Taking 20 Podcast - Ep 254 - Unwritten Rules

Episode Date: May 25, 2025

The back to basics series takes things back to the fundamental principles of tabletop RPGs.  It’s so easy to get lost in the rules and mechanics of the game and forget these important lessons.     #pf2e #Pathfinder #gmtips #dmtips #dnd #rpg #backtobasics Resources: Matthew Colville - Language not Rules - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OIkwABECfR0 Ep 245 Unruly Players - https://taking20.podbean.com/e/ep-245-unruly-players/  Ep 47 Session 0 Guide for DMs  - https://taking20.podbean.com/e/ep-47-comprehensive-session-0-guide-for-dms/  Ep 219 Let Players Use New Abilities - https://taking20.podbean.com/e/ep-219-let-players-use-new-abilities/

This week on the Taking20 Podcast. The players create their individual characters, their protagonists, but the DM is there to embody the rest of the world, the challenges, the allies, and the overarching narrative threads. RPG gaming is not a DM versus player scenario. Instead, it's a collaborative act of creation. Thank you for listening to the Taking 20 Podcast, episode 254, a back to basics episode talking about some unwritten rules for DMs and players. I want to thank this week's sponsor, Steel.

You know, the hard metal that's used in construction. I'm not sure if you're going to enjoy a steel joke, but I can't let that stop me. I just have to forge ahead. Thank you so much for listening to my little podcast. And if you have any topic ideas, please feel free to send them to me on social media or via email feedback at taking 20 podcast dot com. This is what I refer to as one of my back to basics episodes. These episodes serve as both education for new GMs and players, and reminders for us

old grognards to remember the basic tenets while we are gaming. I tend to move pretty quickly through a lot of my Back to Basics episodes. Anything I mention has probably been mentioned previously, and if so, I'll try to refer you to that specific episode for more detail on what I mentioned. What I'm going to call unwritten rules may actually be written down or codified somewhere by someone. For years, Wizards of the Coast was pretty lax with advice that they provided to DMs and to players, and much of the wisdom of how to play the game was passed down from

DM to DM and player to player through the years. We made mistakes or discovered something that seemed to work well, and we gamer geeks talked about it to each other. It was an oral tradition, much like how histories were passed down before the written word. We live in a golden age of RPG information, and lucky for us, there have been a lot of pages printed, web pages written, and podcast episodes put out there with good RPG advice. Keith Amon and Michael Shea or Sly Flourish, Jonah and Tristan Fischel and so many others

have written great DM advice books. There are countless YouTube channels like Matthew Colville, Jenny Dee, Dungeon Dudes, The Rules Lawyer, and others that produce great content with great information for players and DMs. Some focus on roleplaying, others focus on mechanics, but there's a lot of sources out there and I'll guarantee you everything I'm going to mention is somewhere on some channel or in some book. And to give Wizards of the Coast, Paizo, Evil Hat Productions, Cobold Press, and publishers

of many game systems, I'm going to give them a lot of credit. They have begun to include how to DM sections in their various rule books, which actually contain a lot of the advice us old farts had to learn the hard way. So yes, there are some of you who have already heard the advice I'm going to give. If so, please accept my apologies and I hope some of my other episodes are more to your liking. However, if you're new to the hobby, new to DMing, or like me just need a good old-fashioned reminder every now and then, here are some basic things to keep in mind while you're at the table that weren't written down for many, many years.

Number one, fun is more important than story which is more important than the rules. I'm starting off my advice with the one that's probably gotten the most heated feedback of any advice I've offered in more than 250 episodes. Now let me explain what I mean by this. Fun is the most important aspect of gaming. Some people play the game as a job and put out paid content to attract and keep subscribers, but that's... what? One-tenthousandths of one percent of the players? Probably way less than that. Those people, yes, they may not have fun as their core tenant, even if they still should, by the way, but either way, for the rest of us who play the game for enjoyment, it

should be about the fucking fun. Tabletop RPGs are a hobby that should provide joy for everyone at the physical or virtual table, including and especially the game master. Fun for everyone is more important than any story the DM has put together, and the story is more important than the rules of the game. If the rules are getting in the way of the adventure, or especially the fun, adjust the rules, change the rules, hell, discard a rule. A variant of this is what's called the rule of cool,

where you prioritize fun and exciting moments over strict adherence to the rules. The player wants to dive over a tavern table, pulling it on its side to give themselves and their friend, Roblin the Goblin, cover from the crossbow-wielding guard. Is there a rule in D&D or Pathfinder that directly applies? Maybe, I mean you could have some creative interpretation of acrobatics or maybe athletics, but if the player wants to do all of that and there's not a rule for it, make it up.

Let them try it. Matthew Mercer's regular statement of you can certainly try is a mantra we can all run our games by. If they want to dive over a table, turn it over for cover in one fell swoop, if I were running a 2024 D&D game I'd say it's about a DC 15 acrobatics check. It sounds moderately difficult. A first level character would have about a 50-50 chance of pulling it off, while a fifth level character probably pulls that off 60 to 65 percent of the time. Similarly in Pathfinder 2e, it probably about a DC 15 or 16 action and I'd say it cost two of the PC's three actions in

combat, allowing them to use the third action to take cover behind the table. In both cases the DC could go up because the table is heavy or there's poor visibility or the table has a whole goose carcass on top of it. Or it could go down because the table is meant to tip up for storage. Don't stop a player from doing something awesome because while in Pathfinder's three action economy it'll be one action to move to the table, a second to tip the table a second to tip the table up and then the third to hide behind it you won't be able to

take cover this round captain Barbosa said it best in Pirates of the Caribbean the code is more what you call guidelines than actual rules yes DMS you are the arbiter of rules at the table the rules should should absolutely define the game mechanics, support gameplay, and encourage players to make choices and take actions. To quote Matthew Colville in a video I'll link to in the description and the resources of the episode, the rules are not a tyrant to be obeyed, they are a tool to help you. Rules should not be used to crush creative and fun solutions to RPG problems. I could probably make a whole episode of nothing but examples and explanations and caveats

to this rule. If you're interested in that episode, by the way, please let me know, contact me on social media, or send me an email about it. Similarly, if you're trying to drive the PCs to make certain choices to go along with an adventure and players aren't having fun because of it, screw your adventure story and do what you can to accommodate player choices. Of course, the other half of this is that players, if your GM says, guys, we're running a pre-written adventure and the adventure really wants you to do this, are you willing to go that route? You really should listen to the GM when they say

that and strongly, strongly consider it. It's not fun for the DM if you're actively trying to destroy the world and the narrative that's being set up, so it is a two-way street. Rule two. The DM is a player and the players and the DM should be working together to tell an awesome story. Even though the GM represents the antagonists to the PCs in the adventure, the relationship between the players and the GM should not be antagonistic. The GM or DM is a player too, and everyone at the table, DM and players alike, should be working together. Another way to say it is that the players create their individual characters, their protagonists,

but the DM is there to embody the rest of the world, the challenges, the allies, and the overarching narrative threads. RPG gaming is not a DM versus player scenario. Instead, it's a collaborative act of creation. The DM sets the stage, presents the situations, but the players' actions and choices drive the story forward. Everyone around the table should share a goal of crafting memorable and engaging and fun tales. It's one of the core tenets of tabletop RPGs. The DM shouldn't just be an impartial referee, they're an active participant invested in the world and the story just as much as the players should be. They guide the narrative and react to players creativity to

weave a story that nobody could have created on their own, but they should have just as much of an interest in the adventure as the players around the table and vice versa. Three, the most common solution to issues that arise at the table is to talk it out. This solves about 90% of the problems you will ever have. Problematic behavior can happen in game or out of game. In game problems include players who won't share the spotlight, have characters who work against the rest of the party, act like rampaging assholes saying it's what my character would do, stealing

from party members, hiding loot, cheating, lying about dice rolls, or any of a hundred other examples that could be cited here. Meanwhile, out of game problems could come from disruptive player behavior, disinterest, disengagement, distracting other players with non-game activities, and similar behaviors. In general, both in-game and out-of-game problems should be addressed with solutions out of game. Don't try to come up with an in-game adjustment to rules to adjust for one player who's just being an asshole.

Players that are causing a problem at the table and affecting the fun of others should be addressed as soon as possible, politely but firmly. State why it's a problem and ask them to change their behavior or make different decisions. More details about handling these types of players can be found in episode 245 from a few months ago. I'll put a link down in the resources. Four. DMs. Start each session with a goal that you would like to accomplish during the session, but pivot to a new one if the players take different bait and go a different direction. There's an old saying, no plan survives contact with the enemy. The plans that you made will likely be completely torpedoed by your players.

Players are an unruly lot. They make choices you don't expect, do things opposite of what you planned, they negotiate when you thought they'd fight, they fight when you thought they'd flee. They're going to try to do some weird, fun, and crazy shit and you should let them whenever you can. For RPGs, I'm gonna change that original statement to the GM's plans never survive contact with the players. However, there's another saying, plans are useless but planning is invaluable. The time you spend making your plans will allow you contact with the players. However, there's another saying, plans are useless, but planning is invaluable. The time you spend making your plans will allow you to change those plans to adapt to the choices that the players make. Remember,

player agency is critical to the success of your game. The players should always feel like the choices their characters make can change their fate and the fate of those around them. Let player actions change the world for good or for ill. Players are going to spend minutes on something you expected would take them days. Conversely, they're going to spend entire game sessions on something that should take minutes. I have had my group spend two-thirds of a three-hour session staring at an unlocked, untrapped door convinced they're all going to die as soon as they open it.

They're doing all the prep work, they pre-buff, they're doing a whole bunch of other stuff. Meanwhile, lurking on the other side of the completely safe door is a storage closet, ooo, containing an old rotted mop in a rusty bucket. Roll for initiative. No, no, there's nothing dangerous there. But similarly, sometimes your players will want to socialize in town rather than take another foray into the dungeon. They'll want to go exploring in the Chalkfoot Forest rather than speak to the mayor. They'll become obsessed with a random servant in the manor rather

than the haunts in the attic. When, not if, when your players go in an unexpected way, taking the adventure in a new direction, if it's at all possible, support their choices and adjust your game to meet them where they want to go. If you're comfortable doing so, change locations, NPCs, whatever, to allow your players the freedom to make those choices. It may not be possible to adjust the adventure or you may not feel comfortable yet adjusting that much to accommodate. The adventure takes place entirely in the nation of Numeria, but if the party wants to go to Brevoi, you really can't support that player decision. In these instances, just explain to your

players and ask them to follow the adventure kind of where it's designed to go next. But if you can adjust your plans in this session, do so. 5. Have a session zero. In episode 47, I talked a lot about session zeros, but that was way back in November of 2020 when the world was different. A session zero is a get-together between the DM and the players that is a planning session where the details of the campaign are decided. What's the theme of the adventure? What's the tone of the adventure? Is it a grim dark dungeon crawl? A tense political drama? A funny city sandbox? These should be discussed before the game actually starts and session zero is exactly the place and time to have those discussions. DMs should be open to feedback from the players about the type of game they want to play, meanwhile players should be open to feedback from

the GM about the type of game they want to run. Session zeros set the stage for the entire campaign and set expectations for players and GM. So take the time, get together one extra time as a party, and talk about what you want the campaign to be. 6. Anytime you can, let PCs feel like badasses and use those cool abilities they have. I previously talked about this in episode 219. When characters get new abilities, let them use those abilities in cool situations. The oldest example I can think of this goes back to ancient editions of D&D where monks would gain the ability to deflect arrows shot at them. Too many DMs would stop shooting arrows at the monk simply because, well, the monk can just neutralize the attack, so what's the point? Don't do that. Don't think like that.

Shoot the monk and let her do some cool shit. Let the mechanic who makes a successful engineering role save the day with a jury rigged solution. Let the player who just took an obscure knowledge or lore skill use it in the right circumstances. Let the fighter who just gained the cleave ability get into the middle of a bunch of low level baddies. Let the magic user who just learned fireball use that on a big group of low-level creatures. Your players create these characters and make their character selections hoping to be able to do cool shit with these new abilities, so set up the situation so they can. In a recent session I was running one of my groups ran afoul of a

large group of Morlocks. In Pathfinder 2E most Morlocks have an intelligence modifier of minus 2, so their intelligence score is somewhere around a 6 or a 7. In other words, they're not very smart. The Morlocks were hell-bent on killing these invaders, so they chased after the party. Wisely, the party retreated down a narrow hallway and dug in for a fight. The Morlocks poured down the hallway at the PCs while the Oracle, played by my son by the way, asked the party to hold the Morlocks back for one full round. The frontline fighters agreed, he began casting a spell. At the start of the next

round, he released a spell called Inner Radiance Torrent, which he had spent in a full round casting and because of that did a tremendous amount of damage. He killed five of the Morlocks outright and critically injured four others. It turned what was shaping up to be a very difficult fight for the party into a trivial one by using a spell that he had just leveled up and gained. Let your players feel like their characters are capable and amazing. They will love you for it. 7. Leave blanks in your world map.

Leave empty areas that aren't labeled that are available to be explored. The game exists mostly in the imaginations of all of us that are playing it and running it. Maps help everyone stay in the same page, but having empty areas are obvious areas the players could go and possibly have an adventure. You won't always be drawing the maps yourself, but leave those areas where the PCs can go and find out what's there. There is a magic to discovering new stuff in RPG games.

These are areas with forgotten lore to be discovered, or contexts that can be added to historical events. There are monsters there to be discovered and their treasure to be discovered, or context that can be added to historical events. There are monsters there to be discovered and their treasure to be reclaimed. New areas present new challenges and opportunities for the PCs. Uncovering these secret areas or clues or facts that were previously lost is a key aspect to RPG gaming. Don't get me wrong, DMs, GMs, you should know what's there. but let the PCs discover it, unearth what's there, and get some cool stuff for going there. As soon as there's a new location

described, make sure it does get added to the map. The PCs went to the Temple of Everlasting Pain on this particular hex in the map. Label that on the map so that we all know that it's there. on this particular hex in the map, label that on the map so that we all know that it's there. There are so many possible tips, but I'm already getting dangerously close to 20 minutes, so I'm going to stop here. I would love to do another one of these episodes of Unwritten Rules, so if you're interested in something like that, reach out to me, Facebook, Blue Sky, Instagram, or send me an email, feedback at taking20podcast.com. Today we talked about the fun being the most important goal

of the game, collaboration being key, and using effective communication to resolve issues. DMs should be try to be as flexible as they can and adapt their game to accommodate player choices. Shoot the monk and leave empty spaces in your world for PCs to discover. If you do all of that, I'd be willing to bet that you and your players would have fun doing it. Hey, if you don't already, follow me on social media, Blue Sky, Instagram, or Facebook. In two weeks, we're gonna talk about RPG gaming cliches

and why they can be a good narrative tool to use. But before I go, I wanna thank this week's sponsor, Steel. This episode, just like a lot of Steel in construction, can be described as riveting. This has been episode 254, a back to basics episode discussing unwritten rules at the RPG gaming table. My name is Jeremy Shelley, and I hope that your next game is your best game. The Taking20 podcast is copyright 2025 by Jeremy Shelley. The opinions or views expressed by guests are their own

and do not necessarily reflect those of the host. References to game system content are copyrighted by their respective publishers.