Search results

The Primer makes the case for original D&D, not Advanced D&D, which, as you point out, added on all kinds of detailed subsystems. Also, I don't think that going diceless is synonymous with rulings, not rules. One very "old school" method of adjudication is to rely on a random roll, but without...

According to the Primer, definitely. That's the Second Zen Moment: Player Skill, not Character Abilities. Again though, "old school" gaming had a number of well-defined -- or overly defined -- subsystems, most notably for combat; it's just that the vast majority of the game was played outside...

One (interminable) problem with these discussions of "old school" gaming is that the Primer emphasizes one facet of "old school" gaming -- rulings, not rules -- but actual "old school" gaming wasn't nearly so consistent. Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, after all, was a pretty clear move away from...

This is the exact point I was about to make. The gladius doesn't have to be special, and the legionary doesn't have to be special either, for the legion to be special. That said, another strength of the gladius is its effectiveness up close, which only shows up in 3E in a grappling situation...

I think the point is that rolling for morale can lead to implausible results. No set of rules, combined with a random die roll, is going to properly reflect what would or would not make a group of warriors turn and run -- at least not without a few glaringly bad corner cases. Of course, that's...

I like the notion of a game informed by realism, especially those elements of realism that also find their way into adventure fiction -- and the key difference between an ordinary warrior and an exceptional warrior has always been that a great warrior is a brave warrior. Interestingly...

Exactly. Context, which in many cases should be very important, is streamlined away, arguably to reduce the complexity of the very explicit rules. A less explicit rule-set might provide fewer clear-cut, detailed rules, but more places, say, for the DM to apply a +2/-2 modifier or to scale up...

I will now have to read The House of the Wolflings: Morris' Goths inhabit an area called the Mark on a river in the forest of Mirkwood, divided according into the Upper-mark, the Mid-mark and the Nether-mark. They worship their gods Odin and Tyr by sacrificing horses and rely on seers who...

Even more likely, what D&D calls a long sword and modern experts call an arming sword was simply called a sword.

Is it humanly possible to frankly discuss the pros and cons of various design decisions without insulting a significant number of fans?

No, what he wants is an old-school game that doesn't pretend the rules can model anything and everything that might come up in free-form play.

Well played, Gentlegamer. (Joking aside, I too recommend The Worm Ouroboros, but only if you enjoy archaic language and Goblins that aren't goblins, Demons that aren't demons, etc.)

Most of us can't throw a baseball at anywhere near 100 mph (or 45 m/s), so that's not really an option, but, then, we wouldn't throw a baseball at a goblin; we'd throw a rock, and a rock is much harder than a baseball. And a shepherd wouldn't throw a rock by hand; he'd use a sling, which can...

What kind of credit does one earn for mentioning the glorification of violence against women? And is anyone here -- anyone at all -- advocating violence against women?

Why would you assume that any depiction of violence against a woman is glorifying violence against women?

That doesn't naturally follow, although I suspect it's true. Heavier (more massive) objects don't necessarily deliver more force (or energy) than lighter (less massive) objects -- unless you're assuming that they travel at the same rate (velocity), which wouldn't be the case here. Also, as I...

Yes, it would be more Vancian to give magic-users fewer spell slots but more powerful spells -- for instance, an Nth-level magic-user could memorize N levels worth of spells.

The 4E marketing did not dissuade me from buying the 4E books, but the 4E rules did dissuade me from playing the 4E game. I agree that it's bad marketing to tell D&D players who have invested mightily in their campaign to just start fresh, and it's both bad marketing and bad design to break not...

I recommend reading The Physics of Medieval Archery, which is more about the physics of bows, and Infantry Missile Weapons in the Renaissance, which compares longbows, crossbows, and early firearms.

Evil looks almost exactly like good when it takes a long-term view.