Xamnam's latest activity

I'm gathering my notes together for a talk with Morrus tomorrow and for a segment on my Lazy RPG Talk Show digging into the two new...

Great post. I’m in the category of DMs who say things like “any PCs here who has proficiency in skill x immediately know or notice y”...

One thing that I changed for skills in my game, which came from WW2: Operation Whitebox and Mothership as an inspriation was not rolling...

I haven't posted an essay in a while (I've been writing a lot recently, but, you know ... stuff I have to do), but two recent threads...

Quite. I disagree. My players have had enough constant pressure all day at work. They play D&D to relax.

It also assumes that good game design and profit are antithetical, which is hardly a given.

Well the people in charge should care about profit most, I mean they are responsible for the lives of thousands of people (at WotC...

Of course the players have to "choose to care," Player engagement is absolutely key in any gaming experience. System design can...

The problem with that idea is WotC doesn't have a highest priority. A company is not a conscious living thing. There are many people...

I don't really understand this statement. The group almost certainly cares about accomplishing whatever objective they set out on...

6-8 is the norm, but because it is a maximum rather than an average the game works fine with fewer, smaller fights, it merely gets...

Here's my bottom line: (Good) Most of the time the players have encounters that lead up to the boss. Having gone through the...

That unreliable combat math is exciting because its not predicable across the entire adventure. Adventure day is a marathon not a sprint...

Or long rests are recuperating from a long work day and waking up "refreshed" the next day.

Its a complicated answer. I think folks have moved from old school survival sim where death is just a likely outcome of any particular...