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Well said, RJK. The best games I've run depended in large part on fluidity and on-the-fly adjustment. It adds a certain dynamic that simply can't be found in running adventures strictly as written. In fact, several times I've run gaming sessions without so much as a scrap of notes or, on a couple occasions, even a set of dice! Every time it was a rousing success. And no, that's not because I'm such a fantastic DM: it's because the true fun of the game is found in building an experience, not in sticking to some formula.

That said, I've noticed a certain phenomenon lately - especially among younger gamers - that I believe is endemic to the current state of the gaming industry and closely related to the topic at hand. Many of these younger players, in my experience, have cast aside the notion that roleplaying is an event to be experienced and instead approach the hobby as a contest to be won. Granted this attitude has always existed to an extent, but it seems by far the norm now. Motivated by an immature and deeply flawed understanding of fairness, certain of these younger players have insisted (at times harshly) that I stick to the plot while DMing and roll all dice where they can be seen. They seem to think that if I hide the dice or fudge a roll I'm somehow cheating. Of course, they completely ignore the facts that roll-fudging is a time-honored practice among DMs and that any fudged rolls exist more often than not for their own benefit. They also seem almost completely incapable of making an independent decision for their characters that is not based in some way on the plot-guided direction of the DM. "What does your character want to do?" I ask, deliberately leaving the question open-ended, and the reply is too often, "What are we supposed to do?" or "What's our next step (according to the adventure's predetermined plot)?" Ironically, if I am any less than completely subtle in providing a plot-driven motivation, they complain they're being railroaded. Tragic, is it not? Further, if I make a ruling on the fly they insist that I support my decision from the rulebook. "Rules lawyer" used to be an insult, but just as in real life the lawyers now seem to be taking over.

I find it difficult to determine which came first here: was it the chicken or the egg? Did the gaming industry (and of course I'm referring specifically to D&D here - the "big boy" of the industry - since they seem to set the tone for most other companies) create this attitude or were they simply responding to the demands of their customers? I suspect it may have been both. Regardless of whom is at fault, this problem seems to lie at the heart of the "flaws" in all editions since 1e AD&D. In seeking for more direction, both players and DMs have become reliant on the written text rather than their own imaginations. Designers find their creativity stifled by the need to have every concept conform to "the rules", so much so that there are many articles and other texts now extant than insist on a "right" way of designing. Anything that falls outside this rigid framework is deemed "bad design", regardless of how imaginative it may be or how fun it may be to play. The publishers themselves (WotC, that is, for the aforementioned reason) foster this gamist attitude - perhaps deliberately and perhaps not - by releasing more and more rules for every situation and less and less innovation in each adventure. Never once do they say, "Just make it up."

This is what has motivated me on many occasions to comment on the true flaw of every edition since 2e: The problem lies not with the rules themselves, nor with the publications released, but with the simple fact that the publisher failed to teach people how to play the game. Numerous websites are chock full of articles and advice concerning "character builds", the best feat combinations, etc., but when's the last time you read an article about how and when to fudge a roll? When's the last time you read something about what to do when the players take an unexpected direction? When did you last read anything about how to handle a party made up entirely of wizards or rogues? When was the last time you saw an article on how to build a "character" as opposed to a collection of stats with a few background notes tacked on as an afterthought? Such articles undoubtedly exist, but they're very few and very far between. Instead, everything seems to suggest (strongly!) that every party must possess a specific mix of characters, must receive a specific type and number of magic items, and must progress in a specific direction or else you're just not doing it right. Several recent publications have even stated outright that playing any other way than that prescribed is not "fun". Balderdash!

And in spite of the growing number of heated debates and "edition wars", each new edition seems to claim it is a "great improvement over all earlier editions". Again I say, "Balderdash!" When it comes to the amount of fun to be had, there has been no improvement in the gaming industry at all since 1e and its precursers. As much as I enjoy the d20 rules (my preferred system), I have to admit they've done nothing to increase the amount of fun to be had. AD&D (and earlier editions) had that part right from the start. Personally, I would have been just as happy if they'd continued to publish the old rules. There was nothing wrong with 1e that a little reorganization couldn't have fixed. If anything, all rules systems since - with their insistence on rules for every situation and a formulaic approach to design - have served at least to a degree to stifle creativity and (as Rob says) fluidity. This is not, to my mind, a good thing.

My advice for budding DMs and designers out there: Choose whatever rules you're comfortable with, but when you're ready to design put them aside. Instead focus on getting to know your players. Figure out how they (and you) like to play, and allow your designs to flow from there. Let your own imagination reign, and let it feed on the imaginations of your players during every gaming session. Come up with interesting and creative "experiences" and leave the rules for a later edit of your work. Make the rules serve your creativity, not the other way around. "Fun" is something only you and your players can define. Trying to design according to some artificial system or some idea of the "right" way to design will only make your work one more in the endless crowd of bad adventures. Later, if someone likes your work enough to pay you for it, then congratulations. If no one but you and your players like it, then you've still done it "right".

And when you're playing, by all means don't be afraid to let things flow as they may. Feel free to make things up as you go along, fudge dice rolls, and do whatever you must to entertain those players, even if it means they stray from your plotted course. You won't regret it.