Matt Mercer DM Tips: The Rule of Cool! April 22, 2020Zoltar <strong>THIS IS A AN AUTOMATIC CAPTION TEXT from YouTube, so it’s not “perfect”.<br /> My advice is to use it just to help people like me that are not english speaking, to understand the Video/Podcast</strong><br /> MATT: Hello everyone! My name is Matthew Mercer, I<br /> am a voice actor and a dungeon master for Geek &</p> <p>Sundry’s Critical Role, and welcome to my video<br /> series on tips and tricks for game masters and</p> <p>dungeon masters alike. Today, we’re talking about<br /> the divisive rule of cool.</p> <p>[trumpet fanfare]</p> <p>For those of you who aren’t aware what the rule of<br /> cool is, it’s a trope that essentially means a</p> <p>willing suspension of disbelief for the sake of a<br /> cool moment. It happens all the time in film and</p> <p>television and a lot of storytelling of a visual<br /> nature. It’s just being able to suspend your</p> <p>disbelief enough to let something cool happen and<br /> not dwell too much on the specifics of it. In RPGs</p> <p>this generally refers to occasionally allowing the<br /> chance for some ridiculous stunts or unique</p> <p>interpretations of some of the rules or features<br /> of a system for possibly a cool moment.</p> <p>I think it’s a really really fun element to use in<br /> moderation. You need to establish early on in your</p> <p>game with your players how much of a level of<br /> crazy you’re willing to allow, just so everyone</p> <p>understands the general feel or flow of the story,<br /> what to try for, and what not to try for. A lot of</p> <p>non-fantasy RPGS, a lot of modern systems, and low<br /> power horror systems tend to adhere to strict</p> <p>realism in player actions because that’s how they<br /> build their tension and that’s how a lot of the</p> <p>game’s danger elements are built around. For those<br /> the rule of cool is a little more sparing</p> <p>comparatively. And it’s not always good for a<br /> game’s story to incorporate a lot of– tension,</p> <p>difficulty and fear are a powerful storytelling<br /> tool. And if the player feel like they can do any</p> <p>wacky thing, any crazy idea at any given time and<br /> probably be okay, then it takes away an element of</p> <p>that. So you want to be sparing with its use, but you<br /> also don’t want to squash the player’s creativity.</p> <p>At least not physically.</p> <p>So for the GM and the player, if you agree to<br /> that, that’s something that you can occasionally</p> <p>pull into a game. Be sparing with it. Pick the<br /> right moments to have those heroic stand up</p> <p>experiences to do something crazy. There is a need<br /> for the GM to maintain an internal consistency with</p> <p>the rules in the world so it stays cohesive and<br /> that people understand the boundaries. You don’t</p> <p>want the stakes and the reality and the tension to<br /> have less weight, which can happen if you allow</p> <p>too many of these to happen in succession.</p> <p>Gauge which player actions are viable, as a GM,<br /> and which you might consider abuse. A cool rule of</p> <p>cool moment might be like if somebody decided–<br /> for instance, a sorcerer has a fog spell. Cool,</p> <p>that’s a fog spell. It usually just clouds a<br /> little area. What if they decided they wanted to</p> <p>use that fog spell to create enough moisture that<br /> if they funneled it into an area that was</p> <p>extremely flammable it would actually dampen the<br /> flames. That’s a creative use of it. It’s not</p> <p>really a rule of cool moment. It’s a creative use.<br /> So you can find that separation there.</p> <p>If somebody decided they had an ability that let<br /> them slow fall, like a monk in 3.5, they decided</p> <p>they wanted to use that to coast down the entire<br /> side of a castle as it was crumbling. That’s kind</p> <p>of intense, but it’s not completely out of the<br /> realm of possibility. So from a cinematic</p> <p>standpoint, it could be a really cool character moment<br /> if they’re like carrying a special item they just</p> <p>stole and it’s their only way of escape. I would<br /> say go ahead and allow it, possibly incorporating</p> <p>some skill checks and some challenge, some<br /> difficulty to that experience. But even if the</p> <p>rules don’t implicitly say that a person could in<br /> theory continue to coast that down a series of</p> <p>long surfaces in a row, don’t be afraid to bend<br /> the rules or loosen up a little bit to let those</p> <p>cool character moments shine through.</p> <p>This also involves in battles and terrain, having<br /> to escape on a collapsing ice bridge.</p> <p>It sounds very cinematic and very Michael Bay film<br /> aspect, and that can be a really cool moment in a</p> <p>story, occasionally. But if every single moment in<br /> the game is that, once again it loses its weight,</p> <p>loses its cohesiveness, and the quieter moments<br /> seem boring by comparison and players seem less</p> <p>invested in the story and tension in-between. But<br /> also for people that do not abuse the rule of cool</p> <p>and try and constantly break your game,<br /> or go far beyond what their character’s</p> <p>limitations are, reward those moments of<br /> creativity. You can give them either bonus</p> <p>experience at the end of the session, possibly<br /> that moment might lead to a better relationship</p> <p>with a non-player character, or the discovery of a<br /> secret piece of equipment. But also dissuade</p> <p>people from reaching too far too often. If someone<br /> continues to reach too far in your game and is</p> <p>constantly trying to break what is considered a<br /> viable character feature list or skill set, then</p> <p>perhaps their failures grow more punishing. There<br /> are ways of doing it that aren’t too direct. And</p> <p>if you’re having a problem enough in the game with<br /> this or you feel that it’s really pulling away</p> <p>from the overall narrative, or the rest of the<br /> players’ experiences, just talk with them outside</p> <p>of the game.</p> <p>Now, most RPGs are designed forge a heroic story,<br /> showing feats of legend. So let the players try.</p> <p>Let them fail, and occasionally succeed.<br /> Occasionally. One of my favorite phrases, and you</p> <p>see me use it constantly in Critical Role, is<br /> “you can certainly try.” And I’ll stick and adhere</p> <p>to that because I think part of what’s fun about<br /> RPGs is it’s a place where you can attempt things</p> <p>you would not otherwise be able to do in your own<br /> life. And as long as you do it in a creative and</p> <p>respectful way that doesn’t damage or disrespect<br /> the time and energy that the dungeon master or</p> <p>game master has put into the narrative, I think it<br /> can lead to some really, really awesome, memorable</p> <p>in-character moments. Just through experience, you<br /> find that fine line. You find what works, what</p> <p>doesn’t, and make sure you discuss that and are<br /> clear with it with your players going forward, and</p> <p>you guys are bound to create some really, really<br /> epic, memorable adventures.</p> <p>Thank you so much for watching. I hope this has<br /> been at least somewhat helpful in your game</p> <p>mastering experiences. You’ll be able to see more<br /> of these videos on geekandsundry.com and I’ll see</p> <p>you next time.</p> <p> Share this:TweetWhatsAppTelegramEmail
