Unpopular opinions go here

[Thomas Shey]

More objectively true Salty epiphanies from my meditations:


I'm over making excuses for sloppy game design.

When you say that you have worked on a game for x number of years; Why must I still Un-Bork your system when it hits my table?

Because that doesn't mean they're particularly great natural designers or had it playtested outside their own group, and at least one of those is probably necessary to avoid that.

(If you're specifically talking only about professional systems by bigger companies, carry on).

 

[Thomas Shey]

even with video games it gets dramatically less understandable when a small independent team with peanuts for funding that doesn't even meet the qualifications to properly be called a studio manages to dropkick your game in the face, like we've seen happen several times in recent years.

Sometimes that's because the smaller team is allowed to stay within their capacity and larger computer games have horrendous feature creep, and that's often beyond the control of the designers and coders.

 

[Hussar]

What makes Mordenkainens and Volos setting books any more than the three core books to you? (I was going to ask about the giants and dragons, but I think I get it in a cosmological sense). Thanks for any insight!

Deep dives into the backgrounds of various races? Isn’t that exactly what lore books are?

The whole section on elves in Mordenkainnens for example.

 

[Cadence]

Deep dives into the backgrounds of various races? Isn’t that exactly what lore books are?

The whole section on elves in Mordenkainnens for example.

I'll have to go recheck them out, my memory has them as pretty setting neutral, but it's been a while!

Do you mean the OG Mordenkainens or the Multiverse one?

 

[overgeeked]

Some people have clearly never heard of the Peter principle.

Peter principle - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[W'rkncacnter]

Some people have clearly never heard of the Peter principle.

Peter principle - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[Jaeger]

Well, that's the modern world: professionals and experts don't know anything and my armchair fiddling is just as good as their decades of study and experience.

It’s hard to be in awe of the “decades of study and experience” of professional elf-game designers when one man shops like Kevin Crawford consistently release product with demonstrably tighter design, and less systemic issues than the big players.

...
(If you're specifically talking only about professional systems by bigger companies, carry on).

Very much this. How many editions of Shadowrun do we have? And yet...

 

[Scribe]

I'll have to go recheck them out, my memory has them as pretty setting neutral, but it's been a while!

Do you mean the OG Mordenkainens or the Multiverse one?

ToF has lore, buts setting agnostic, or multiverse more than any one setting.

Least that's what I remember.

It's got Blood War too.

 

[Maxperson]

Game books are for using, not reading. You want to read? Go to the library. Don’t try selling me novels in game book form.

Why do you think people don't use the setting information in a setting? A whole lot of use make lots and lots of use of that information.

Mechanics are not setting information. If mechanics are what you want, ask for a mechanics book like Xanathar's and then you can use the mechanics to make your own setting. Official settings need setting material, which means fluff you don't want. You're literally asking for WotC to make settings that aren't settings.

 

[Hussar]

Why do you think people don't use the setting information in a setting? A whole lot of use make lots and lots of use of that information.

Mechanics are not setting information. If mechanics are what you want, ask for a mechanics book like Xanathar's and then you can use the mechanics to make your own setting. Official settings need setting material, which means fluff you don't want. You're literally asking for WotC to make settings that aren't settings.

No I’m asking WotC to keep doing what they’re doing and have done for the past ten years - present settings through adventures and practical, usable formats.

I don’t need or want a 5e FRCS. I have multie adventure paths set in FR that will get far, far more use at my table.

You folks that want setting stuff? Well, you’re still getting it. Just not the hose pipe you used to get while I had to be satisfied with tiny dribbles.

So no. I’m not going to apologize or feel bad that I’m finally the target audience after waiting for twenty five years. Give me canned campaigns that take about 18 months to play through. Fantastic. I’ll play one then move on to the next.