What is the story behind "Don't ask me what you need to hit"

Cedgewick · 07-29-2015, 08:10 PM

I see Dave's quote everywhere:
"Don't ask me what you need to hit. Just roll the die and I will let you know!"

Anyone have the story behind this line?

***Havard*** · 07-31-2015, 06:42 AM

I lnow the quote but cant think of anything at the moment. Anyone else? ☺

finarvyn · 08-02-2015, 10:45 AM

I don't think that there is a particular story behind it, only a general philosophy. Dave liked the notion that folks would immerse themselves in the game rather than trying to fixate on the mechanics, and this was his way of keeping players focused on their actions rather than the odds.

***Havard*** · 08-02-2015, 11:45 AM

Do you recall where Dave first made this comment, Fin? ☺

-Havard

finarvyn · 08-04-2015, 07:43 AM

I got it from Dave directly in a PM or e-mail back in the day, but I'm sure it's in print elsewhere. I'd have to search around. 8)

***Havard*** · 08-08-2015, 08:27 AM

finarvyn Wrote:I got it from Dave directly in a PM or e-mail back in the day, but I'm sure it's in print elsewhere. I'd have to search around. 8)

Ah, thanks!

As you say, I do think the quote tells us alot of about Dave's gaming style. Just reading other stories about his gaming philosophy suggests that he really does not care for long discussions about the rules and other things that drag the game down. Dave seemed to be excellent at winging it and adding new elements right into the game as they came to him or to the other guys around the table.

-Havard

finarvyn · 08-09-2015, 06:06 PM

I have a "Dave Arneson quotes" word doc that dates back to 2010 or earlier, so it must have been sometime prior to that. (It's also been in my signature at OD&D Discussion as long as I can remember.)

I like to collect and archive stuff, but I'm not very careful about making notes as to where I find them. Not so good if my intent is to be a historian. I have this large doc full of Amber Diceless quotes from Erick Wujcik and most of the boards that they came from are no longer in existance so I probably have one of the better collections of this stuff, but from an academic standpoint it loses a lot of its value becasue I didn't footnote it, either. Sad