# E0edf7aa-2c59-41de-B09f-Efe6a1f91bfc
URL:: https://readwise.io/reader/document_raw_content/1629629
Author:: Matthew J. Finch and Mythmere Games
## Highlights
> Rulings, not Rules ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01g2ccjnrns2zmscs5a9hk59sm))
> Second Zen Moment: Player Skill, not Character Abilities ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01g2ccm82h8a6psq3v2yacwv93))
> In a 0e game, you are always
> asking questions, telling the referee exactly what your character is looking at, and
> experimenting with things. Die rolls are much less frequent than in modern games. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01g2ccnb3xez8gka5tfb9y36aw))
> Third Zen Moment: Heroic, not Superhero ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01g2ccnr86p5qcvq261hhw4ej4))
> Even as characters rise to the heights of power, they aren’t
> picking up super-abilities or high ability scores. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01g2ccp0kvxgrkmx1j4g3e6j4x))
> Fourth Zen Moment: Forget “Game Balance.” ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01g2ccpytb7cee9ytg2n7hvvas))
> 1) View the entire area you’ve mapped out as the battleground; don’t plan on taking on
> monsters in a single room. They may try to outflank you by running down corridors.
> Establish rendezvous points where the party can fall back to a secure defensive position.
> 2) Scout ahead, and try to avoid wandering monsters which don’t carry much treasure.
> You’re in the dungeon to find the treasure-rich lairs. Trying to kill every monster you
> meet will weaken the party before you find the rich monsters.
> 3) Don’t assume you can defeat any monster you encounter.
> 4) Keep some sort of map, even if it’s just a flow chart. If you get lost, you can end up in
> real trouble – especially in a dungeon where wandering monster rolls are made
> frequently.
> 5) Ask lots of questions about what you see. Look up. Ask about unusual stonework.
> Test floors before stepping.
> 6) Protect the magic-user. He’s your nuke.
> 7) Hire some cannon fodder. Don’t let the cannon fodder start to view you as a weak
> source of treasure.
> 8) Spears can usually reach past your first rank of fighters, so a phalanx of hirelings
> works well.
> 9) Check in with the grizzled one-armed guy in the tavern before each foray; he may have
> suddenly remembered more details about the area. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01g2ccsb82c0k9y6c4bqn7vd5h))
> Your job isn’t to remember and apply rules correctly, it’s to make
> up on-the-spot rulings and describe them colorfully. It’s your job to answer questions
> (some of which will be off-the-wall) and to give the players lots and lots of decisions to
> make. You are the rulebook, and there is no other. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01g2cct6n96hbtx1b35234mt8c))
> Focus on making the situations fun, not on making them
> properly run. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01g2cctarxr0a7pg1ra3tsx5pd))
> Tao of the GM: The Way of the Ming Vase ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01g2ccsyh37w41wk8185fnvgh3))
> There’s
> a priceless Ming Vase sitting on a table in the middle of a room where combat rages on
> all sides, swords swinging, chairs flying, crossbow bolts whizzing through the air. There
> is, however, no rule covering the chance of some random event that might affect the
> priceless Ming Vase. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01g2ccvr0a03z94xaps61h7x2j))
> It’s your job to create events outside the standard sequence of “I roll to
> hit. They roll to hit. I roll to hit.” ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01g2ccvxj4avrm71yz1r94sbt5))
> Tao of the GM: The Way of the Moose Head ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01g2ccwdcf654gy2aafkgy416p))
> Without spot checks and automatic information gathering rolls, players don’t have a way
> to generate solutions by rolling dice and checking their character sheets. They have to
> think. That’s how player skill comes into the game. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01g2ccwmw98jsw4kbc7jfnv9cv))
> Sure enough, this
> sort of detailed exploration of the adventure area occupies more time in old-style gaming
> than it does in modern gaming. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01g2ccxhny0qhse8wewhek4cyt))
> Tao of the GM: Your Abstract Combat-Fu Must be Strong ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01g2ccy1ntqkt9y1ez0nb7z7wj))
> It’s also your job to inject events from outside the rules during combat. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01g2cd0c6qfky4v04ntqhbzgkt))
> This doesn’t mean, of course, that every swing of
> a sword blade and every step into combat must generate lavish descriptions and details
> from you. It’s a matter of pacing, ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01g2cd04m7pgqk001ypy8tx2b5))
> Tao of the GM: Way of the Donner Party ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01g2cd12wjmehscv8mq7erkvrd))
> However, one thing you have to realize about 0e: it is indeed
> a game where managing resources is at the game’s very heart. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01g2cd1g3fag2apf6x541w40jq))
> Here’s the key point in terms of running the adventure, things to include so that resource
> management adds to the excitement instead of being a chore. First, you have to keep
> track of time in the dungeon so that you can quickly tell the players what resources to
> mark off their character sheets. If you lose track of game time, you lose quality in the
> game. Second, there has to be a meaningful choice for the players between pressing
> forward or retreating from the dungeon. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01g2cd2g27ttz1705w7a42fn8m))
---
Title: E0edf7aa-2c59-41de-B09f-Efe6a1f91bfc
Author: Matthew J. Finch and Mythmere Games
Tags: readwise, articles
date: 2024-01-30
---
# E0edf7aa-2c59-41de-B09f-Efe6a1f91bfc
URL:: https://readwise.io/reader/document_raw_content/1629629
Author:: Matthew J. Finch and Mythmere Games
## AI-Generated Summary
None
## Highlights
> Rulings, not Rules ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01g2ccjnrns2zmscs5a9hk59sm))
> Second Zen Moment: Player Skill, not Character Abilities ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01g2ccm82h8a6psq3v2yacwv93))
> In a 0e game, you are always
> asking questions, telling the referee exactly what your character is looking at, and
> experimenting with things. Die rolls are much less frequent than in modern games. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01g2ccnb3xez8gka5tfb9y36aw))
> Third Zen Moment: Heroic, not Superhero ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01g2ccnr86p5qcvq261hhw4ej4))
> Even as characters rise to the heights of power, they aren’t
> picking up super-abilities or high ability scores. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01g2ccp0kvxgrkmx1j4g3e6j4x))
> Fourth Zen Moment: Forget “Game Balance.” ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01g2ccpytb7cee9ytg2n7hvvas))
> 1) View the entire area you’ve mapped out as the battleground; don’t plan on taking on
> monsters in a single room. They may try to outflank you by running down corridors.
> Establish rendezvous points where the party can fall back to a secure defensive position.
> 2) Scout ahead, and try to avoid wandering monsters which don’t carry much treasure.
> You’re in the dungeon to find the treasure-rich lairs. Trying to kill every monster you
> meet will weaken the party before you find the rich monsters.
> 3) Don’t assume you can defeat any monster you encounter.
> 4) Keep some sort of map, even if it’s just a flow chart. If you get lost, you can end up in
> real trouble – especially in a dungeon where wandering monster rolls are made
> frequently.
> 5) Ask lots of questions about what you see. Look up. Ask about unusual stonework.
> Test floors before stepping.
> 6) Protect the magic-user. He’s your nuke.
> 7) Hire some cannon fodder. Don’t let the cannon fodder start to view you as a weak
> source of treasure.
> 8) Spears can usually reach past your first rank of fighters, so a phalanx of hirelings
> works well.
> 9) Check in with the grizzled one-armed guy in the tavern before each foray; he may have
> suddenly remembered more details about the area. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01g2ccsb82c0k9y6c4bqn7vd5h))
> Your job isn’t to remember and apply rules correctly, it’s to make
> up on-the-spot rulings and describe them colorfully. It’s your job to answer questions
> (some of which will be off-the-wall) and to give the players lots and lots of decisions to
> make. You are the rulebook, and there is no other. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01g2cct6n96hbtx1b35234mt8c))
> Focus on making the situations fun, not on making them
> properly run. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01g2cctarxr0a7pg1ra3tsx5pd))
> Tao of the GM: The Way of the Ming Vase ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01g2ccsyh37w41wk8185fnvgh3))
> There’s
> a priceless Ming Vase sitting on a table in the middle of a room where combat rages on
> all sides, swords swinging, chairs flying, crossbow bolts whizzing through the air. There
> is, however, no rule covering the chance of some random event that might affect the
> priceless Ming Vase. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01g2ccvr0a03z94xaps61h7x2j))
> It’s your job to create events outside the standard sequence of “I roll to
> hit. They roll to hit. I roll to hit.” ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01g2ccvxj4avrm71yz1r94sbt5))
> Tao of the GM: The Way of the Moose Head ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01g2ccwdcf654gy2aafkgy416p))
> Without spot checks and automatic information gathering rolls, players don’t have a way
> to generate solutions by rolling dice and checking their character sheets. They have to
> think. That’s how player skill comes into the game. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01g2ccwmw98jsw4kbc7jfnv9cv))
> Sure enough, this
> sort of detailed exploration of the adventure area occupies more time in old-style gaming
> than it does in modern gaming. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01g2ccxhny0qhse8wewhek4cyt))
> Tao of the GM: Your Abstract Combat-Fu Must be Strong ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01g2ccy1ntqkt9y1ez0nb7z7wj))
> It’s also your job to inject events from outside the rules during combat. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01g2cd0c6qfky4v04ntqhbzgkt))
> This doesn’t mean, of course, that every swing of
> a sword blade and every step into combat must generate lavish descriptions and details
> from you. It’s a matter of pacing, ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01g2cd04m7pgqk001ypy8tx2b5))
> Tao of the GM: Way of the Donner Party ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01g2cd12wjmehscv8mq7erkvrd))
> However, one thing you have to realize about 0e: it is indeed
> a game where managing resources is at the game’s very heart. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01g2cd1g3fag2apf6x541w40jq))
> Here’s the key point in terms of running the adventure, things to include so that resource
> management adds to the excitement instead of being a chore. First, you have to keep
> track of time in the dungeon so that you can quickly tell the players what resources to
> mark off their character sheets. If you lose track of game time, you lose quality in the
> game. Second, there has to be a meaningful choice for the players between pressing
> forward or retreating from the dungeon. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01g2cd2g27ttz1705w7a42fn8m))