Admitting My Mistake

I really want to be right. A novel concept I know. Last week I confused two different rule structures during my game session and it led to me making an ass of myself for fifteen minutes or so. Fifteen minutes of precious game time that none of us will ever get back.

My monster had 50% magic resistance and I was adamant that there was no chance for my player's 9th level Magic User (MU) to break through with his spells. This wasn't a misunderstanding of the rules regarding magic resistance, as clearly spelled out in the Monster Manual (p. 5-6). It wasn't me trying to save my monster. This was a confusion of the rules for the spell Dispel Magic and the math involved in that. I applied the Dispel Magic formula to Magic Resistance. I figured that it starts at 50%, then I added 10% to the difficulty as the MU was two levels under the arbitrary 11th level plateau, making it 60%. Then I added the monster's 50% resistance and came to over 100%. Very confused was I.

The worst part was that I was adamant about it and wouldn't let it go. One player thought I was making a new rule. Another was ready to give up and accept my confusion as the way things would be. Then another actually read the Monster Manual entry and my brick house came tumbling down. So certain was I.
I apologized to all of my players, more than that, I begged them to keep me honest and to help me in my efforts as DM. In the end I think I gained their respect as a person, if not as a DM.

Looking forward to this week's game!

My Tarot Deck of Many Things

I use the Aleister Crowley tarot deck for my Deck of Many Things. The definitions of the cards are here. Here are some of the images from my deck.

Stranger Things, Season Two

My heart warmed when I saw this:

AD&D Monster Manual, pg. 70.

The Difference Between Sharp and Dull Blades. Do Orcs Sharpen Their Swords?

Here is the link to the Video.

Thank You Mr. Gygax

The only good thing about the Gygaxian framework is that it reminds you that you need a framework.

Fun for Halloween

I'm not sure how much value this video has for a long term campaign, but looks super fun for parties.

I Got a New Sword

I uploaded a new sword video. It is not game related but there is a sword.

Mystery

A note on my style of DMing: I appreciate how not knowing something is valuable to role-playing. If the party has not known or experienced something, I keep that information close to my chest. In this sense, the players may genuinely not know what is going to happen in a new situation. A beautiful thing about RPGs is that there are many of these new situations. There may be a temptation to let Mr. Gygax decide the truth of things going in, but I don’t trust him. Additionally, I would not want my players to count on Gygax in dealing with a situation they have not encountered in game. I would rather be wrong in my own decisions, guided by player input, than to let Gygax be wrong for me. That is my philosophy.

A Recent Prop #1

This journal entry was found in a dungeon laboratory not too long ago. I think my players have forgotten it. Oh well. They have their own stuff to consider, and that's all good.