Recent content by TwoSix

That's what it was. What is might be is still up for discussion. The value of maintaining a "tradition" is not weighed particularly heavily, AFAIK, unless the surveys indicate otherwise.

Agreed; the arguments here have a similar tenor to the "racial stat adjustments" discussions of the last few years. It's a question of how much of a "choice" is present in choosing (or not choosing) the mechanically strongest option. And a lot of the weight of that choice boils down to...

I smell an Oath violation. :)

Platonic bonding is the gateway to abilities some may consider.... unnatural.

That's a really solid way to narrate it. And it works for any caster class that might be narrated as "channeling" power from an outside source.

I mean, I think it's a major point of contention (and a difference in playstyle) as to how much diegetic reality the character-based mechanics actually impart, as opposed to how much of it is open to reskinning. Personally, I don't think action surge needs to provide much (if any) diegetic...

Not the target of the spell. The spell itself, as a diegetic construct.

I don't remember arguing for the system to change. I'm arguing for specific interpretations of the system, in ways I've found to increase flexibility and enjoyment for the players, in accordance to my clearly stated play priorities. I don't know your players, of course, so what's fun for my...

Always happy to give more details of my mad science experiments, although I'd prefer to take it to another thread, as this one is cluttered.

Sure. The thing I'm personally opposed is the "vague diegetic reality", where classes are kind of a "vocation guide", and characters of a class all end up with the same sort of abilities despite their being no in-fiction reinforcement as to why everyone ended up learning the same abilities in...

"Neotrad" is a perfectly acceptable term. You've read the 6 Cultures article, right? Not to mention I clarified the meaning I was using in context. Neotrad games are games in which expression of character concept, generally through dramatic roleplay and combat encounters, is the highest...

I like doing the work. Just in the last few years, I've run a completely classless game of 5e (characters got feats every level, and the players and I would negotiate for novel feats based on events in the game). And I've run a game where characters started as a level 1 sidekick, and then...

Unstated assumptions are the bane of fruitful discussion on these forums. It's totally fine if you don't agree with the approach I listed above, but at least you have a pretty clear understanding of where I'm coming from.

Don't forget the wailing! A necessary component.

Sure. My core approach for 5e (and 3e and 4e before that) is that every character in the setting, PC and NPC alike, are unique. The class rules are simply a gameable model of options that are open to players at the start of the game, and are only a small subset of the limitless options that...