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I am a huge fan of Fabula Ultima's system, now that I've had the chance to play it. The game has two kinds of magic: combat, that has specific and defined effects, and rituals, that you create on the fly. The power level of the spells can be high, so you'd need to work on that, but the system is...

Dealing with intrapersonal issues is one of the most important issues that a DM has to learn. Unfortunately I don't know that a book is the best way to handle teaching that skill. I think a video format is much better for that. I think some very general principles can be discussed, but that's...

This is my own fault. I clicked on this thread and read it. I had vivid flashbacks for a lot of these houserules over the years. Brrr! I sort of needed this thread to tell me, no matter how much I gripe about modern design (as I did in the Flanking thread), it used to be much worse. The horror...

There is a whole school of DMs who I call "DMs by random tables." It does seem to me that this style of play has fallen out of favor a lot in the last decade or so. This doesn't make me sad because it's the antithesis of how I run a game, but not using it means the DM has to do more work. I...

I suppose it will be interesting to see who takes on Chris' old role. I have to be honest and say he was one of the few people I've still heard of around there. Maybe those folks use social media and I just miss it but I've got no idea who's even there at the moment.

Well that's the first rules element that I really don't like. In 5E it was an optional mechanic in the first place. Bad call as if you were using it before. I'd say it encourages tactical play, which is something a fair number of people want. I really have no idea why you wouldn't want to keep...

Got to game with Rodney Thompson at the Con. Really nice guy and a great GM too. See everyone next year!

They are two different things, but they are related. The adventuring day is the period between long rests. It can be the same as a game session, but likely isn't. I would say handling encounters in this period is of primary importance to having a successful game. But at the same time, pacing...

Sigh. I hope this is a misunderstanding from an article rather than what's actually there. I say that because, especially at low levels, the number of combat encounters you run between allowing the party to refresh its resources is vitally important to running a game that you intend to pace out...

Joe A. Hopefully I didn't promote Joe on the spot. :)

Picked up my badge and my official D6. I checked in right after the guy who runs the Adventurers League events. We used to work together. It had been a while!

It's much smaller than Gen Con, but that's to it's advantage: you get to talk with the old school folks because it's much smaller. I don't think that Gen Con is very approachable given the size. And Gamehole Con is growing, too. It may get to be too big to have fun in a few years at the rate...

Oh I think people are going to complain no matter what. I believe there's some law of the Internet that says that. I think WotC is wise to not create their own competing brands, but if you're going to create interest in Greyhawk, why not give fans something to chew on? And I know with the new...

And then it's promptly getting ignored again. In favor of the Realms. Again, as a new DM, eight year-old me would have wanted something more. And there's no way I would have just jumped into DMsGuild. I guess I would probably pick up the Realms book and wonder why I had read about Greyhawk at...

I have a couple of friends who are basically running that for the Con. I'm in a Friday night session. Should be fun. For those not in the know, the Con is running a crazy number of quick sessions of the same game in 1E and 5E versions. And of course it's going to have Dwarven Forge and be over...

Just wondering if any Enworlders will be at the Con. This will be my 10th year going, after only missing the first year. If you haven't heard of it, this is a Con in Madison Wisconsin with RPGs and boardgames. It's a TON of fun, with great guests. If you're interested in playing with some of...

This gets a sigh from me. The point of entry for new DMs is ... the DMG. And if the campaign focus of the DMG is going to be Greyhawk, new DMs will be interested in it. Just like it was with the Realms. Not having further products planned makes me wonder why they went with it in the first place...

It seems to me that there are different levels of players who want progressively more involved play. You have the "I want to smash something" players. You have the deep immersive role-players who don't want to even roll a die. And everything in between. As the DM, it's your job to pitch the...

It seems to me that we're never going to get the details from Amazon for the new book because they moved it to being a toy. At least, that was my understanding of how it works.

You made me think of way back in the AD&D days with a Paladin. I don't think people realize how good they have it today. I was playing the Caves of Chaos with a Paladin, and I almost lost my powers because I wouldn't kill the kiddos. I had a very intense conversation with the DM at this time...