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I snipped the rest of your post, just to save space, but I think what you outlined seems totally reasonable. This is coming from someone who really hates tinker (rock) gnomes, automatic crossbows, and guns in my D&D. I get that some people like them and don't want to scream BADWRONGFUN at...

Speaking only for myself (which seems appropriate), I think there are two major, but related, objections I have. 1) I don't like guns in D&D (in its role as default fantasy RPG), as a rule. There was a thread on this, not too long ago, where I conceded that I could imagine where someone could...

I think this is kind of the $64K question. For me, "default" assumptions about the D&D mythology is that guns don't fit, ergo, they aren't relevant and this is a pointless conversation. That said, I've realized it actually depends on the game's tone and/or setting. Being a political geek, I'm...

This. One of the early claims of 5E was that weak critters remained a threat to more potent characters due to the "bounded accuracy" math. So, 20 kobolds against a single 10th level fighter (in, say, an arena) would be fair to tough, actually. In a dungeon setting, it's a way to bleed a 3rd...

Link? That sounds really interesting. I've played higher levels, a couple times, but it was almost always as part of a "special story" or pulling established characters out of retirement to deal with a bigger threat -- I've let one PC ascend to god-hood and that happened at 12 level (and a...

I don't know that I've overseen a true TPK. The times I've come close, though, it was just the end of the adventure/campaign and we started a new one. That's how Curse of Strahd ended (actually, we liked the characters enough, we reconned/meta-gamed enough that we decided the characters were...

If any of my players are on this forum, I've already been honest to the point of bluntness, in person. I'm also pretty sure I know when you're ticked at me and what for. Passive aggressive sucks, so just speak plainly. (Yes, I know the OP was being sarcastic, but I figured I'd be pointed.)

Hmm... I wonder what percentage of the comments will be inspiration. My first solution to Inspiration not getting used was to go out and buy a handful of just hideous d20s. Something no sane person would buy, so it stood out and caught the eye. Then, I assigned one to each player. No checking...

I wouldn't go quite that far, but I've definitely bought into the Savage Worlds idea of trappings. If there's no statistical difference, don't create another entry -- at the least, be OK with the fact that it's just a new name for the same stats. Most times, there's no need for statistical...

I'm almost always the GM, and a couple of my players have been in my group for over 25 years, so it's really hard to distinguish between personal quirks and table customs, at this point. Here goes: Skill names are malleable. Over the course of 35 years of gaming, I've played 6 editions of D&D...

One of the few things that I carried over from 4E was the mental concept of "bloodied" at half hit points. Above half, I narrate any hit as a near miss, slap to the armor, etc. As soon as an attack drops a bad guy to/below half, though, real blood has been drawn and I start to narrate things...

I never played, or even read, Space Master, but that result sounds extremely familiar. So, I'd say it's in Rolemaster, somewhere. Probably one whatever table would be appropriate for something like Bigby's Crushing Hand.

As for how I actually handle initiative... I use an app. It rolls the NPCs automatically and individually (go ahead and try to plan around 25 goblins each with their own initiative count) and I ask the players for their number. Just keep hitting "next" to call whose turn it is. I guess that...

That'd be the start. Really, this is the sort of behavior that keeps lighter systems on my radar -- Fate, especially. I'm currently happy with 5E, but I would go insane with even one player that used metagame knowledge to that extent. Don't get me wrong, I love tactical games, especially...

Thanks. I did find that, via the Google, but it doesn't really have much meat to it. I still don't "get" the system. Does the "Lead Narrator" rotate by session, scene, some other mechanic? Or is it just a new way of talking about troop-type play from Ars Magicka? Is every die roll d12 v d20...

I remember those. There was a critical hits article in Dragon (one of many, and something that would be fun to see Mearls take a hand at in UA) that I was able to adapt to have a chance at inflicting these on AD&D characters. I don't remember the exact math, but it was rare enough to not be...

I was in middle school when I started playing 1E AD&D. After hitting a high enough level, the group encountered Demogorgon and beat him (middle school, remember). One of the books (L&L or DMG, probably) had a line about gods having a 1% chance of hearing their name, if you called it out. The...

Or... Just roll two d120 for everything. That way, you can have your d% and eat it, too.

The front page news mentioned Shadowrun Anarchy, which is powered by the CUE system. I couldn't find much, online, about how the CUE system plays, other than it's light-weight and narrative. I saw one mention that said it's GM-less, which makes it sound like it goes even further that Fate in...

I'd say scouting is part of why you're travelling faster -- you're looking for the best routes, etc. It's not a big deal. Overland isn't tactical. You get the bonus overland speed in exchange for the risk that the ranger may end up in combat all by himself. Probably not, since rangers typically...