and because that statement is a thing ..
In no particular order I'm laying out the framework for my D&D game. I did what I consider normal preparation last night and it was really quick. Very nice and easy with a Challenge Rating chart and encounter building info from the parts of the DMG I have.
Note some of these things are personal works in progress. I accept that I don't hit these marks every time but I want to enunciate what I'm aiming for.
Fun
I will fudge for effect. If the encounter isn't fun it failed. It can be scary fun, actually humorous, cathartic, satisfyingly difficult or enjoyable to break.(bubblewrap?) I would rather have a theoretically difficult encounter nerfed without the players knowing rather than a medium encounter made hard by sticking to rules. I would rather let the players do what they envisage and "Inspiration" may help in that role. (comment to self ..Need to hand it out more)Inclusive
I try to get gender and other forms of discrimination out of my games. I'm fairly feminist but I do fall into stereotypes on gender. I'm going to make an effort to get that going in my game. I'm also going to put some effort into sharing player time and spotlight. Hopefully personal storylines and shtick will make that doable. Might lead to more inspiration.Immersive and Consistent
The rules are only there to provide consistency of approach, which aids suspension of disbelief. I like thundering monsters and trippy vistas. One way of taking you there is giving you a series of mechanical descriptors that enable you to feel the response of the environment. We instinctively know where the mouse is on the screen because it's response is consistent, hence it becomes immersive.Thought inducing
I like moral and philosophical interaction. Matrix like "what ifs" are much harder to pull off but general discussions about the good and evil of fire, necrotic and radiant damage are easier. Most adult roleplayers have fully explored what their personal ethos is but it's still interesting to give them moral questions and dilemmas. Not "should we stab the good guy in the back?"- general answer no, rather, "should we defeat the hobgoblin empire by starving them to death?" How is that more evil than lopping their heads off one at a time? And if you don't want to lop their heads off how will you stop them?Mind-Blowing
I want earth shattering crazy. Bit hard to do at low levels so I'll have to compromise. Funky magical effects and the like. It's about making the monsters and environments epic. Needs more work from me. More succinct description.Competence
This is something from the FATE system. The player characters are not useless. The game is about them and their actions. . Average and easy is just done. Most of the time they can do the reasonably difficult. Epic is possible, tricky but doable.this is a living document, feel free to comment and I'll add things as we go
