When I DM, I keep a pretty loose interpretation of the rules of Dungeons & Dragons, and I try to encourage my players to do the same. The rule system in most RPG's doesn't exist to define a win condition. Instead, rules only provide a common operating picture and a structure for the game to be built upon. Remember that the rules are not a guide on how to have fun.

I don't throw out all the rules when I DM, but I often make exceptions or gloss over rules-as-written. I try to encourage my players to have the same attitude. I find that players who are very strict with the rules tend to miss opportunities to be creative and treat the game like chess instead of theatre-of-the-mind. I find that style of play to be hopelessly boring. In addition, flexible rule-breaking is a great defense against the rules-lawyer. I have some rules for my rule-breaking, though. Here they are:

 Here's your chance to get a little highbrow with gaming discussion.

In March 2009,  Kellee Santiago, founder of thatgamecompany gave a talk at TED addressing the question "Are video games art?"

Roger Ebert responded with by picking apart her talk. He presented his response just a few weeks ago.

And this was followed by a response from Kellee Santiago on Kotaku

Am I the kind of guy who takes on Kellee Santiago and Roger Ebert? 

My D&D group recently started a new group of characters in the same campaign as the main campaign. They don't know it, but this idea actually harkens back to the days of the original Dark Sun campaign setting. The setting was so harsh that the designers thought that having 3 back-up characters per player was a good idea.

It was then and it is now... for different reasons.

I recently had the chance to play a new card game called Chrononauts. Thank You Roo.

This is a recent creation by Looney Labs, creators of "Are you the Traitor?" and "Fluxx" that plays with the themes of the time-traveller genre and the alternate history genre.

Check it out:

http://geekleetist.tumblr.com/post/424281071/thunt27-via-juliasegal-follow-me-into

http://5sf.at/180

Clan, here's an interview we did with the creator of DM's Tracker, which is a great little iPhone app that can help you run D&D games on the fly. If you haven't been to www.kbarapps.com, you might want to check them out.

Ever seen Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom? Do you remember the opening scene, where Indie gets poisoned by unscrupulous business men? When the action kicks off, Indie is informed that he's been poisoned, and struggles to stay alive and recover the antidote.

Well, I've been thinking about that, and I recently slipped the entire party a mickey (Goodnight Tincture) to set them up for a spectacular battle. Now, only one party member is left standing, and the rest of the party has been knocked out. Now normally, that one player would have a really long time in the spotlight while everyone else gets bored. That's not really fun for everyone though. What do you do for the players with knocked out characters?

My solution: Disease Tracks

I've figured out a tweak for disease tracks that I think will work really well. Check it out: