What I have trouble wrapping my brain around in these discussions is the “Why do I have to stop the fun of everyone else at the table just to make sure one player is having fun” argument. How much fun could you really be having with the knowledge that it comes at the expense of someone else at the table?

Back in Boy Scout, we acknowledged that while hiking the slowest person in the group set the pace. It has to be that way or someone gets left behind. And we can’t have that because /it’s not safe/. We are hiking together so we finish together.

I think a similar rule applies in RPGs. When we sit down together, we’re a group. We’re creating a story /together/. Everyone needs to have fun /together/.

To make sure no one gets left behind, I try to gauge the success of my games by satisfaction level of the least satisfied player. Obviously you can’t always please everyone (someone who sits down to Epyllion and wants brutal tactical combat or someone experiencing emotional bleed from their crappy day) but these tools are just there to help everyone get on the same page so that the whole group has a better time.