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"Are we having fun yet?" How do we know when we're having fun anyways? Like a billion people tuned in to watch the Superbowl and they didn't even play in that game. Where's the fun in that? I would suggest not worrying about defining fun and instead do what you want to do. Then see if others...

I think there were some fencing rules in early Judges' Guild or may be Harn that were very good. This is 1970s stuff. Designers were hardcore wargamers, so it gets pretty detailed but they try for accuracy. These rules are very situational however and not really extensible like D&D's combat...

I'm accustomed to Tiers of Play being actual levels and differing by class. But then when there are only 10 levels, at least safely expected levels a hard working player could reach in the length of campaign, then every level has its own iconic challenges and rewards. In terms of spell...

Adventure design requires actual intelligence. Not that a person can't throw something together rather mindlessly and hope it has value as a game. But the odds are against you. A computer program could be created like Big Blue to help individuals create adventures, but the design is only going...

What if Alignment meant: Oppressors, Freedom Fighters, and people who don't care much either way? Freedom and oppression are as illusory as good and evil, right? So a triptych mechanic rating game elements on this spectrum is as incoherent and incomprehensible as, say, using OD&D's Law and Chaos...

In 1e and earlier players actually engaged in discovery far more than personal invention. Memory and forethought mattered as well as ingenuity and creativity.

The D&D magic system wasn't always "fire and forget", which became a popular justification for what was happening in game by about 2e. It was, however, always preparation magic. Rituals are performed for taking a long time, but these led to create a kind of quick trigger to release the spell...

A constructive world generation system which results in descriptions more poetic than prosaic thereby opening up that kind of verbal composition as a part of the player game too.

Sounds like the character is still carrying water for him.

You tell a story, I tell a story, we make up that they are in conflict, and come to agreement on whose story will be included in the group's story. I believe that's the core mechanic of most story games.

In all my experience I've only had human players. I ask what they think human is, so the differences between humans and Shapeshifters can be recognized once they start playing the game. That no humans have ever learned of shapeshifters before makes the game harder. Vampires and werewolves are...

The -10 dead rule from early games of D&D was a house rule because 0 hp = dead usually resulted in at least one or more lost PCs early on. The game was balanced with damage rolled to hit points rolled. d6 each. With the rare modifier to damage from Str possible. Say +1 or +2 at 18. Extended...

Some people want to be a massive damage dealing barbarian regardless of what game they are playing. Some want to engineer a vehicle for a game, not play the actual game with it. Min/max a character, build a deck, etc. Some want to tell jokes, be silly, and have fun. Fun is #1. Games, stories...

Define. Define. Define. What is a shapeshifter? How do they learn as children they have all these abilities which define being a shapeshifter? Under what circumstances might they lose control of these abilities? What history has led them to fall into the belief they are human? What do they...

Whether you intend it or not, this appears like an argument by dilemma for never using XP. Story path games are going to be affected by games that pre-set a specific level of advancement. Events must happen in order and PCs must be at an effective level to participate in them. By using XP as a...

This is how I see it. Lawful clerics are growth-oriented. Their focus is to improve the community. The evil priests of D&D are decay-oriented. Acting against them means being weakened and demoralized. Neither is necessary to play the game as a group. Combats are balanced according to combat...

I've been thinking about this some more and it struck me how Alignment in D&D is the rule system which leads players to cooperative play. That and being key to a whole realm of discovery for one of the core classes. But I can definitely see how Alignment is indispensable to the game as a...

Rules Heavy games are simply games with a large complex pattern as a result of the rules. That doesn't mean there actually needs to be a lot rules, but to have a high complexity there often is. The best thing about rules heavy games is they tend to actually be about playing the game, i.e...

I was just thinking it might help in balancing XP distribution. I agree it isn't exactly realistic in all cases. Fighters definitely need their physical attributes to be successful, even if a boxing instructor may technically be the better boxer. I think D&D definitely leans more towards the...

Could human aging be the default time length for a full class level progression? 10 levels of Fighter or Magic-User = old age? 20 in D&D Next. AD&D starts at 14-20 young adults. 61-90 Old Age So 40 years roughly of Adventuring before retirement? I'm guessing 1st level takes a few months or so...