Unpopular opinions go here

[pemerton]

I think that Tolkien, for example, would be appalled that D&D's wizard, which is modeled after Gandalf, Merlin, and other magical characters, would be defined by their Intelligence rather than say their Wisdom, which was often the hallmark characteristic for these sagely figures. They were meant to be the source of wisdom.

Agreed. Relating that to my favourite version of D&D - 4e D&D - the difference between invokers and wizards in that system is almost purely an artefact of the stat system (WIS vs INT) which is then overlaid with a rather arbitrary distinction between Divine magic (which invokers wield even though they are not priests or servants of any particular god) and Arcane magic.

Within the context of the game it works - but the difference between an invoker and a wizard is just about the least profound setting element of 4e D&D. The difference between a STR paladin and a STR cleric is next-most in this respect.

In AD&D, a paladin and a druid both need CHA, but a cleric doesn't. Why? Almost entirely that sub-classes (i) can have arbitrarily higher stat requirements compared to principal classes, and (ii) sub-classes are allowed to have a bit more quirky flavour than principal classes. But there's nothing inherent about the divinely-inspired heavy armour wielding warrior that makes CHA more or less central to the paladin instantiation compared to the cleric instantiation; nor about the conduit between mortal and divine/supernatural that makes CHA more or less central to the druidic/animistic instantiation compared to the to the clerical/Abrahamic instantiation.

 

[aramis erak]

For all its flaws, TSR’s Marvel Super Heroes RPG is the best all-around superhero game of all time. The only game that comes close is Marvel Heroic Roleplaying. The Ultimate Powers Book is a gold mine of ideas for powers and really drives home the sense of “no really, just make it up.” Story-specific supers games like Masks are in a different category.

I used to think that, then I ran Sentinel Comics... and it is a little bit better than MHRP. Not enough to fire MHRP when players want "Genuine Marvel", but pretty much everything else in Supers as Supers, I'll take SC.

(Note, and at least to some, contentious: I find DC's comics to be BORING, save late 70's/early 80's Green Arrow. Zero desire to run nor read that setting. Ywt, Arrow, Flash, HoT, and Supergirl I find better than any TV Marvel's put out in my viewing history,)

Another unpopular opinion: Most D&D settings work better under Marvel than under D&D.

Fantasy Australia sounds fun.

Been done, mate... Lace & Steel. Renaissance Musketeer era in essentially an Aussie map, with Satyrs, Centaurs, and Humans running about... Haven't gotten it to table.
Oh, and Hunter Planet. (What's more fun than space alien hunters who look like Stuffies on a human hunting safari in NSW???) Have gotten it to table... Was a total hoot!

 

[aramis erak]

For AD&D (and OD&D I think) the order should be Str-Int-Wis-Dex-Con-Cha.

The order you use here is WotC's.

The order I used is the one I've used since before WotC existed...
But if one wants to be pedantic, the sample sheet in OE can be read is two different orders.
1, Str, Con, Int, Dex, Wis, Cha
2. Str-Int-Wis-Dex-Con-Cha.

Noting that #2 ignores the linguistic standard of multi-column data in the English world of Down 1st col, then down second, then down third... and thus is not a good thing to be pedantically arguing about. That Gygax in text does that merely shows his ineptitude as an editor

THe ordering I use has always been Physicals then Mentals... because it simply makes more sense than either reading of the sample sheet in OE. It's also probably influenced heavily by Traveller.

Also, you're wrong that Str Dex Con Int Wis Cha is WotC's change; it's the order of explanation in AD&D 2E PHB. Very much a TSR change. Aaron Alston didn't get the memo for Cyclopedia...

 

[aramis erak]

I'm not sure its quite that tidy, but I do wonder if human multiclassing was a thing in OD&D if the paladin would have ever happened (though, maybe, since its got a pretty clear specific model).

The Cook and Mentzer method is a paladin is a fighter of paladin level, and a cleric of 1/3 their paladin level. But you can't switch from fighter to Paladin (nor Knight, nor Avenger) until 9th.

 

[aramis erak]

Yep, absolutely true. I'm just saying that if everyone at the table wants sushi but there's no Japanese restaurant in your town, you don't have to settle for sandwiches. There's nothing wrong with getting the ingredients from the store and making your own sushi together. It's a lot more effort, but sometimes the sushi craving is so strong that it's worth the trouble.

Now I want sushi.

Yes there is a good reason not to go get the fish flesh from your local store and make your own sushi -- unless you live in a coastal city, the fish isn't going to be fresh enough at the meats/fish counter to be safe uncooked.

Now, passing on it and laughing at the posts the next day about bad sushi is, for some, its own reward, it's not a prosocial behavior...

This is very much a case where the metaphor is badly broken due to the metaphorical material being far more time sensitive than the item it supposedly represents.

Most food metaphors have similar, if less profound, situations...

 

[aramis erak]

Yes, and I’m thrilled that these are coming back! Even if I do not play them (though seriously considering getting the Spelljammer set, as it’s 50% off at Amazon, and price-for-content was one of the major complaints in reviews), just knowing that a major company is saying, “Hey, let’s give our audience something different, even if it is 30 years or so old.”

Note that the 5E spelljammer is a wholly new setting from the same elevator pitch. It also lacks ship construction rules.

 

[aramis erak]

I would humbly submit that D&D became so popular because it was a good game that provided players with a positive gaming experience. It continues to dominate because it continues to offer a positive gaming experience to many, many people. Being the biggest kid on the block has it's advantages, but if D&D wasn't giving people what they wanted they wouldn't continue to dominate.

Most D&D fans don't realize they stopped playing D&D some time ago... Using Gygax's definition/admonition about (Paraphrased) "If you're not using all the rules in the book, you're not playing AD&D."

The same is true for any edition.

 

[aramis erak]

I would humbly submit that D&D became so popular because it was a good game that provided players with a positive gaming experience. It continues to dominate because it continues to offer a positive gaming experience to many, many people. Being the biggest kid on the block has it's advantages, but if D&D wasn't giving people what they wanted they wouldn't continue to dominate.

Most D&D fans don't realize they stopped playing D&D some time ago... Using Gygax's definition/admonition about (Paraphrased "If you're not using all the rules in the book, you're not playing AD&D."

Also, let's draw an analogy: The best burger is seriously arguable, but it's certainly NOT McDonalds hamburger, nor even the big mac.

The most profitable burger brand is McDonalds...

The best 1987 home computer was the Apple IIgs The best selling was the already out of date C64... The C128 was better than the C64, but was fighting C64s for market share. The panoply of Win/Intel clones were far better than the Apple IIe/IIc, the MacIntosh SE, and only slightly better than the IIgs on graphics with top end cards... But the mediocrity of the 16 bit WinTel held also compatibility with 2 OS's (DOS+Win, CP/M 86). PC clones now run more than 80% of small machine installs...

Quantity and Profitability are not good predictors of success nor best fit to given goals.

D&D is MacDonalds.

 

[humble minion]

Most D&D fans don't realize they stopped playing D&D some time ago... Using Gygax's definition/admonition about (Paraphrased) "If you're not using all the rules in the book, you're not playing AD&D."

In the year 2023, pretty much every word Gygax wrote about how to play D&D can safely be ignored and your game will be better for it.

 

[Snarf Zagyg]

In the year 2023, pretty much every word Gygax wrote about how to play D&D can safely be ignored and your game will be better for it.

Not true. Because if you did that, you couldn't play at all. Since Gygax not only consistently advocated for "X," he would also advocate for "not X" ... sometimes in the same paragraph.

Take what @aramis erak just said- Using Gygax's definition/admonition about (Paraphrased "If you're not using all the rules in the book, you're not playing AD&D."

Is that true? Yes. No. He didn't actually say that. He did repeatedly say that AD&D was the standard. He also repeatedly said that you needed to make the game your own. Gygax himself didn't use the AD&D rules as written.

The only thing worse than the deification of the people who started this hobby, is the unthinking trashing of them.