Recent content by Scott Christian

I might add to the bolded statement that they also have nostalgia (for some), and more importantly, boatloads of lore attached to them. While mechanically, they may be "just preselected feats," they are so much more to the player that visually imagines their character.

Quite a while ago, this community had an argument - The Buttons and Dials Argument. To create a class or culture or background, it needs to push buttons (generate interest in the player & GM) or turn a dial (leverage in-game mechanics to alter game-play) or both. Players prefer both, but lean...

If they wanted to make less money and tell shareholders their business is not expanding, you are correct. But in the end, it is a business, owned by shareholders, who demand an ever-increasing return on profits. That is probably both, a blessing and a curse for an RPG gaming company.

I started with an explanation of how the undead work in my world. Bloater A bloated and puffy dead corpse. Its skin white and blue, with puss leaking from open sores. It limps along slowly, but with purpose. Its mouth is always open, and from its throat can be heard a gross gagging, as if...

True, but what did you expect them to do? If they placed classes out there that were of equal or lesser value, despite changing creatures to qual or lesser value, then players would stick to 5e. It is a terrible bind they are in. Increase player potential or not do well. As far as creatures...

I'm with Clint. I have it and ran it a long time ago but would love to be a player in the 5e world and explore it. The other is a bit more futuristic. But, it would be fun to take the hundreds and hundreds of pages I've written for my campaign world and see what an AI could do with it. That...

I think as a DM, you give them many magic items. A few are ones they use all the time - others are experimental or designed for specific situations. Giving someone a gem that grants them an aura of defense, thus increasing their armor class by one once a day, is a good magic item to use all the...

I actually don't think it'll be a problem. Art, even with AI, will be appreciated. The actual problem is going to be keeping artists motivated to continue their craft. I mean, the second someone spends nine hours painting a rose, and then, they ask AI for a little assistance, and poof, in 2...

Saltmarsh for me, specifically the town.

I know that was a long post, but I should also note that I have run many "railroad" adventures, although I always have different tracks the adventure could take. For example, they recovered the great gem called the King's Heart." This epic and long-lost religious symbol could lead them to being...

As a GM, I am in what you call the "advanced sandbox adventure." I generally frame an area, for example, a place called Plumefall Keep. An example of the process is: I build a map I work out its history (why it is there, who was/is there, why it is important, etc.), then I start filling it with...

Most groups I have played with play it out. If there is an inevitability of winning, and it is just a normal encounter, then the DM narrates the last 10%. If it is a boss battle, it is almost always played out, that way the DM can ask: "How do you do it?"

What if they wrote a section of a rule book, fed it into AI, and asked it to write it with better clarity? Would that prevent people from buying the product?