Rules vs. Continuity: Managing the Verisimilitude of Your Game

As a DM, the world is your character. And sometimes the rules as written, what they call “RAW,” may conflict with the way you want your world to work. How do you handle those conflicts? What do you do when a character ability disrupts the way you want that world to work? Perhaps you’ve found yourself saying things like, “There’s no way a monk could stun a dragon with a punch!” and then had to face a disappointed player whose character no longer works the way they built it?In this episode, the 3 Wise DMs talk about their own problems with continuity and verisimilitude, when it becomes a problem, and how they manage those issues and the players they effect.  1:00 How important is world/power continuity?3:00 What breaks continuity?4:00 A history of DMs dealing with D&D rules bullshit from 1st through 5th Edition.7:00 Can a monk stun Cthulhu? 10:00 Do verisimilitude and continuity matter in a fantasy-based world?13:00 How can/should a DM address verisimilitude issues?18:00 Big bad boss battles and disruptive character powers that can “ruin” them.24:00 How to describe counterintuitive effects so they make sense.27:00 How DM fiat against character powers can ruin the fun for a player. (Plus: Thorin admits he’s a poor sport and Tony hates monks, again.)30:00 Are we starting characters too powerful?32:00 Can a monk stun Unicron with a bo stick? Is it disruptive to your game world if it can?35:00 How else can you handle verisimilitude issues? 38:00 The DM has to have fun, too.40:00 The psychology of the DM vs. the psychology of the players.44:00 DM tactics to prevent verisimilitude problems.49:00 How your Big Bad can counter overpowered player abilities.54:00 Managing continuity for the player vs. continuity for the DM.62:00 The DM’s art: How do you make your world work the way you want it to AND the way the players want it to.