Recent content by Pamphylian

Yes! One of my very rough metrics for myself as a DM is something like "number of deranged schemes/out-of-the-box creative solutions/completely hopeless situations that get reverse-unoed" by players per session. Magic items (and the systems that support them) that encourage this, either in the...

I mainly skipped 3e and 4e for lack of familiarity. So I'm basically interpolating a story from 1e (and presumably 2e) to 5e to 5.5e. The closest I have to experience in either 3e/4e is adapting a Pathfinder 1e adventure to Pathfinder 2e. If some one can fill in the design evolution gaps here...

Seems like a very useful distinction in terms of goals. I do wonder what mechanics scaffold this mode of combat best? For combat as war, I'd suppose the scaffolds would be robust resource management systems to connect the strategic intimately with the tactical; morale and other "wargamey" tools...

Yeah, it's interesting to think about the relationship of ttrpg design with video games over time. There are some substitutes like you mentioned, some of the crunchiest aspects being easier on computers (maybe computer strategy games captured some of the market for the more wargamey/domain play...

I have a theory that you can learn a lot about a fantasy TTRPG’s design philosophy by looking at its magic items. Further, you can especially learn a lot about changes in design philosophy by looking at different takes on the “same”* magic item in different editions of a game. There are iconic...

Shadows are a personal favorite - low level/hp, but 1d4 Strength damage on a hit, and 0 Strength means death, terrifying. 5e would benefit from more ability score damage and more non-HP routes to death imo. Pairs great in an environment where Strength checks/saves are necessary, whether another...

I will say that I looked a bit askance at the utility of attack matrices for a while, but gained an appreciation during a 5e game where the party was fighting a horde of skeletons and zombies. I found myself writing down the ACs of my PCs and the die roll necessary to hit each of them based on a...

Yeah, probably not the best way to communicate clues or info that needs to be known. It probably does work best with a somewhat open-ended campaign where something the players get unexpectedly interested in can blossom. I think mystery can be still useful as an avenue or added texture to a...

The answer for my players has always been a good mystery. All my most successful lore deliveries have been because something was hinted at and framed as a mystery that the players could actively pursue and uncover. Not necessarily a straightforward "whodunnit", but stuff like "what happen to...

Yeah fair enough! I was thinking particularly of the Random Encounters section w.r.t. to the DMG (compared even to the 2014 counterpart). The mini adventures are nice enough, though maybe with variable on the fly pluginability.

I do think a few styles of play that seem prominent these days are legitimately pretty hard to DM for. There is a lot of discussion about crafting story beats and managing character arcs for each of your players and building perfectly balanced set piece fights that give everyone a spotlight and...

I don't know if I'd go this hard in every dungeon. But I think in this case 1) there's time pressure (random encounters, factions manuevering, party is possibly sneaking around) so the choice to search an area is a tradeoff and spends a precious resource, and 2) The party won't really have a...

Seems like Rooms 2 and 3 are the lowest parts (except for the secret room at 30), the surrounding "horseshoe" is elevated relative to the center

I dunno, I wish! It seems like there's a lot more going on in a small space than most dungeons you see (just going by the map, ignoring the excellent stocking). I mean, how many dungeons these days have a secret door to room ration of 2:3?

Secret areas, and secret doors (possibly between known areas, but enhancing manueverability). Jennell Jaquays' Borshak's Lair, I'm counting 21 secret doors in 30 rooms: (apparently, her first dungeon, made in her dorm room in 1974...I guess some people just get it right away)