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IMO that was the bad old way of handling high level power, which was to negate every problematic high level ability, long lists of stuff that was altered or didn't work at all. Why bother playing a high level game if some or all the high level toys will be taken away? I understand that...

There is no magical panacea, no one size fits all solution. One reason we keep discussing these topics here and elsewhere is that they are difficult problems with no easy solution. (They are also trivial problems in the context of the real world but anyway). Some players love freedom, others...

It's not as simple as it sounds because players often aren't aware of their own play preferences or those of others, which makes negotiating such things problematic. So maybe it's a player dispute, maybe it's a character dispute, maybe it's a little of both. So probably the player rolls up a...

Roleplaying as an overall concept is complex, more complex than it seems, as it's based on lots of spoken and unspoken assumptions on a huge variety of issues. For instance take the example above, which you obviously consider an example of good roleplaying in the context of that particular...

It does sound like your PC is been treated like a doormat, and lacks a legitimate way of resisting the opposing narrative in a way that doesn't blow up the game. You need a way of pushing back that's safe, or at the very least pushes the ball back into their court so they're the ones that have...

It sounds like you are no longer happy with the intraparty conflict because it lacks any sort of safety net. It does sound like a blowup is on the cards unless something is done to prevent it. In most games I've been in the DM would have stepped in long before and laid down some sorts of limits...

I think your idea removes almost everything that's practical about the D&D alignment system, making it even more useless than many people say it is already. I don't think alignment is useless, but making it useful requires some arbitrary objectivity, which is close to the opposite of your...

I disagree, for one. 4e is and continues to be my favourite version of D&D. Wizards of the Coast seem to have made a policy of reaching out to different groups with each new edition by making major changes, in an attempt to maximise their player base and sales. I don't want to derail this...

I have noticed that many DMs are willing to tolerate a situation where high hit point PCs take a beating to protect the squishy low hit point characters behind them, but fewer tolerate a status quo where all the PCs are unhittable due to high AC or magic. Beating on tanks in D&D tends to be...

I use a lot of modules and adventure paths because I find it difficult to come up with adventure concepts myself. However, I like having a framework to work within, and am good at rewriting and editing material which doesn't suit my game. I've got a lot better at improvising in recent years as...

AD&D tended to be extremely random when it came to magic items. While there was a preponderance of scrolls, potions and +1 swords when randomly generating treasure, there was always a small chance of rolling up a powerful item even at low level. Some DMs would just reroll to remove the outliers...

The final statement is far too absolutist for me personally. While it's true that players should make the most of their character, random chance and the vagaries of the plot can make a particular PC very ineffective a significant proportion of the time, and sometimes for extended periods. People...

In most editions effective offensive spellcaster players had to learn as much as possible about the monsters they were fighting. I've also seen players who didn't bother to do any study or keep track of monster traits in or out of character and it was very frustrating for some of the other...

Some excellent replies here. Another reason not to emphasise worldbuilding initially is that the game should be about the PCs and the choices of the players. And a fairly typical response to an idyllic little village with wonderful NPCs is for the PCs to burn it down and loot it. You can't...

Just a word of caution, even if the players say they are ok with failure, player morale will still be affected and players may have hidden reservations. I have learned that you can't always take player feedback literally, it needs to be monitored over time, and player actions compared to player...

There is a middle ground here. Letting the occasional clue fall into the players laps isn't a terrible thing, especially when it's one way the referee can signal what s/he feels the PCs/players are doing wrong and how to amend it. In a conventional game the referee is responsible for keeping...

Player and/or referee frustration can be a big problem if it builds up over time without being communicated or addressed successfully. Players can feel that everything they try fails, even when they change things up and try and be careful. If anything it's worse when a referee is frustrated, as...

Exactly, it's the price of being first, players of the early RPGs had to figure things out piece by piece, and mistakes were part of the learning process. Things can go wrong at any RPG table, but in the early days there was a lack of precedent, good examples of play, internet and clear...

No, that's not what I mean. I meant to refer to a game with an accelerated plot, where extraneous filler is left out, and slice of life and downtime content is omitted or summarised rather than played through at length. The game might not have levels, or even character progression. Play moves...

However I think the failure modes of conventional RPGs and RPGs designed ground up with fail forward/stakes setting are different. Old RPGs like D&D and World of Darkness are haunted by the spectre of the dictatorial GM, railroading his or her players through a pre-scripted nightmare of...