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Personally, I would be none too keen to go back to an older system, partly for the hassle of getting the old source books, partly because I like the newer systems better. And partly because all the rulesets are massive enough that it is hard to keep multiple versions in my little head. But what...

Since it isn't critical and there are other ways into the chest, sure, seems fine to me. Teaches them a fine lesson. Maybe you can have critical puzzle rely on that principle later on. If it was critical, if the initial riddle does not have some clue, however cryptic, it would seem to me to be...

I'm usually thinking of the next campaign well before the last one is over with which usually gets me psyched to dive right into the next campaign, especially since I'll often be working on the setting/campaign concept before the last one is over. We usually start a new game with a new slate...

Loosely coupled plot threads around multiple factions can certainly do the trick. You can do the same within a single faction or even an NPC or two who is a plot nexus. If you still want to work the over arching scenario concept, construct one with multiple paths that can be resolved in any...

Regarding realism, that's never been an issue in my experience. My groups aren't afraid to use our real world experience for all of the more game parts of FRP where realism tends to crop up (how much does food weight, how far can you travel in a day, etc.) In the end, if it meets one's group's...

FRP games like fantasy books and movies require a certain amount of suspension of disbelief but audiences still expect a certain amount of internal consistency. In general, for the latter cases, the smaller the amount of disbelief the better it works. Audiences will interprete the game, movie or...

There are many refs who seem to have good success with little prep but while the blank page concept is a nice one, it doesn't always work all that well. Start with a blank page and you might end up with a bunch of doodles. Can doodles really compete with all the other types of entertainment...

It's a tough call. Obviously the DM has the final say in the matter but DMs who do not consider their player's interests do not stay DM for long. As Dausuul notes, running something you don't feel like running is a real enthusiasm killer so that needs to be a prime consideration. If you are...

My games seem to go better with preparation and best with both preparation and flexibility. Meaning, for me, it helps to have encounters ready to go and some thought into interesting plot hooks but if the players do something unexpected, it is nice to run with it. Often there are ways to...

LOL very true :) As for XP, XP is linked to levels which in D&D are the most valuable commodity so players will always optimize for XP which is why various XP systems can cause undesired behaviors. I recently moved to a time based leveling. Essentially no XP at all although you can also...

It is usual to have a player or two who will drag things out for their own amusement given a chance and most groups will, being decent people in the main, tolerate it longer than they should, reducing the overall enjoyment of the group. Why have an XP system that encourages such behaviors?

Good questions and observations :) As it happens, this campaign is set in a fairly small region but as developed so far, it is intended that the spirit attunements can work over long distances. The spirit might drop a follower who persisted on remaining far away however. I did design it with...

I like that concept as well and am using a variant of this in my current campaign. It has turned the sources of divine power from being distant and generally unimportant in the campaign into NPCs that matter. In my setting, the mechanics are different from what you propose: there are spirits...

Somewhat off topic but related to your basic concept (which I take to be "how much of the WOTC product are you buying"), I'm not planning on any further purchase of 4E core books, let alone setting books. On setting, I personally like creating settings so no need to buy setting stuff. But on...

It can certainly remove treasure from the game and for some classes makes a certain amount of sense. You can use almost any XP system you like with any version of D&D so I don't see why you couldn't use it for 4E or anything else. I find it very problemmatic myself and ditched it before it was...

Homebrew for me but I like building worlds and I always make the gods or equivalent an integral part of the setting. Even if they don't factor much into the particular campaign (not all setting details matter), I like homebrew because: Earth pantheons were not created with a game in mind...

I heartily agree. It's great when one of the players makes sure things move along (although as a player who does do that at times, it can be touchy because it can put you in the position of bossing around other players). Clearly the ref can keep an eye on passing with subtle and not so subtle...

Good thoughts and I share your puzzlement. It's not like I'm known as a ref that railroads players. They seem to have an unnatural aversion to it and part of the reason I was posting was whether anyone had similar experiences. Well, who knows when I will start a new campaign (current one just...

I may tip my hand at some point. To date I've been happy enough to run the non-military order options that I haven't worried too much about it; just commenting on the players' strong reluctance to go this route. But the concept continues to attract me so I may work out a different start with...

Not at all, Doug. If they had actually chosen the military order and I had not given them sufficient warning that the order might not persist then it would be about bait and switch. But since they have never actually selected it, they weren't switched. The thread was about player's reluctance to...