Y’know what I’m really annoyed by? A lot of things really, probably too many things, but today I’m talking about nat 20s and nat 1s. Primarily the way they’re treated.
I like my games to follow rules; I would’ve voted Liam O’Brien for DnD Beyond president. Without rules, we’re just sitting around a table talking about fantasies, but with rules we’re playing a game. And some of the rules are built around realism—or at least they ought to be.
You can’t fly by rolling a 20. You can’t do something impossible, because it’s impossible. I understand that some find it funny and/or entertaining, and more power to ‘em for that, but it’s actively boring and ruins part of my fun. I like stories, and I want to feel like I’m in one. I want to be a fighter in heavy armor standing in front of a hydra. I want to be a Druid bringing the forces of nature to bear. I want to be a wizard changing the fabric of reality, a rogue creeping through the shadows, a ranger tracking down my quarry, whatever, but it needs to feel vaguely realistic for me to enjoy it, and autosuccess on impossible things because I rolled a 20 breaks my willing suspension of disbelief. If you follow the rules it’s so much more fun; they designed the rules to be that way.
