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What matters is that resolution is done in terms of what the character is trying to do in a broader dramatic sense. When the GM decides what fallout looks like they are constrained to do so in reference to that broader character intention. The GM can still be granted some specific and...

I think what is personally frustrating for many of us is that (right or wrong) the market performance of a game released 15 years ago where numerous poor business decisions were made is used as a referendum on design concepts that matter to us without regard to execution and presentation. It's a...

Honey badger Task resolution just doesn't give a ****. Conflict resolution by its very nature is concerned with resolving conflicts - moving characters either closer or further from achieving their aims. Task resolution is agnostic, even when it's binding. Here's an example of fairly binding...

One thing I would add is that while some features of 4e, especially the explicit rules text and clear templates for powers, do seem informed by Organized Play the way skill challenges and rituals worked always seemed at odds with Organized Play to me, largely because they are real hassles to...

I do think at the time it was relatively easy to escape 4e's gravity given the popularity and accessibility of Pathfinder. When I would go to the game store back then 4e and Pathfinder were pretty much given equal prominence. In some cases, stores were actively pushing people towards Pathfinder...

Sure, a GM may illicit player intent and make success always mean a player realizes their intent. If done in such a way where that is the binding expectation at the table, we no longer have task resolution. We have conflict resolution. What makes conflict resolution well conflict resolution is...

There is no fault involved in people deciding they would rather play some other game or even participate in some other activity (like say intramural sports, board gaming groups or trivia nights). At the end of the day, we're talking about a group of people playing a game together, not a...

That's quite different from the claim that it produces fiction in comparison to different versions of the game. The way you interface with the rules are slightly different from AD&D, but that is not in itself mean the game produces bizarre chains of events. Implying that 4e fans are somehow less...

Lancer is very good at what it does (a tactical mech game with a whole lot of mech customization). It also has really good GM support. One thing I will note is that it's side-based initiative did not really work well with fights where multiple factions were involved.

I really don't understand the zero-sum logic of trying to establish one set of norms over the other. RPG play is a rich tapestry of many different play methodologies. We can all get new games and material that suits a variety of ways to play. That's a good thing. As much as possible I think the...

The core message that Vincent is trying to convey with negotiated imagination is that in order for play to move forward we must all assent to each other's contributions. That at its core a roleplaying game is structured conversation wherein we reach a consensus on what happens in a fictional...

I don't think they are needed beyond if you are going to pay designers to make supplements they are going to design stuff and eventually naturally want to address the base game. You could take a more design more games approach, but that can be a harder sell in terms of marketing. I am thankful...

Hit points (and damage) within 4e are perfectly coherent if you accept the way they are portrayed and discussed within the game itself. If you bring in a set of aesthetics and/or understanding based on previous experience playing and running other editions of the game you can make it feel...

Baker's starting point is freeform roleplaying where we start with a conversation/negotiation and then add structure to that conversation/negotiation. No particular authority structures, roles or rules are an assumed part. The idea is that no set of rules overrides what we are doing in the...

The vast majority of 4e classes had strong support for leaning into secondary combat roles. Fighters could absolutely be built to do a lot of damage or to have stronger control. Paladins could lean into damage or group buffs / healing. Avengers could be incredibly sticky. Barbarians were tough...

Theater kid here. 6 years of drama club from 7th to 12th grade. I have done some community theater stuff, although not in the last couple of years. While I'm a software engineer now I started my undergrad experience with two years of film school. I like improv comedy theater as its own thing...

Blades in the Dark Cortex Cyberpunk Hack Cortex Exalted Hack Conan 2d20 Girl by Moonlight (GM) Masks (GM) Stonetop Mouseguard The Between (Starts Today) Mork Borg City of Mist Legend of the Five Rings Fifth Edition This was between 3 different weekly groups (though scheduling especially this...

I personally always assumed Blood Elves were primarily inspired by Melniboneans (and Elric in particular). In particular the way Blood Elf Paladins consumed the essence of the Naaru to fuel their magic.

All day, every day. We often confuse challenging encounters with those that drain resources. A fight where the fighter gets down to 10 hp of 50hp isn't a challenge unless that was a result of mediocre play. Likewise, soundly overcoming something is not evidence that it was not challenging.

The biggest example here for me is the tendency for some GMs to always try to think of excuses why your allies could not help in a given situation and who treat coalition building as a degenerate strategy. I mean I kind of see why this happens - in most games having NPCs involved makes things...