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I think the gaming community has made their "decision". I know I have. I read this project and watched their video a couple weeks ago (or thereabouts). As others have noted above, they haven't clearly articulated what the product is or how/why it's better than existing tools (including paper...

1st Gencon I'd be a bit cautious about RPGs. Some groups can be quite adult (and power-gamer) centered, which might not be fun for your son. The CCG tourneys seem friendly enough and I've had a few kids ages 10 or 12 in pick-up True Dungeon runs that worked fine. Most players seem pretty...

Developmental insights From a neurodevelopmental perspective, the human brain is done developing by age 25. The brain remains plastic to varying degrees throughout the lifespan, depending on various genetic and epigenetic factors unique to the individual. But by 25, a person has a full set of...

snip"In my view one of the use of rules is so we have a shared common ground on which to base our decisions. Having coordinated mores and values is usually a good thing. However, the diversity of life can present mitigating circumstances. For example,(speaking hypothetically) running somebody...

I wasn't absolving players of any responsibility, but the GMs have the lead role (if you'll pardon the double meaning) in addressing this issue. More than any individual player or the group dynamic overall, the GM sets the boundaries of what is acceptable and not and far too many set rigid...

1. This should be obvious, but the problem one runs into are GMs who see 'their' story as linear and refuse to let PCs participate in the storytelling. I tend to fault GMs, not players for this one. 2. Yes! Yes!! Yes!!! From a GMs perspective, this is crucial! 3. Again, I agree, but with the...

I write interesting RPG stories to be edited, in whole or in part, by the PCs. For me, almost everything about GMing is fun. Developing a story and building a world (or in interpreting one, in some case) is the best part. Running the game, the PCs take the story and edit it according to their...

utilitarian approach The philosophy of utilitarianism is pretty common in gaming, I think. The problem is that all of us have heuristics and biases that color all those utilitarian decisions. A few such judgments aren't so bad, but eventually favoritism and other negative biases will pile up...

Sure it matters. We're still talking about it, right? Next to FR or Dark Sun or Ravenloft, it wasn't very 'good'. I agree that a lot of the faction war stuff was pretty bad. I will NOT climb on my soapbox about Elminster, Drizzt, Szass Tam, or any of that crowd except to say someone needs to...

(snip) But this is where I must strongly disagree with you. For game balance reasons, I think there should be a common cleric spell list and include healing (maybe as abilities, so you don't have to spend spells on it). (snip) I get the point about game balance. As things stand now, there's...

I think a larger problem is the set-in-concrete idea that divine magic is the principal source of healing. I've never bought into the convention that divine magic is the source of healing. Why? It makes sense if you worship a god of war, life, fertility or some similar domain, but what about the...