Recent content by Pamphylian

Doom 3 and it's flashlight also comes to mind. I think it had both fans and detractors. I fully agree, D&D can benefit from these tense moments. It doesn't need to in every table, every stuation, or every level of play, but it benefits from having them as part of the possible game space.

In my experience, these gameplay contrivances can contribute gameplay value, narrative value, and verisimilitude when done well! The former two because imo the essence of both gameplay and narrative in an rpg is player choice and the feed back of tension and consequence, and these contrivances...

Trading one third level spell (Create Food and Drink) for another third level spell (Fireball) AND Conjure Dire Turkey Flock, all to get a charred likely mildly carcinogenic mess seems rather inefficient! I'd allow it! Even more so the 4th level Ice Storm, as I'd enjoy the water capture schemes...

My synthesis of these two positions, which I both agree with, is that the purpose of darkness mechanics is to adjudicate darkness, and this is usually ultimately as a tool to heighten tension. Simulating well enough that it is a challenge when you'd expect it to be a challenge and that it can be...

Well, fair enough! I am always open to specific horizon-broadening suggestions. I don't think I am a spiritual boomer, though I'll admit the pillars of my fantasy aesthetic preferences are not far from some combination of 70/80s scifi/fantasy book covers and 19th century romanticist...

Outstanding, thank you! My google-fu was not strong enough. The nooks in the crevasse, only visible from certain other nooks or by climbing, are quite compelling here. Almost Jaquaysian.

However, management is one way you get to that narratively (in)convenient point in a game setting. Yes your DM can also fiat that, though I personally find that much less fun, and I also don't think most torch-management haters would tend to be all that happy about that option either! "Why are...

I will readily accept "the long 80's" as an aesthetic era from spanning from circa 1977 to 2001, it's assumptions shattered by the dot com burst and 9/11. I guess I'm still sort of skeptical, maybe the only way to resolve this is extensive historical research and survey, but torches just seem...

Though I'd say Gandalf is at least a 5th level wizard (solos a Balor) and Frodo had to Quest pretty hard for the Light of Eärendil

I wasn't even a twinkle in my parents eye in the 80's so maybe that explains my atavistic attraction. (I'm using torches as a stand in for any mundane light source but of course torches feel the most fun - yes I know they realistically are not at all practical in an enclosed dungeon). But I...

Agreed, and this is my biggest issue with it. Plenty of people like this style, nothing objectively wrong with it (except maybe that any not-possibly deadly encounter feels pretty pointless, because there's no attrition except for spells), but not what I want from a ttrpg. I think it did...

This is maybe an unreasonable piggybacking, but does anyone know if there is an adventure associated with this fun little map in the 2014 DMG?