The RPG Pundit Presents: D&D Things They Taught You Wrong On Purpose #1

The RPG Pundit launched a video series. The title says it all, so I'll just get to embedding it below.

Fuck Game Balance.

The point of playing a game is to be entertained by facing a challenge to your skills as a player. In tabletop RPGs, this comes down to the fundamentals--the OODA Loop--with your constraints being your man's deficiencies in his abilities and attributes, and his limited resources. What the Pundit refers to as Emulation is what is meant to come about when you faithfully engage the game, as it conforms your perceptions to that of your man's in an approximate sense.

Part of the emulation is the verisimilitude of a real environment, and real environments are neither fair nor balanced. That the usual suspects insist on these things shows that (a) many who ought to know better don't and (b) there's far too much nannyism in the hobby.

The entire point is to make the best of the situation with what you've got. Sometimes you succeed. Sometimes you get eaten by a grue. Rub some dirt on it, walk it off, then get another sheet and start rolling 3d6 in order again. It's just a game. Why you get so mad? as a wise man once said.

I'm looking forward to what else the man has to say in this series. If you're wanting to show your appreciation, and you've got some sheckles to spare, buy a copy of one of his games or subscribe to him on Patreon. He does good work, puts out the sort of culture he wants there to be, and I am glad for it.