Well, D&D is easy to pick on. But there is a game design reason for fighters being meat-shields: if fighters are good at anything else, other classes lose their lustre. Fighters, in D&D, MUST be the meat-shields, because that's why someone picks the fighter class. If you want to be good at...
Are you seeing a different Old School than I am? I thought it was about armor classes that required understanding negative numbers and endless tables. In part.
Or should it be called OSRL - Old School Rules Light?
It seems like everyone who wants an opinion on what to do next in his/her game provides a writeup that is waaaaay too long. I don't need to know what town Zorak is from and what school of wizardry his sister-in-law is considering for a specialization - to offer my opinion on whether he should...
Fun is trickling in! You can try Eamon's Beginners' Cave with the link in the updated Original Post. Eamon, or "the Wonderful World of Eamon," is one of the earliest text-based RPGs on computer. It was an open system to which any user could create its own dungeon/quest module and add to the...
One could say that a shift in game mode (application of a different set of rules) is necessary for fitting the feeling of a scene. Conversation amongst friends feels pretty comfortable, so a comfortable set of rules for it is appropriate. Armed combat is decidedly uncomfortable, exacting...
Just checking ;)
Longer version: I expect most players to look out for #1 (the player). So I reward them to encourage looking out for #2 (the character) and #3 (the other PCs).