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In Pathfinder, it wasn't uncommon for mid-level rogues to have incredibly high bonuses to a dozen different skills. At that point, any guard, lock, or trap is irrelevant according to the DCs listed in the core rules. At high levels, to have any risk at all the DM has to artificially increase...

All of that is fine and good, until you get to the point where padlocks fall off of their chains, secret doors pop open, traps disable themselves, and guards are struck blind whenever a rogue walks past them. I don't like to use absolutes, but I make an exception for this one: success should...

My problem with the 3.5E/Pathfinder system is that it eliminates uncertainty in the opposite direction. Eventually your character gets to a point where they have +20 bonuses, and failure is no longer possible. And then we're back to the same problem: your actions no longer matter, because you...

Acolyte 33 Anthropologist 24 Archaeologist 38 Athlete 20 Boros Legionnaire 20 Charlatan 31 Charlatan, Baldur's Gate 14 City Watch / Investigator 41+1=42 Clan Crafter 20 Cloistered Scholar 21 Courtier 23 Criminal / Spy 33 Entertainer 25 Entertainer, Baldur's Gate 18 Faceless 19 Faction Agent 20...

Yeah, that's frustrating. I still prefer it over the multiple stacking bonuses of 3.5E/Pathfinder, though. Which TTRPG system would you recommend?

My players used to stress over their stats, until I pointed out that stat bonuses are overrated. Any ability score bonus is going to get absolutely swamped by the result of that d20 roll. Your 20 Strength with a roll of 2 is going to feel just like a 4 Strength with a roll of 10, and the odds...

My only complaint about the Rules Cyclopedia is the artwork. I really, really wish they had included the original artwork from Elmore and Easley, because those images are so iconic and nostalgic for me.

I for one welcome our robot DM overlords.

Yeah, a couple. I went hard on the Castles & Crusades bandwagon back in the day, when 4E was announced and there was that whole PDF kerfuffle. All I really got out of it was the desire to play BECM, and I ended up spending way too much money on eBay getting a copy of the boxed sets. :-) I...

I should clarify: I'm not trying to talk anyone out of buying, creating, or playing a retro-clone game. The whole concept is puzzling to me, but that's a "me" problem.

I mean, I guess #1 and #3 are a little more understandable for me. I don't really see the "superior" and I'm not excited about "new art"...nobody is going to beat Elmore and Easley, imo. But I can definitely get behind the "new books" part because a lot of my old-school stuff is looking pretty...

All of that is true. But what I'm trying to say is that I can't understand: people who enjoy getting upset, how someone on the Internet can't understand their experiences aren't universal, why someone would choose a clone over the original, why someone would create such a bot. I hate how...

Things that I will never understand, ENWorld Edition: why someone would choose to keep playing a game that makes them so miserable why people who hate something cannot abide others liking it (and vice versa) the concept of "retro-clones." threads that are just five dozen Chinese characters and...

Does anyone over the age of 17 really think that glass packs and low-profile rims are cool?

Well, until AI catches up with me, I have some pretty robust spreadsheets that I use when writing/running adventures. I got pretty familiar with pivot tables, pulldown menus, VLOOKUP, and Boolean expressions in engineering school, and I have built some really spiffy generators in Excel. Some...

I don't know about "better" or "worse," "good" or "bad," but I can say this much: I have more fun when the game is more random. (And I say this as the DM.) I want random encounters, random treasure tables, random weather, roll your stats, roll your hit points, roll your damage, all of it...

Acolyte 33 Anthropologist 24 Archaeologist 37 Athlete 20 Boros Legionnaire 20 Charlatan 31 Charlatan, Baldur's Gate 14 City Watch / Investigator 39+1=40 Clan Crafter 20 Cloistered Scholar 21 Courtier 23 Criminal / Spy 32 Entertainer 25 Entertainer, Baldur's Gate 18 Faceless 19 Faction Agent 20...

We're talking about the Super Bowl. You're thinking World Series baseball.

I think good nachos are more about the technique than the ingredients. Whatever type of cheese you use, make a proper béchamel sauce with it. Don't just melt it in a microwave with a can of soup or whatever; it'll split and get all oily and gross. Nobody wants to eat that. (I use a blend of...

Acolyte 33 Anthropologist 24 Archaeologist 34 Athlete 20 Boros Legionnaire 20 Charlatan 31 Charlatan, Baldur's Gate 14 City Watch / Investigator 40+1=41 Clan Crafter 20 Cloistered Scholar 21 Courtier 22 Criminal / Spy 32 Entertainer 25 Entertainer, Baldur's Gate 20 Faceless 18 Faction Agent 20...