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Where the current version of counterspell becomes tactically interesting is its short 60' range limit and requirement for off-turn line-of-sight. That gives PCs and NPCs who know counterspell an interesting tactical choice between staying within range and line-of-sight to try to shut down enemy...

I suspect you may be right that few have gone into the "fine structure", but I think that's mostly because different types of analysis (and different styles of play!) hinge on differing levels of generality. The fine structure analysis by Edwards, et al., definitely led to novel structures of...

I improvise heavily, but I rarely rely on random generation. Instead I'm introducing improvised content deliberately, creating new content on the fly that (ideally) is: (A) a plausible or logical extrapolation from existing content, and (B) would cause the players' choices to lead to a good...

Thanks for explaining! In the various discussions of PbtA and BW, I've noticed the emphasis posters have placed on raw, visceral experience. (That wasn't part of my PbtA play, but I suspect my MC wasn't using the system fully in line with the design intent.) However, I'd previously understood...

(Emphasis added.) To clarify, by demphasizing the importance of producing a satisfying narrative, are you saying that you're ok if the outcome of play is an unsatisfying narrative? Or are you saying that you're ok if the outcome of play isn't a narrative at all? In either case, how do you see...

This depends heavily on playstyle. At some tables, including mine, enemy spellcasters rarely start with all their spell slots available unless they're encountered immediately after they took a long rest. Even at tables where that is not the default, I'd like to think that if players deliberately...

Much appreciated! I hope that the changes do indeed bring in more players than they chase away. I'm skeptical on that count, particularly since the changes seem to be alienating entire playstyles without appealing to previously un-included playstyles, but I will readily admit my own frustration...

As a player, I really don't know what to do with the setting implications of PC and NPC spellcasters using different types of magic. If I'm up against a Rakshasha or an Abjurer, does my PC spellcaster know that NPC spellcasters have primary attacks that trivially bypass those foes' anti-spell...

To be useful to me personally as a DM, an NPC statblock needs to reflect the NPC's actual stats. Combat-only statblocks that are a subset (or, in some cases, a superset) of what the NPC is capable of out-of-combat don't do me any good, because it is important to me that how an NPC fits into the...

I thought you just said that Edwards switched from "premise" to that particular usage of "point"? Did I misunderstand you?

Could you clarify where you disagree? Do you not think @Ovinomancer's description is controversial, don't think it's reductionist, or don't think it's reductionist to the extent to reasonably imply ridicule?

It sounds like "point" is Forge jargon then. Thanks for sharing the history!

I suspect that the reason that describing D&D's play loop as "the players take actions to prompt the GM to provide more information" is controversial is because it's reductionist to the point that (IMO) one can reasonably infer implied ridicule. It would be like describing PbtA games as: "the...

Thank you for clarifying! I am unfamiliar with that usage. It appears to be blending several related senses of "point" and then applying them in a highly specific context. For my own edification (and in the spirit of this thread's topic), may I ask if your usage of "point" is idiosyncratic...

Could you please clarify in what sense you're using the word "point"? (I realize you've tried to clarify by analogy already, but I still don't follow.) The closest I've been able to get is that you're using it in the sense of "an argument or idea put forward by a person in discussion" but that...

(Emphasis added.) On the occasions I've tried to fit my own preferred style into GNS terms, based on definitions similar to the first part of the above quote, I've tended to conclude that I prefer Process Sim. But if I take the bolded synopsis as true, then I think my style might instead be High...

(Emphasis added.) If the bolded claim is true, and under GNS theory we can't infer anything about something labeled "incoherent" other than that it has conflicting priorities, then wouldn't that make the entire concept of "coherence" in GNS theory tautological? In other words, what's the...

To clarify, it appears that you're implying that in order to have fun with a TTRPG, you need a metric by which to judge if you're doing a good job. Am I understanding correctly?

Keep in mind that with larger battlefields you can safely increase the number of opponents without risk of TPK far beyond the number possible in a short-range encounter. There are several reasons this is so: When a sufficient fraction of the opponents are too far away to get into effective...

I entirely agree. And to be clear I think @payn's explanation also explains some of the difference. I was just pointing out that a large chunk of the difference can be explained simply by differences in how readily available each hobby is.