Search results

This kind of jargon seems like it occupies the same space as mechanics in RPGs. If I ask for a skill check or call for a saving throw when we’re playing D&D, that’s jargon, but the other people at the table should (hopefully) understand what that means and not find it contentious. There are...

Or whether “walking simulators” are even games. Video game discourse can be incredibly toxic.

There’s something about Internet discussion that makes it difficult to admit to being wrong or changing your mind. I can’t be the only one who’s had the other participants in the discussion take that as a signal to step up the attack. (See also: not every discussion is a damn debate.)

Hostile use of jargon seems like a symptom of a larger problem. In a sense, academic jargon would make this worse because it would lend an air of legitimacy to the problematic behavior. Some people are jerks and are intolerant of different approaches to play or types of games. I don’t think this...

I don’t have an issue with “high trust” play or even that particular jargon in its own context. It’s what you went on to say about it and how it can be used problematically that I was appreciating. The discussion then drifted, and while I do have a preference for one way over another, I don’t...

It’s been a while since I last read it, so I reread A Quick Primer to Old School Gaming this morning. I don’t think the comparison is that unfair. It says at the very beginning that the examples are meant to illustrate where the mechanics are used, and that good GMs in a “modern” game would not...

I was trying to avoid going there because I didn’t think it would be constructive to the thread. Personally, I prefer Apocrypha Prinicipa to A Quick Primer for Old School Gaming. Sometimes it’s useful to contrast two different styles of play, so I’m not going to fault the latter for that per se...

Right. The issue is with those who get stuck in that way of thinking. That’s kind of an example of what I mean. A charitable ruling by the GM is being contrasted with an uncharitable rules-based approach. Where this can get problematic is when that alternative is taken as the only alternative...

Hmm, no. It seems like a stretch to try to tie it to that particular jargon. I think the issue is something more fundamental like getting trapped in binary thinking. Consider the example by @Oligopsony in post #25 where two approaches to OSR play are viewed by some proponents as lacking some...

One example of a game that does something like that is Konosuba TRPG. It includes a replay that’s almost 80 pages (digest-sized). The replay starts with character creation and goes through the phases of a session. When it gets to checks and combat the first time, there are sidebars explaining...

I like this section because it explicates why I dislike the phrase “high trust”. It’s not that there’s anything wrong with the play typified by that phrase. It’s that it was developed in response to another game, and the alternative often assumed is play like that other game, which isn’t...

I think I’m in alignment with @Pedantic. If someone finds what I say useful, that’s great. I’m not under any illusion that WotC (or other designers) are likely to incorporate my ideas the way I want. That’s why I’m off doing the homebrew system. 🙂

I was expecting something about seeking permission, but the only requirement is that stakes and consequences have to follow from what’s been established already in the game world, and they have to be within the capabilities of those performing them (either the PC attempting the Skill Check or...

I’m not sure I follow, though maybe it’s because I’ve omitted something, and we’re still on different pages. The efficacy of the action is known because my homebrew system uses static¹ difficulties. The players know what modifiers they have as well as what resources they can bring to bear in a...

Just to clarify, I would not call my homebrew system’s approach “roll to cast”. As I understand it, that’s usually about using a check to see if the spell happened (such as mentioned by @DaedalusX51 in post #24 for DCC or how Shadowdark handles casting or a myriad of other games). I’m just...

See below for explication, but I think the primary concern is scaling with some affordance made for consistency with worldbuilding. Given that, scaling DCs make some sense. If you want a number that fits the current context, it’s a lot easier to provide a scale and let the DM make up something...

I agree, but that didn’t stop the complaints in the PF2 forum here. 😩 I don’t know that I’d call them niche (because everyone has to take them separately from their ancestry and class feats), but complicated is a fair take. The core of PF2 is pretty clean and simple, but the stuff built out...

The problem with taking 10 is the DM sets the obstacle. Even if the DC is specified by the system (e.g., the DC is based on material), DMs can pick what they need (such as a harder material) to prevent take 10 from working. That’s the nature of the progression treadmill. The PCs are higher...

Pathfinder has explored this. Pathfinder Unchained introduced skill unlocks, which lets you do new things with skills as you gain proficiency ranks. Pathfinder 2e goes a different direction with skill feats. Do they do what you propose? Well, that’s the problem. If you treat them as unlocking...

Pathfinder adventures (at least 1e, I don’t have any 2e adventures to check) includes a tactics (or “during combat”) section in their stat blocks that provides information on what the monster is doing in combat. They’re pretty specific to the situation, so they’re not included in the Pathfinder...