Recent content by Scott Christian

No I didn't. I said the debate is silly. The game allows you to make rule changes. And, in the grand scheme those rarely affect the game. The bolded part is a bit too succinct, but it was late. As I just clarified, we are talking about changing a lot of rules or creating a new system. To...

My statement does not imply those three things. Maybe point two, but one and three, no. My point is simple: Game designers, most of the time, do better than someone making homebrew. The reason is simply - time. They are literally paid to sit forty hours a week to work on the game. Homebrew...

The Pathfinder ones, I probably should (oops, I meant shouldn't) speak so negatively of, as I have and have used over 50. They are great maps, but the folds are irritating. Thank you for the ironing tip, I will definitely try that! Much appreciated.

I get that point. But how many times do you use one map? Once? Twice? Maybe, three times at most? Why not have a map that actually unfolds and lays on the table flat?

I find the this way -> that way debate so silly. The game accepts the fact that you make homebrew rules. But, to suppose that your way works better than the designers is even more silly.

Can anyone explain why people want dense laminated maps, as opposed to the 4e maps which unfolded without "bending upwards" all the time? The 4e original battle maps for their adventures were simply printed maps. The Gale Force did printed maps that rolled. The whole time, other companies did...

It's a shorthand code many-many-many people understand. Heck, I was in a high school counseling office the other day and saw a Muppet's poster that had each character and their alignment underneath. I find it great for new players, as it gives them a way to express their character's motive -...

I know you don't think so, but I am curious as to how many you have actually run. I have run Hoard of the Dragon Queen and The Rise of Tiamat. I didn't need to change a thing except when the players decided to follow a different path. I needed to do my work, and know that if my group of six...

We haven't played it yet. We are waiting for the actual book to arrive from our backing. But I am very curious as to how the montage system plays out. It sounds cool. Also, like many others, I am excited to see how combat works, especially with how movement, pushing, and pulling play a more...

I don't either. That is why they write adventures, and often, older gamers encourage inexperienced DMs who are having difficulties, to run a "module" or adventure path. Those do wonders as far as honing skills and learning how to build encounters.

Yes, exceptions, when limited, are not always a fair counterargument. And you are right, it is part art. In my opinion, almost 50%. There are so many variables, as the D20 can be a bit swingy. This is especially true when you start adding in saving throws and conditions and higher-level damage...

I will say this, when I say by gut, I am not guessing. I have years of experience, my number sense has always been a solid skill, and I am also a player, so I knew my group's abilities well. I believe once a DM has those three things, they can "predict" the combat pretty well.

4e's system was the bomb. It worked great! I had a much easier time building close encounters, either with the system or by gut. It was awesome!

I think we all know how you feel about 5e's encounter and CR system. ;) But you have had some god-awful luck with DMs. I have had many DMs that can scale those encounters (the day prior once they know how many players are joining, which players are joining, etc.) without difficulty. When I...

Oh, my bad. Sorry for not reading more closely. And wow, that is even more cause to see it as odd. I get it, many campaigns fail to end. We had a fantastic 5e campaign one time, and that just fizzled out. It was sad, as the group was great, we all still wanted to play, and the DM and world were...