Hi all,

My group started with LAotH on the weekend, and had a good time. One of the players noted that the pre-gens have reasons to hate Teemo while the characters they're using have less of one, but we'll deal with that when the time comes (maybe some sort of hand-wavey Oprah style "Trex was my best man! BOUNTIES FOR EVERYONE").

We got to Drombb at the end of Act I, and the firefight didn't go exactly as the book said it should, but the final showdown in Drombb's office was a fitting end. However, the wookie decided to stroll in where they had him cornered, and simply pick him up from behind the desk where he was taking cover. The problem was, this was two manoeuvres and she'd already used one getting to the doorway, I let it through with the normal 2 strain penalty (thinking about it now, it could have been a manoeuvre and an action, though a wookie picking up a human seems plausible enough to allow skipping a skill check in some circumstances). I'm pretty confident I did the right thing, as it was a cinematic thing to do, and was a really fun use of the combat system.

So how much is too much? At what point does bending cause it to break? Do you guys have any concrete examples I can learn from?

I think application of GM fiat comes down to 3 basic questions you need to ask yourself.

Will this facilitate the players' enjoyment of the game?

Am I treating all players equally/fairly?

Does bending this rule help the game function better/more cinematically/less tediously/etc.?

If it passes all three of those, it's probably a safe bet it's okay. The rules should reinforce the spirit of the game, not just be there to prompt a bunch of plodding die rolls.

The issue with GM fiat tends to be when it's applied unevenly across the party or when it's flagrantly used against the PCs (declaring them dead even though the critical roll/damage suffered doesn't really warrant it, for instance).

I think application of GM fiat comes down to 3 basic questions you need to ask yourself.

Will this facilitate the players' enjoyment of the game?

Am I treating all players equally/fairly?

Does bending this rule help the game function better/more cinematically/less tediously/etc.?

If it passes all three of those, it's probably a safe bet it's okay. The rules should reinforce the spirit of the game, not just be there to prompt a bunch of plodding die rolls.

The issue with GM fiat tends to be when it's applied unevenly across the party or when it's flagrantly used against the PCs (declaring them dead even though the critical roll/damage suffered doesn't really warrant it, for instance).

Shadeleader has good points, the only other thing I want to add is this:

Does allowing this action invalidate an ability a character must invest experience points to achieve the same (or mechanically worse) results?

It kind of falls under the "Am I treating all players equally/fairly?" territory, but if there's a talent a player must invest in in order to do something that you have already been allowing everyone to do for free, it could severely cheapen that talent, perhaps even the entire character. It's a constant dance us GMs must do.

As an aside, I don't think CheeseWizard violated that rules. It sounds good. Personally, I would have thrown in some sort of zinger in just so the encounter wouldn't have ended so simply, but nothing big.

Also consider whether any particular waiving of the rules is going to create a precedent where players might expect the same liberty with the rules to apply again and again. Something that sounds like a good idea 'just once' can become a real pain in the butt later.

Both awesome suggestions, thanks Completely new to RPGs and GMing, so I really appreciate general tips like these

However, the wookie decided to stroll in where they had him cornered, and simply pick him up from behind the desk where he was taking cover.

The problem was, this was two manoeuvres and she'd already used one getting to the doorway, I let it through with the normal 2 strain penalty (thinking about it now, it could have been a manoeuvre and an action, though a wookie picking up a human seems plausible enough to allow skipping a skill check in some circumstances).

I'm pretty confident I did the right thing, as it was a cinematic thing to do, and was a really fun use of the combat system.

First off, I think you allowed it for the right cinematic reasons, even though you would now change your reasons for allowing that action.

Secondly, I think your hindsight is correct -- it was two maneuvers and an action. So, keep that in mind for the future.

Third, you don't seem to have created any precedent that is likely to come back and bite you in the future, although with players the wackiest things are always possible.

On the flip side, speaking as a player who may have taken a few too many advantages of a few too many GMs over the years, I like to think that I'm pretty reasonable. If, after the game is over, you come to me and tell me that you've changed your mind and what you allowed me to do is not what should have happened, then I'd be happy to agree to let the past remain but to change the rules going forward. And if you were to find yourself in a situation where you decided that you had created a bad precedent some time back, then again -- just come talk to me.

IMO, this game is all about fun for both the players and the GM. And if something happens due to a rule interpretation that takes that fun away, then we should all be grown up enough to be able to talk about that situation rationally and decide to do things differently for the future.

But that's just my personal perspective.

The primary purpose for DM Fiat is to facilitate the freedom of action of the player. So the players aren't restricted to only doing whats "in the book", but instead can try anything his character could reasonably do with a reasonable chance of success (IOW, not punished for trying something not listed).

I'd caution against using "cinematic" as a get-out-of-the-rules-free card. This could lead to ever more and more ridiculous actions by the PC until the tone of the game is completely changed. While it may be cinematic for Han Solo to annihilate some Stormtroopers Batman-style, that isn't fitting for the game so shouldn't be allowed.