Ask Wizards - LG official? [Archive] - Wizards Community

Ask Wizards - LG official? [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
Hand_OF_Mystra
04-12-06, 10:33 AM I notice that the new "Ask Wizards" feature on the website sometimes answers FAQ-like questions. Does this mean that "Ask Wizards" is going to be official in LG? I am sending to "Ask Wizards" to see if they will be harvested for the next FAQ.
Jim
solbergb
04-12-06, 02:47 PM It isn't official till it hits the FAQ or Dispel Confusion or LGCS or an eratta document.

Going to customer support or "Ask Wizards" though is a way to make it more likely your concern will be addressed in a future FAQ entry, and a judge who has no opinion on the topic already may be influenced by the answer. So it isn't a total waste of time.

Just don't expect a judge to *have* to go along with whatever the answer is. They don't. Anything unclear or poorly modeled by the existing rules is supposed to be adjudicated by the Judge, and his decision stands unless a senior DM decides he violated an actual game rule, not merely interpreted a grey area.

Eg...the interaction of constrict and non-damaging grapple maneuvers is unclear (if you have constrict and pin someone, you got a grapple check...do you get to constrict even though pinning doesn't do damage? The judge decides).

Whereas saying you can't have "favored enemy human" on your PC if you are human is just wrong (in 3.0, you had to be evil to do that and it wouldn't work in LG. In 3.5, no such restriction exists) so a judge who rules against you will be overturned by a senior DM, if there is one. If not, and all the other players are ignorant of the actual rules (or they aren't, but the judge is adamant) the ruling stands. You just may not choose to play with that judge in the future. Once the AR is signed, no deaths or similar bad outcomes can be changed, so it's important to ask at the table.

The key is, if you think a judge has a rule wrong, to use a little diplomacy. Say something like "I believe it actually works like thus and such, the rule is in PHB, in the magic section." Respect his opinion, stick to the facts as you know it.

If the area is in fact grey, the judge should say "that's one interpretation, there are others, mine is this other thing". If the judge doesn't know and was just making something up, he should be honest enough to either ask someone to look it up, or just trust the player. If there is absolute refutation of a judge's opinion somewhere, usually have someone look it up to avoid slowing play. You'll find though, that cut-and-dried rules disputes are rare. (they were more common right after 3.5 came out, but by now most judges are used to the current rule set). What is far more common is table variation from grey areas.

If you can stand to read the Infinite Monkeys yahoo group, many of the usual grey areas are hashed and rehashed there in gory details, and you'll be a lot less sensitive when a judge rules in a way that isn't how you would rule.

If you read the lgchardiscussion yahoo group, we talk about table variation there, because building a character that plays wildly differently from table to table is usually seen as a bad thing by most players. It isn't the fault of the character, some things aren't clear (until Bear Warrior was clarified, the rules flatly contradicted themselves...bear warriors were risky in LG because you wouldn't know how they played..unless you were equally comfortable with both interpretations.)
Jay_Ibero_911
04-12-06, 11:24 PM Where's this "Ask Wizards" thing...could someone post a direct link...I can't seem to find it...
wagnert
04-14-06, 03:17 PM Where's this "Ask Wizards" thing...could someone post a direct link...I can't seem to find it...
Here it is:

http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/arch/ask

It is reachable from the wizards D&D web page, but this links you directly to the archive listing.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Hand_OF_Mystra 04-12-06, 10:33 AM	I notice that the new "Ask Wizards" feature on the website sometimes answers FAQ-like questions. Does this mean that "Ask Wizards" is going to be official in LG? I am sending to "Ask Wizards" to see if they will be harvested for the next FAQ. Jim
solbergb 04-12-06, 02:47 PM	It isn't official till it hits the FAQ or Dispel Confusion or LGCS or an eratta document. Going to customer support or "Ask Wizards" though is a way to make it more likely your concern will be addressed in a future FAQ entry, and a judge who has no opinion on the topic already may be influenced by the answer. So it isn't a total waste of time. Just don't expect a judge to have to go along with whatever the answer is. They don't. Anything unclear or poorly modeled by the existing rules is supposed to be adjudicated by the Judge, and his decision stands unless a senior DM decides he violated an actual game rule, not merely interpreted a grey area. Eg...the interaction of constrict and non-damaging grapple maneuvers is unclear (if you have constrict and pin someone, you got a grapple check...do you get to constrict even though pinning doesn't do damage? The judge decides). Whereas saying you can't have "favored enemy human" on your PC if you are human is just wrong (in 3.0, you had to be evil to do that and it wouldn't work in LG. In 3.5, no such restriction exists) so a judge who rules against you will be overturned by a senior DM, if there is one. If not, and all the other players are ignorant of the actual rules (or they aren't, but the judge is adamant) the ruling stands. You just may not choose to play with that judge in the future. Once the AR is signed, no deaths or similar bad outcomes can be changed, so it's important to ask at the table. The key is, if you think a judge has a rule wrong, to use a little diplomacy. Say something like "I believe it actually works like thus and such, the rule is in PHB, in the magic section." Respect his opinion, stick to the facts as you know it. If the area is in fact grey, the judge should say "that's one interpretation, there are others, mine is this other thing". If the judge doesn't know and was just making something up, he should be honest enough to either ask someone to look it up, or just trust the player. If there is absolute refutation of a judge's opinion somewhere, usually have someone look it up to avoid slowing play. You'll find though, that cut-and-dried rules disputes are rare. (they were more common right after 3.5 came out, but by now most judges are used to the current rule set). What is far more common is table variation from grey areas. If you can stand to read the Infinite Monkeys yahoo group, many of the usual grey areas are hashed and rehashed there in gory details, and you'll be a lot less sensitive when a judge rules in a way that isn't how you would rule. If you read the lgchardiscussion yahoo group, we talk about table variation there, because building a character that plays wildly differently from table to table is usually seen as a bad thing by most players. It isn't the fault of the character, some things aren't clear (until Bear Warrior was clarified, the rules flatly contradicted themselves...bear warriors were risky in LG because you wouldn't know how they played..unless you were equally comfortable with both interpretations.)
Jay_Ibero_911 04-12-06, 11:24 PM	Where's this "Ask Wizards" thing...could someone post a direct link...I can't seem to find it...
wagnert 04-14-06, 03:17 PM	Where's this "Ask Wizards" thing...could someone post a direct link...I can't seem to find it... Here it is: http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/arch/ask It is reachable from the wizards D&D web page, but this links you directly to the archive listing.