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I see world-building in a variety of contexts, including a bunch of non-RPG contexts. Model villages, towns, cities by themselves or as part of a diorama. Fictional places where the peoples, cultures, politics, architecture etc may be explored in a variety of detail levels. One element of...

It's not all gravy. The bad way to make the setting alive is to use it to punish players for not being interested in the same things the referee is interested in. Frustrated novelists, obsessiveness, onetruewayism, I've seen various referees get upset that their players don't agree with him or...

Both science fiction and fantasy are huge bodies of work embracing multitudes, with a vast plethora of subgenres within each. Neither has a hard border and there are works of fiction nestled within their squishy intersection. Subjectively I tend to have higher standards for science fiction...

I know of a fantasy campaign some friends of mine played which was a sails and cannon privateer fantasy for most of it's playtime. Only at the end of the campaign did they discover they were all on a huge generation ship, and the dominant religion was a garbled misinterpretation of the...

One of the things that attracted me to RPGs in the first place were the rules. They varied in quality but at their best (IMO) were clear rules in black and white that allowed in-game situations to be resolved with some semblance of objectivity. So one of the reasons I tend to dislike "Combat...

IMO 4e combat works better with multiple foes because of action economy. Early solos didn't do enough damage and could be stunlocked too easily. Early monsters in general didn't do enough damage and might have too many hit points, or inflated defense values. Post MM3 solo design improved with...

I think it's because superhero RPGs incorporate a vast number of subgenres, many of which aren't compatible with each other. These subgenres are often associated with particular metagame rules, that only work if everyone buys into them. Codes against killing, powers that don't cause accidental...

But D&D has hit points and there has been no agreement on what they mean and how they work from the earliest days. Massive dragons can fly in D&D, breaking the laws of physics, and don't automatically kill PCs if they pounce on them even if they weigh tons. Because it's a game, not a physics...

The hidden assumption here include that there's a narrative superior to the mechanics that doesn't need to agree with them, and that it's desirable that PCs e.g. drop boulders on enemies to kill them easily. Some people enjoy the core game activity and don't see extensions and variants as...

IMO it's important to realise that people apply their creativity in different ways, and it really isn't the case that one matter of taste is strictly and objectively superior. You are entitled to your opinions as is everyone else, but Onetruewayism is the death of the hobby. Recognise diversity.

"Creativity" is very subjective. People are entitled to their own tastes, and IMO it's important to be fair and objective in evaluating them if you want to talk about them. Cleverness applied to rules mechanics isn't inferior to cleverness applied outside the box, just different and appealing to...

People have different tastes with respect to the Sport/War continuum. There are two problems with this continuum though. Firstly, Combat as War sounds more macho, which is a problem, as that's not really true, because of the second point. Which is the DM can always win if they want to. The only...

The simplest sort of power creep is new stuff rendering old stuff potentially obsolete. More complex power creep involves combining stuff for unexpected power.Some abilities combo to be more powerful than the sum of the parts. Sometimes there are otherwiise decent abilities that come with a...

I think it has to be customised to the particular group and individuals involved as opinions vary so widely on the topic. Some players have a million ideas for new characters and get bored easily, so PC death doesn't bother them much, it's an opportunity to try something new. Some other players...

Know yourself and know your players. I've encountered numbers of referees who either have poor self-awareness so they don't know what they actually want, and don't want, from a game, or are unwilling to reveal or discuss what their game goals are. Ambiguity or uncertainty in your own goals as...

When I don't want to cancel the session but I don't have enough players to feel comfortable running the main plotline, I often run sidequests, which could be flashbacks to small adventures with continuity with the main game, of unspecified and uncertain continuity or even clearly out of...

5e is the first edition of D&D I haven't supported since AD&D and B/X. I ran some of the playtest, and read the development coverage, but the biased and weasely worded (IMO) polls alienated me well before the books hit the stands, and the retro feel of the edition didn't appeal to myself or my...

A games group has no obligation to allow any arbitrary PC to be played. I prefer to set limits beforehand and only approve character concepts that meet my requirements. An other alternative is to allow almost anything but allow them to sink or swim with no special "PC glow" in place. As...

In cases of bullying that isn't immediately put a stop to by the other participants the correct response is likely to leave. I despise bullies and all they stand for. Speaking as a player and DM that has limits on the amount of intra-party conflict I can tolerate, majority rules is a simplistic...

For instance, it can take time for a new player to learn the ropes in an established group, and the established PCs may give the impression of being a monolithic party, regardless of how close that description actually approaches the truth. Some people just don't enjoy intra-party conflict in...