Recent content by Thomas Shey

I'd also argue there's a huge difference between the semi-reflexive decisions of people who are at least trained, and probably practiced combatants, and the people who doing this as a hobby once a week. I also can understand the desire to avoid dithering and overanalysis, but I don't think five...

You can also have a case where the GM wants to keep copies of sheets and it just is easier if their sheet and the player's is essentially the same format.

Ah, yes, another case of using a wrench as a hammer.

Usually they're either fillable PDF sheets (you can bake some calculations into those) or spreadsheets. The problem with both is making sure your players will have the software to properly use them.

I still have a more-than-slightly rickety '84 as my backup car. My observation has been old to mid period GM cars rot from the outside in; they'll look like hell, the upholstery will be bad, if they had air conditioning at all its gone, baby, gone, but they just keep on running.

I'm talking about discussing it with GMs or players from groups that were very clear all discussion was assumed to be in-character as a strong default. I don't hit it often, but when I do the peope involved are very firm about it.

Which is why largely involuntary reactions aren't treated as part of it, I'd assume.

Perhaps one could assume "in a lot of cases" was not intended as a synonym for "always".

1957: Chevrolet Bel-Air. Well, as American cars go, I've always thought GMs averaged above the others.

As far as I can tell from people who've indicated all discussion is done in-character, there's a physical tell if you need say something OOC--raising a hand or turning a cup in front of you upside down or some such. Since I play primarily in third person its never been something I've seen in...

Not like there aren't game systems that don't get by without dedicated classes; they just let you buy discrete chunks of ability to get the concept you're working on. At most they'll present archetypes to show someone new to the system how to get to some amount of common concepts within the system.

Well, at least "functional". If other people in the group are covering the same ground as you are, in a lot of cases, one of you might as well not be there (there are a few cases where multiple people in the same niche can be useful, but outside of combat that's not reliably true) Its not...

Well, it depends on whether you consider "niches" desirable. Traditionally it so in groups of any size you don't have redundant characters which a lot of players are not thrilled at finding themselves playing. Once you accept that concept, "protecting" the niches seems desirable because peple...

Well, the fact character-classes were a big-blunt-object solution to character definition and distinction even at the start. Unfortunatley, once D&D got rolling, its success meant it was going to be a dominate approach for the long haul.

Though I've found that a mixed bag. Some stuff still holds up reasonably. Some stuff I'm unable not to see the politics of much more clearly than I was back then, and it usually doesn't improve the work.