Unpopular opinions go here

[Thomas Shey]

I honestly believe that the same people that complain about "book keeping" are the same people that complain about the martial-caster inequity. All that book keeping -- from components to slots to discovery -- IS the balancing factor. They were the same people that couldn't be bothered with weapon vs armor types and weapon speeds in AD&D and the labeled the fighter as boring.

I called the fighter boring for reasons that none of that addressed. Bookkeeping, per se, does not make a fighter more interesting.

 

[Thomas Shey]

I've heard that McDonalds closed its restaurants in Russia in response to the war...

Goodbye, American soft power: McDonald’s exiting Russia after 32 years is the end of an era

For a generation of Russians, McDonald's represented their first exposure to capitalism and American culture.

www.cnbc.com

I've also heard that Russia ordered a number to remain open...

They were handed off to locals and no longer have any connection with the parent company.

 

[QuentinGeorge]

Tell me you have never read the DMG without telling me you have never read the DMG.

I've read half a dozen of them back-to-back, so I'm not sure what this is about.

 

[Warpiglet-7]

I think its more of an issue that it turns it into a double-or-nothing process (either the magic is overpowered or you just can't get it off), and I'm not sold that many people find that a good way to balance it.

Right. Hence the the unpopular nature of the opinion.

I am in the minority on a number of issues. This is but one of them.

 

[QuentinGeorge]

Oh sure, I’m not saying that specific exceptions shouldn’t exist, someone/where not using common really puts a sense of otherness on them which can be what you want, but for the most part you don’t want to be going “okay so max speaks draconic so he can talk to Jane and joey about the plan, joey also speaks elvish so he can talk to sarah, and liam took the lip-reader feat so he understands what is being said even if he only knows dwarvish which no-one else in the group speaks” or hoping that one of the two party members you sent shopping will share a language with the shopkeeper.

Juggling languages just to achieve the basics of planning in the game typically isn’t considered a worthwhile experience

I can't imagine a situation that makes sense where party members don't have a common language (especially if they've been travelling together for a while), but having party members unable to communicate with individual NPCs can actually be a useful to let other PCs use their social skills, instead of just having the high-charisma bard or sorcerer do the talking in every conversation. There might be a case where only the scholarly wizard knows the language, despite him being a boorish conversationalist.

 

[Campbell]

Martial versus Spellcaster balance complaints aren't really about game balance for the most part. They are either about aesthetics (wanting martial characters who match their conception of how someone who fights the things they fight should look) or a desire for more compelling martial gameplay. Addressing the complaints by making spellcasters less effective or riskier to use does not address the actual pain points most people have.

 

[Reynard]

I've read half a dozen of them back-to-back, so I'm not sure what this is about.

There is literally a section in the 5E DMG addressing your assertions about languages. It's right there.

 

[overgeeked]

You could design a fun game that’s actually balanced without resorting to making gameplay tedious for some players as the means of “balancing” things. Just sayin’.

 

[Lanefan]

I honestly believe that the same people that complain about "book keeping" are the same people that complain about the martial-caster inequity. All that book keeping -- from components to slots to discovery -- IS the balancing factor.

Agreed.

They were the same people that couldn't be bothered with weapon vs armor types and weapon speeds in AD&D and the labeled the fighter as boring.

Disagreed. I ditched those rules in 1e and yet never claimed the Fighter was boring.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Actually, what did it was the corporation buying the land the stores were built on. That gave them the financial backbone to spread so far and wide, and to market so effectively, that they became a cultural institution.

They did that sometimes- that’s a one time investment. Not only that, many countries place limitations on owning real estate by foreign citizens and corporations.

Buying ingredients from local suppliers, OTOH is an ongoing flow of cash.