Recent content by Cruentus

Love Battletech, and still play it when I can in our game circle. There is a ton of lore and timeline advancement, most of which I completely ignore. As a grognard who bought and still has the original FASA Battletech and Citytech boxes, along with the cardboard cutouts, I stick to...

I don't have to outrun the monster, just outrun you... <trip> I still have a xerox copy I made of those poisons and still use it. All of the old Dragons are such a wealth of ideas and content.

:D Yup. That's the major element. I also really like the magic system. And while I like the way the characters can be interesting combinations of fighter/mage/thief, I think I prefer OSE and OSE Advanced for classes.

I agree. But here also highlights an overall problem with the way the game (and I guess every game, if you really tear into it), is that whether its through 'heavy investment', Feats, Magic, natural species or class abilities, you can trivialize large portions of the game: healing, darkness...

IMO, its mostly terrible adventure design... Why are the DC's for doors so high? Assuming that a character has +2 Prof, and +2 or 3 for their Wis, they have to roll a 15 or so to see the door? Is it intentionally so well hidden as to need that level of Perception? If not, bad design. If so...

I wasn't trying to be hyberbolic, and like I said, this IS my experience at my table. What is the upside? How do you play the game then? If traps, secret doors, ambushes and surprise are so horrible that they should ALWAYS be avoided, then why have them? What is the fun in their inclusion...

I'm not saying that you're saying this, but if this is the case, why include ambushes? Why include traps? Why include secret doors? Why include clues at all? Why include surprise? I find that players in 5e, IME at my table, want all of the above to go away. They want complete control of...

Old School Essentials, hands down. With a close second to Beyond the Wall, some elements of which I may combine with OSE.

I'd definitely be in for a game like that. It would offer me a chance to play outside of my usual selections, and having the backups ready sets the expectations that the PC's might not be expected to survive, which is another plus for me.

<snip> Nope, you’re not alone. The group I burned out with was the same way (unfortunately, this is the group I’ve been gaming with for like, forever). As I’ve gotten older, my interests in the RPG/DnD realms have shifted from power trips and min/maxing (not that I was heavy into those back...

Grabbed the OSR version! Thanks for doing that! Also glad to see it doing well. Congrats!

Yup. Had it happen after more than a year into a 5e campaign. Wasn't enjoying the campaign as DM, felt like I was fighting the rules, eventually it blocked up any creative energy I had. I shut down the campaign after a minor plot point resolved. I'm using OSE now, and it feels so much more...

Major US city in the 70s/80s growing up: 1) bike with friends every day - check 2) knock on friends doors every day to see who could come out and play - check 3) summers spent outside from after breakfast till the street lights came on - check 4) biked to nearby shopping center, ball fields...

I voted often, because I can’t think of a situation where I’d be able to tell the players at the table “you’ve never seen a troll before, so you can’t use fire.” When I world build, I’m always trying to be cognizant of what normal people would know or think. Do they know about trolls...

“I search the desk” is perfectly acceptable. Did you walk across the rug? Are you searching from in front or behind the desk? - and both of these I would ask you before assuming anything. If, for example, there is a trap under the rug, I don‘t want the player saying “But I tried to use...