Recent content by Mercurius

Yes, good point. And there's newer elements that can be folded in. I mean, a rogue AI could feature as a villain.

I was thinking a heavily stylized 1960s film, but you could do something similar with style and make it more contemporary. First of all, you don't need the Cold War. At first I thought maybe you kind of do, because it was easier to make cartoonish villains out of Russians etc, due to limitations...

Or another way to put it, Spelljammer was a bit of a throwback to 70s-era science fantasy. Planescape, on the other hand, was very much influenced by White Wolf and went hogwire on "90s kewl." So you can see a split there.

Yeah, I agree. But you could say that early 2E stuff like Spelljammer and Dark Sun is, at least, "OSR adjacent." But I hear you that Dragonlance was a big bifurcation and the first big "de-Gygaxation" of D&D (or maybe Ravenloft).

To me its primarily about vibe and inspiration. The fact that there can be endless debate about what specific elements constitute the OSR, pretty much says that there is no specific or definitive combination of factors that scream "To be OSR, it must include ABC, but not XYZ." Rather, I see it...

The Game is actually my favorite Fincher movie. It is really more of a gnostic/psychological film than a pure thriller. Fight Club is up there, too, and a better film but the Game has a special place in my heart. Seven was excellent and probably a more distant #3, but unlike my 1-2, not...

I guess I'm unusual for liking MI and Bond...and I'm not particularly a huge action fan. But the MI movies started getting really good with 3, great with 4-6, including some of the best actions scenes I've ever seen. 7 was a bit of a drop-off but still really good; haven't seen 8 yet. I loved...

BREAKING: Wizards of the Coast to lay off all employees, and generate all future content with AI.

I'm not reading 78 pages, but... Why is the word necessary relevant at all? I'm not sure anything in D&D is necessary. Rangers are fun for those who like them. It isn't really the right word, but for them they're necessary.

I'm guessing that regardless of how great it is making a living doing D&D stuff, always working within corporate culture with the bigger entity of Hasbro ultimately dictating your course ("profit first, everything else second") becomes a bit wearing after a decade plus. Probably making somewhat...

I like the idea of two versions: a capsule description that is bare minimum, and a more in-depth text for color and depth (if you enjoy writing such things). Individual DMs can decide what to use. Not sure about putting it in the appendix, though. Might require too much flipping back and forth.

Yeah, I thought of BRP and Dragonbane as the closest thing. Using your example of karate, thankfully (I suppose!) in D&D, advancement mostly comes through combat - so in that way, it is realistic. On the other hand, I hear what you're saying - that there's almost two parallel tracks, one is...

Hey, take it up with AI, not me. And of course D&D isn't "remotely good" for reasons you stated and others. But...we're playing What If, here, and I think Qwen's answer of level 8-10 is solid enough. Game of Thrones is fantasy, but it is more realistic than D&D. As for Barristan Selmy, I...

(None of these answers are endorsed by me...just having a bit of fun with Qwen)

This one made me mentally chuckle: Ao (Overgod of the Forgotten Realms) Why : Ao oversees all deities and mortals in the Realms. Elminster would stand no chance against his omnipotence. Win Probability : ~100%.