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Simply because the law is the.law - the fact that you can separate the mechanics from an IP proves the point. But don't get me onto dice mechanics and a common, fundamental, misunderstanding of probabilities vis-a-vis bell curve vs linear (there is a difference but it doesn't work the way a lot...

Yes but no, what I'm reading here (and no criticism) just reminds me of when I first studied psychology - it was a behvaiouralist/reductionist model. But the discipline evolved and moved on from there. Yes, it's easy to understand and predict people when you reduce them to these...

I'm just an old punk who doesn't like rules and always has a problem with authority. Interesting you should use Risk as an example- because there is an entire community of gamers who have hacked Risk to be a very different sort of game: including one that was created to emulate the War of the...

I agree, but I also see it as failure in the presentation of the rulings- everything you said that could mitigate a stealth condition could be considered if the DM were given more explicit agency to adjudicate such things on the fly. The DM is, in the fine print, given that agency but there is...

But I believe that far too much weight is given to a designers intentions - the very thing that needs RPG's unique, as games, is this robbing individual tables of their agency to run a game in the manner that suits them. Never forget- it's just a game not high art. When anyone starts saying we...

They didn't ask 'why haven't you played for over 12 months' - because my reply would havs been covid and a front line worker. Not asking that will kind of skew their data and assumptions drawn from that skewed data will be erroneous. I've not given up on the game, I just can't play at the moment

The early TSR modules were best treated as a framework to develop an adventure to suit ones campaign, rather than a complete self contained adventure in itself. Ie: they still required (a lot of) prep work from the DM

I also find it is also an arguement that puts designers on some sort of pedestal- like they have exclusive access to 'good ideas' etc. Never liked this edification of RPG game designers - the best RPG's, more often than not, have been birthed by necessity rather than design and by creators going...

I'm going to have to confess that in my early DMing days (back at University), our table was as repleat with alcohol and other 'things' as it was with snacks - so every rule was 'if you want' and many made up 'on the fly'. Often with a 20min debate between GM and players to reach a consensus for...

The fact that mechanics ARE separate from the narrative conventions of a game are demonstrable by the court ruling that allowed the likes of OSRIC to use core ADnD mechanics without infringing on copywrite. The actual mechanics are a distinct entity from the narrative conventions of the game as...

I would also clarify that people using rules as 'rules' far too often, rather than as guidelines. Say you start a DnD game and, as the campaign progresses, the Players goals change or scenario develops that requires a change of tack - do you change systems to the requirements of this altered...

A lot of people say 'system matters' etc but if you disentangle the core mechanics from the narrative fluff this arguement begins to fail. To run a high romance or heist style game would require describing new narrative fluff to bolted onto the core mechanic - a good, real world and proven...

He sounds burnt out more than anything. Its exactly the same sentiments felt by 99% of public service jobs (especially healthcare) at any number of points in their career - ask any Dr or Nurse if they haven't felt the same about the criticisms of the general public and/or press (we have, we do...

I'm an atheist but, allegedly, there was once a man who said 'he who is without sin may cast the first stone' All this judgemental BS from internet avatars that claim to be faultless and, therefore, have the moral high ground; and that that. in passing, gives them the right to extract...

Absolutely yes magic items can exist in the Dredd universe. In the current timeline (ie post Chaos day) there is the, still living, head of Sabbat the WARLOCK deep under the Earth where Dredd and Johnny Alpha left at the conclusion of Judgement Day - which was basically Zombie World. The was the...