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I can think of a couple competitors. Heck, an entire class of people comes to mind . . . Well, there's the old-fashioned way, as a statement of, "hey, don't run away from your masters or commit robbery." Being such a simple symbol, it could be used for just about anything. Anything starting...

Thanks for going outside your comfort zone for us! Be careful though - I heard the Great GURP rumble when you said a game without fluff isn't a game.

So I'm the only one who hasn't heard the term "zero day" before? I've heard of patient zero, but I think that's different. This Netflix show needs George Clooney in it.

At the D&D table. In some games, a player decides that she damages an NPC, and the dice say, "no, you didn't. " In others, the dice say "okay, but not very well." No, you don't cut a player. But you do threaten, bribe, mislead, and reward a player. As I said earlier, player and character...

Interesting distinction here. The player is in charge of making the choices (persuading someone) while the dice are in charge of deciding quality (as though the character had a silver tongue). So what happens when the player makes a choice about quality? Or what if a quality decision of the...

You'll probably encounter a good amount of gear-grinding because of action-type differences. Opportunity attacks are no longer a science in 5e. And there are probably broad-stroke differences in attack and damage bonuses, but those are just tinkering issues. So converting all the rules would...

Magic or spellcasting? It looks to me that stripping them of magic is full-on hamstringing them; stripping only spellcasting is close. I support the "take rogue" suggestions above because the ranger is just broken. Look at the signature Hunter's Mark ability: "You magically mark one creature...

Agreed, but that kind of thinking could open the floodgates. I rue the day that one of my PCs says, "I want my next character to be a bullywug with a walrus mount. Anything can be a mount, right?" AKA the Grin and Bear It Lodge?

You'd have to break more than rules. At least two things come to mind about riding bears: Bears are much more capable (and probably willing) to roll on the ground than horses. Which would be helpful for removing annoying riders. Failing some rolling, I've also seen bears rub their backs...

Bonnie Gordon: "If we could take (PCs working together for a common goal) and put it into real-world thinking, how much brighter and happier this place would be." I'd add to that the example of Stranger Things, which was referenced earlier in the article: more bike riding.

I don't think your friend will be encouraged to DM, knowing that a starter adventure takes more than one session, two types of online software, and advice from an online forum. I think the soviet is on the right track.

Sure, you're entitled to a stand-alone skill called "intimidate." But then I'm entitled to a Swimming and a Running skill, instead of "Athletics". . . A combined "persuade" skill should be used for talking someone down from the ledge. Whether the target is fearful, confused, or flattered...

They're just victims of the in-house drive-by. I smell hyperbole. That being said, intimidate is persuasion, and should be included in that skill. I blame Acquisitions Incorporated. And/or the 5e WotC staff that carried over from 3e, some setting the tone from the top. Old habits die hard...

Didn't notice if anyone else mentioned this, but MMORPGs are a great source of adventures: Talk to quest-giver. Go to far-away place. Kill monster or get item. Return to quest-giver. Collect reward. Millions of Morpgee players can't be wrong! But they might suggest that you switch to D&D...

I suspect that sameness comes from the GM's thought: "what would be a cool adventure?" Variety comes from the story itself. "The villain did X to accomplish Y. Now that that problem is solved, what's the next step in accomplishing Z?"

You should Let's Read Xcrawl. For no rea5on in particular.

Ah, the great words of Sun Tzu: know the enemy. That's like "know the players," right? I feel like the player-type exercise can mostly be accomplished by asking the players what character class they want to play. Point: games with classes.

What if THL were based on a human sense? Vision range. Requirement: make a funny gesture within sight. Sound range. Tell a joke loud enough for the sound to reach the target. Smell range. Emit a "laughing" gas that reaches around corners near you, unless there's a breeze. Taste range. Put a...

I miss the good, old days when movies used real fire, and stuntmen actually fell off buildings. As long as Ridley's character keeps her shoes on, she'll be okay.

XP for Sue! (Suepuls?) Whoops. My magic system is the fifth module, so I missed "key" by three or four modules! Hold on! This is inspired by Skyrim's shouting dragons . . . but what if spell effects are based primarily on sensing them? So, you can't be affected by a verbal spell that you...