7? Best be prepared to beg for your lives. Hard.


Any chance that one is related to a certain force-using craftsman?

Ok, that was amusing. Thank you.

[TypoNinja]

Don't cast disjunction. Just don't. Its a bad spell, its a badly designed spell, it runs counter to game expectations. Which just confuses people since its an amazing tactical choice.

The spell destroys loot, at a level where that loot is absolutely required to stay competitive. WBL is a stat, and taking it away has serious game balance issues.

It also destroys loot, people tend to like their loot. Its there reward for success, taking it away tends to not go over well.

[The Insanity]

And the assumption is... ?

[Coidzor]

Having a character start kleptoing from other PCs will just result in the klepto getting screwed over rather than the DM allowing them to thumb their nose OOC at the other players for having a character able to strip the other PCs naked without their realizing it and fleecing them to cause the WBL of the party to concentrate in the hands of a single PC.

[BWR]

Assumptions for D&D are:
- don't screw with your party. No PVP, no stealing, no deception of PCs or players, spend some of your gold on stuff useful for the entire party
- no murderhoboing. We got this out of our system when we started playing all those years ago
- all mechanics are subject to DM approval and may be altered or banned in play if they prove too disruptive to the level of play the DM wants to have (I'd say this is an obvious no-brainer for any game, but this forum has convinced me otherwise)
- make and play something appropriate for the setting (some people are less dedicated to this ideal than I)
- the rules are suggestions and not everything goes exactly by the book. For the most part it does, sometimes it doesn't. Rules serve the game and the setting, not the other way around.