When Rules Get in the Way (TCG)

__TOC__
The AD&D® game rules are purposefully complex and detailed. They are designed to accommodate a vast array of game situations, and give both the DM and his players satisfactory answers to the question "what happens if I do this?" in nearly any scenario. Yet game rules are designed to solve the statistical aspects of game play, not to tell stories.
In case one hasn't realized it by now, adventure role-playing is a form of orchestrated storytelling, almost improvisational theatre, where the actors make up their lines just before they speak them. Game rules provide statistical suggestions for what happens as a result of a characters actions. Unfortunately, constantly having to determine the statistical outcome of player actions gets in the way of good storytelling.
For example, if the party find themselves as participants in major military battle, the DM does not need to fight every combat encounter. For the purposes of the story, assume that the pes successfully deal with any foes they meet or set up a single conflict to give the players the feeling of frenzied conflict and the senseless slaughter occurring around them.
If the events of travel between two places are unimportant, inform the players that they arrive safe, sound, and only slightly weary from their journey. Don't drag them across the intervening terrain day by day and inch by inch.
Assume that, as heroes, the characters can overcome simple challenges without needing to roll dice. If a task is reasonably within a characters abilities, let the character do it (unless the DM's story requires a dice roll). The same holds true if there is no personal danger involved in a task or if multiple tries are possible.
When the rules get in the way of telling the story, the DM should consider eliminating or at least streamlining them.