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I would really like to see rules for campaigns like these . . . . . . but I don't think it should be epic play, or even, really, high-level play. When and if characters become rulers, politicians, or knights should depend on campaign and story, not level. Level is a metagame concept, that...

The problem with the Hero Black Dougal and his band of Myrmidons is that a metagame concept, like character level, is being tied to the in-game choice of PCs and NPCs about what to call themselves. Does Black Dougal change the name of his band when he levels up? Are all of his band the same level?

I want the core game to support, out of the box, different styles of play. Magic Level: rare magic, standard, high magic Tone: low fantasy, heroic fantasy, high fantasy Lethality: deadly, dangerous, light

That depends. In OD&D and BECMI, a shield is just +1 AC. In AD&D and 2e, it is also just +1, but it could only be employed successfully against some attackers--buckler against only one attack, small against one attacker, and large against everyone you are facing. I think that might have...

That sounds like Dr. Seuss naming conventions! :D

Of course, if some creatures have ability scores over the cap, then the cap only exists for PCs. That creates the stat envy that existed in AD&D--why can't my fighter have a 19 Str with some item/spell/wish/etc.? I still contend that rather than making a base version of 5e that is the...

In D&D, shields provide a slight to moderate bonus. I hate that. Shields should provide much better protection. It is really much harder to hit someone using a shield.

The section of the DMG2 on "terrain powers" specifically expands upon p.42 and provides examples of performing stunts in combat. Also, the 4e DMG discusses that the DM makes rulings and can create house rules that make the game more fun for his group. The advice is consider what you are doing...

Other DMG items raised stats above 18, too, even permanently (such as the many tomes, sometimes found as treasure in published modules for mid- to high-level PCs). Effects in the Deck of Many Things, plus items that granted wishes could accomplish such effects. Also, I would argue that 18/xx...

There are plenty of rpg's that include a player-defined "alignment", allegiance, or personality, which the GM then adjudicates. Examples: World of Darkness, Spycraft, Burning Wheel, Toon, etc. I don't think D&D has traditional had a roleplay mechanic in the vein of these games, and I'm not sure...

Given the mess most editions have made of high-level and high-level play, I think this assertion (scaling up is easier) is demonstrably false. Scaling up or down is difficult if the system is made such that it does not account for the possibility of scaling.

Likewise, AD&D level titles were often mocked in my high school gaming group. "Hey, look! I'm a lama now?" "Your cleric just became buddhist? Or just became a member of the camel family?" "I tell the king that my magic-user is an Arch-Mage." "Your wizard isn't level 18 yet." "Yeah, but the...

4e has class-based "advancement", too, by adding class templates.

As I mentioned earlier, if the cap is close to PC starting values, then it becomes harder to describe many monsters using ability scores. That was the case in AD&D, and it was problematic when spells and effects targeted an ability score, like ray of enfeeblement or some poisons. What was the...

Well said, Dragonblade. I think that when I look back on faster combats in an earlier edition, there were a few things at work: 1. Monsters had fewer hp in older editions, and tended to die sooner. Remember the 88 hp ancient red dragon? 2. Characters only took one action per turn. 3. My...

A traditional AD&D game often breaks through the cap of 18 on ability scores simply using the magic items provided in the DMG, or the bonuses to Int, Wis, and Cha from natural aging.

It's only pointless if no check has a penalty. Also, a skill system based on ability scores that might start out near a capped maximum (you imply a max of 20 if using the roll-under check), starts out fairly compressed. I used roll-under skill checks in late AD&D (some call it 1.5, with...

It's a charming idea, and very reminiscent of AD&D, with its many charts and tables. Remember the random hordling tables in the MM2? Still, if I had a choice of this sort of thing, or more monster entries (and space is limited), I would rather have more entries.

Necromancy means using the dead to gain knowledge, such as a prophecy. "Necro-" references dead, such as in the word necropolis, and "manc-" refers to a prediction or knowledge, such as in chiromancy (palm reading).

One problem I found with older edition caps is that when you have a storm giant with Str 24, but a bigger, stronger titan with Str 25, and a bigger stronger dragon with Str . . . ? Caps compress the top end in strange ways I didn't find satisfying as a DM.