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Until now, I don't think I realized how much Mahjong they played in the monastery... -KS

+1 weapons are fine. They are simple, but not every magic items needs to be complicated. The "interestingness" of magic items is based at least as much on their rarity as the complexity. If a character has 15 magic items, each with a contingent power and a 3-paragraph history, the player...

I think character death is one of those things where there is a big gap between actual preference and reported preference. Folks like the feeling of danger. They like the excitement of not knowing if their characters can pull it through or not. But the presence of excitement isn't the same...

If that's the style of game you like, they you just keep gaining levels without ever getting an paragon path or epic destiny. The idea behind this idea is that these "high level components" are an optional part of your character rather than a thing everyone takes at 11th and 21st level. It's...

Let me make sure I understand what you're proposing. This is what I think you're proposing: Heroic, non-wuxia basic D&D continues up to level 20 (or whatever). PCs can continue as long as they want without martial characters being able to jump chasms. (And maybe spells become more difficult...

I agree. The heart of the rogue class is in its non-combat role. That having been said, I think the popularity of Sneak Attack is not the ability itself, but what it delivered: a rogue class that doesn't suck in combat. In D&D combat is common/important enough that non-sucking in that aspect...

Oh yeah, sure -- other than the mystical kung fu abilities, there is little to distinguish the 1E monk from its monastic European counterparts. St Benedict of Nursia was renowned for his quivering palm... Expedition to the Barrier Peaks and Temple of the Frog God are equally examples of the...

I don't think there are very many people who would argue that Asian-influenced game elements aren't tacked on to the original "European medieval-esque" flavor. The point is just that those Asian-influenced game elements have been tacked on for the vast majority of D&D's history and that it's...

I agree that the math would be better if there wasn't an "expected" wealth level, but I do think the DMG has to provide some guidance about what different levels of wealth do to the expected power of a PC. For example, I'd like to know if a 9th level character with 40,000 gp in magic items is...

I agree that there is a rules issue on both sides of retreat. I think the right balance is that retreat should be uncertain, but pursuit should also be dangerous (e.g. the retreating group stages an ambush or the pursuing group runs into another encounter while strung out over several rounds by...

Death as "uncommon" is probably a good default, although I prefer a game where failure is uncommon and yet death is rare. In a highly character-centric game, you want death to be relatively permanent (to maintain its narrative value) but you don't want to kill PCs randomly or especially...

Retreat Rules I agree that capture is a good tool in the DM toolbox, but retreat is also needs to be a part of the picture. Unlike capture, retreat is in the PC's hands. They can make the decision about when and where to flee, and it's usually a difficult decision because it often involves...

Agreed, as to both sentiments. Each monster is somewhat like its own sub-system, and it's alright if different monsters use different systems to replace save-or-die. Some monsters can use a hit point threshold. Other monsters can use a multiple-saves mechanic. Other monsters might use a...

The idea is that a non-injured/exhausted high-level character is able to reliably fight the medusa without gazing at it directly, while less experienced or more wounded/exhausted characters are not. I agree that the mechanics need a stronger "avoid the gaze" aspect, but using hp threshold as...

What? The proposal is that characters under 25 HP have to save or die, not that they just die. Anyway, the medusa example (and other gaze attacks) needs to account for the fact that it's a gaze attack, not an aura attack. The aura effect is really an approximation of characters trying to...

I think feats should kill Utility and At-Will attack powers and take their stuff. If I'm going to be bothered with tracking a character generation resource, I want it to be important enough to affect play. -KS

You're probably right that the math isn't the real issue here. I guess the real question is whether PCs should start out more powerful than an average humanoid warrior. I think they should. I think a party of 1st level characters should be able to battle an equal number of totally ordinary...

I don't like games where everything is exactly as it seems. I need a game to have sort of discovery, mystery, exploration or new type of character interaction. In short, something interesting needs to be going on for the PCs to interact with. I like the challenge of playing a character...

No matter how you choose to handle monster levels, you have to deal with the fact that the PCs are supposed to win almost all of the time. If they win only 90% of the time (a very low percentage for D&D!), then they lose approximately once every 10 combats. Since most campaigns treat defeat...

Now you're just assuming your conclusion. I don't think a 1st level fighter should be the average human warrior. I don't think playing the average human warrior is survivable enough to be fun for a player. I'll agree that 4e went too far in the hero-ification of the 1st level character, but...