Recent content by pemerton

Torchbearer 2e uses random events that index things that matter to the PCs, like friends and family. It's a different approach from Mythic Bastionland, but is definitely something that is shaping how I think about the latter. EDIT: Just read @zakael19's reply mentioning AW, DW etc. I fully...

In my case, I read out to my players the brief account of the people of the Realm, which includes this: SEERS • Those who understand the nature of Myth enough to glimpse into our future. • Their visions grant legitimacy and direction to a Knight’s quest. • They know when a Squire is ready to...

Yeah, things can be "ahead of their time".

I think "B" more than "X", to be honest. Expert is streamlined compared to the DMG; but I don't think has the same coherence and clarity as Basic.

If the players can't see past the need to obtain and act on information, then when the time comes to resolve a myth, there's the risk of the players looking for the "right" answer, rather than injecting their own thoughts as to what resolution means. I think the GM needs to somehow make clear...

Over the past few days I've been prompted to think a bit more about this. When I think of "sitting back and letting the game come to them" RPGing, the first thing I think of is AP-ish, quest giver-ish play. The second thing I think of is a type of dungeon-y play, but one that doesn't require a...

I think something to watch out - again, I caveat that this is based on limited play experience! - is the risk of the gamism completely swamping this. I think the metachannel here needs to be fairly open - or at a minimum, the players need to have some confidence that the GM won't hose them for...

Huh? Vestige Warlocks were a thing in 4e D&D.

Upthread, before I'd actually played Mythic Bastionland, I made these posts about it: After having played it, I made these posts (on another active thread): In this post I want to say a bit about how these "before" and "after" thoughts fit together. It was the players' need for information...

Yes, that is what I posted: I think one of the reasons that Moldvay Basic has such a strong contemporary reputation is because there is a reasonable clear statement of GMing principles, in Chapter 8. AD&D doesn't have the same clarity, and I think there is some tension in the DMG. Contrast, for...

Have you played it?

Your posting is going too fast!

It's not a mechanic, but here's a thing that strikes me as modern when it is found in a RPG: a clear statement of GMing principles. A related thing, which also generally strikes me as modern, is a clear statement of how actions should be resolved, which makes reference to principles as part of...

That's a tenable reading of slots, I agree. Part of the issue in D&D particularly is that in most versions there is no real provision for losing slots as a consequences of a failed action, or of a failed save to avoid hardship. So they become weirdly silo-ed like you say. In 4e, by way of...

That can be an aesthetic preference, sure. But if Force Points are not "meta" - even though, in the fiction, no one earns points or spends points or risks running out of points - then the limited use martial powers aren't "meta" either. Because the requirement for not meta is being set at the...