Recent content by Lanefan

@hawkeyefan gave one not far upthread from his own game, where on a failed roll to climb [something, I forget what] he narrated it as a success: they got to the top only it took longer than it should have.

That may not be what they intend it to mean but it's what comes across in print through use of that phrase.

Not in the way I define "fan", no. A fan is someone who cheers for the team no matter what, and always wants the best for it. If you always want the best for the PCs and yet are also in the position of supplying their opposition, you're in a hard-line conflict of interest. Finding ways to...

Well, yes; if you don't have it listed on your character sheet then your character doesn't have it. And I'd likely port this requirement into a system like BitD as well, to replace its equipment-slot system that (IMO far too generously) allows you to "have what you need" as long as you still...

No. That's why in some leagues the refs have to disclose which team(s) they support, and are then not assigned to work those teams' games or, ideally, games which could overly affect those teams. Only to a point.

And now, just a few minutes leter, it's not working.

It's working as normal for me at the moment. Firefox, old desktop.

Alternatively, one could largely eschew FF for those binary "yes or no" tasks (e.g. picking a lock), go with "nothing happens" instead, and leave it up to the players to make the next move. Interesting in that you see 4e-like skill challenges as a more fleshed-out resolution system where I see...

Pemerton wanted to know what 10 seconds of inventory management might look like. I chucked in an example. As DM, I'm fine with a player doing it that way and also fine if they want to get into more detail with it. After very low level, IME, they rarely if ever want to go into much detail...

Unless I'm missing something, I think I more or less agree with this in principle. That said, there's always going to be players who get resentful at what they perceive as mechanical imbalance between characters, and D&D has gone a long way toward catering to these players via things like...

To be fussy, they want the DM to be a fan of the characters. I agree it's not neutral, but then they seen to define "fan" differently than I (and maybe lots of others) would. And-or exciting.

Player: "I spend 75 g.p. reloading my basic gear and equipment to the original amounts and conditions on my character sheet - full quivers, full rations, replace a few bits showing wear and tear, that sort of thing." DM: "OK. Chalk off the 75. If you're looking for anything more pricey, check...

This example is all good, and could work in any game I think. I could easily see any of those (except maybe the last one) playing out in my game were I to run a situation like that. The bolded is the key element, though: the fundamental action still fails. It's when the rolled failure of the...

This thread's now at 801 pages. How many pages is War and Peace, and - far more important - can we beat it? :)

So, you're looking for the Desert Bus of RPGs? :)