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You have a military "orientation" but, you've never been military. That's huge. The next question would be your tabletop war-gaming background? Someone without a real combat or wargaming resume has very little to contribute to how a proper combat begins or ends. You know game rules but, your...

D&D was designed by nerds like Gygax with little or no knowledge of how combat really works. They did not know an attack can, first, be based on how the attacker will counter. D&D, at its root , is a terrible game through the lens of simulated combat. GURPS and HERO do this far better. The...

Running D&D is NOT "like real life". It is like "running D&D". You need to accept that distinction. Comparing reality to D&D is like comparing reality to superheroes. It Is a GAME.

I love my hobby. I've spent thousands of dollars and years of work in it. My thing is protecting it from people who want to tear it down, and I run into moderators who don't have that same motivation. So within the censored language of THIS forum, Orcs are in the Monster Manual. They gave an...

This goes to what a "savage" is. Orcs have historically, within the hobby, been described as "monsters". Aka "savage". Orcs are experience points for players; evil monsters that need to be put down. I've never identified Orcs as Native-Americans or African-Americans because both peoples were...

Orcs are experience points for my players. Period. Never saw them as SJW meat. Can't be "dark-people substitute" because players ran Kushite (Black) PCs. Orcs are monsters, not races. Great. You might want to reconsider future usage of “SJW” and similarly loaded terminology, though. (And in...

Villains & Vigilantes. Solo PC. It works so well that I have no other option.

Yeah, world-building has the distinct function of Player Entertainment. It's the "left-right" view and deeper knowledge of whoever makes the check. World-building is also GM hobby: "this is my unique setting for you players to explore. A world of my own GM imagination." Pure imagination...

Funny. The OP uses a writer to try and diagnose rpgs. They are not the same, unless you're a Storygamer. That "advice" is laughable for GMs, at nearly every avenue. Why? Writers control EVERYTHING in their work. Gamemasters only control everything outside the PCs. It's like a writer with zero...

Yeah. The OP suggests that certain rpgs infringe on the player's ability to control their character. Re-read the OP. I did a few times and I've seen this argument before. So. I posted here.

"Player Agency", or, the players ability to control their own character, is proto-mythic. It influences the game but only as much as the player touches the GM's game. There's how the dice affect the game, then there's how the players' actual RP affects the game. Rpgs have a few levels. To say...

1. Who is we? The greater group of hobbyists playing D&D don't seem to have this problem, hence the game's continued popularity. 2. What's wrong with killing as a moral option in D&D? The game has almost always been about good heroes vs. evil. Check the Monster Manuals. 3. You define the word...

What do you replace the "racial" designation with? Seems races are a problem - what's a solution?

Each "race" has its own special contribution to a given realm. It's why we were given elves, dwarves and Halflings. They bring a level of "fantasy" that humanity can't even imagine. "Fantasy" akin to something non-hostile but even equally arcane. They used to use the term "demi-human". That...

I'd think if spells can affect you, social skills can. Just another kind of save. "Charm Person" and Persuasion are only separated by interpretive degrees. In the end, the result is the greater key. If I say "rule 5 does not affect my PC, even if rule 6 is very similar with a different...

1. Six 2. Yes I GM 3. 1 other new GM 4. All male group (40+ grogs) 5. Many Bay area stores 6. Running "Wrath if the Righteous" converted to 5e 7. Running since the Companion Basic set; full AD&D 1e; doesn't GM age trump Elves? 8. Coached in running games by the dad (hobby shop owner) of the...

Tim Kask's YouTube channel and, as always, Prince ("Ballad of Dorothy Parker").

Honorable mention: Pancake Burger. It's everything you imagine :-S

My favorite fantasy setting, which has led me to give the game a hard look. I still remember TSR's old Conan game. This new system by Modiphius certainly plays well from what I've seen and heard.

Noted. Possible GM/DM. Players duly warned.