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Daniel Horne -- 13 Keith Parkinson -- 15 Jeff Easley -- 13 Clyde Caldwell -- 15 David Trampier -- 14

Yep. I miss this as well. No. Appearing, % in Lair were invaluable for running improvised sessions / dealing with when players go off the beaten path. I also miss Treasure Table Types. I like that different types of monsters will have different styles of treasure.

Lol... I remember my old 4E game I ran. My players were in Epic tier, negotiating a reward for some quest they completed with some big name in Sigil. The players asked me how much was the reward that they are getting. I was improvising a bit at the time and my brain froze up... and I awkwardly...

Voted OD&D - specifically meaning Basic/Expert '81. Which is my favorite edition (5E is the second favorite). It is just such a well thought out and executed version of the game. I love the simplicity, while at the same time it has so much detail and subtlety. I have a lot of success running...

I do this in my game as well. My ruling is that you need to remain in a sanctuary or secure environment for a continuous 24 hours to benefit from a long rest. A sanctuary is a settlement with which the party has FRIENDLY relations, and a secure environment is one that does not call for...

Daniel Horne -- 22 Keith Parkinson -- 24 +1 Jeff Easley -- 24 Larry Elmore -- 19 Clyde Caldwell -- 22 Todd Lockwood -- 19 Tyler Jacobson -- 7 -2 David Trampier -- 24 Although Erol Otus was the best of them all, I was too late to save him :(

I'm not super fluent with Chainmail to be honest. Its hard to look at the list of games you've tried and be able to offer you any real advice on a system... nearly all of that list are games that I would imagine suitable for me, if I was in your shoes. I hope you can find something that works...

I like how the game Adventurer Conqueror King handles pets (animal companions)... The game treats them like followers... which means: 1. You got to pay a monthly upkeep for them. 2. They get a 1/2 share of XP from the entire group. 3. They are subject to morale checks and may not always do...

Part of the game is exploring the unknown. This includes encountering creatures that have crazy strengths and weaknesses. Part of the game is figuring this out. Things like 'trolls need to be killed by fire', 'wraiths can level drain you', 'certain golems are healed by certain attack types' are...

The rules already account for penalties for abilities. I see no need to penalize a real person at my table, further... by telling them they can't contribute in the game. I get the idea behind the 'all in with method acting' when it comes to D&D. I just disagree with it.

Good points. I would maybe point out that in a lot of these cases the player 'should' have some choice. Like they can pick which pre-gen is cool to them, or maybe the GM would ask them what they would like to play. But I didn't think of these and yeah that's possible. I've never bought into the...

This is solely the choice of the player. IF the player rolls up a dim-witted half-orc barbarian and the player WANTS to run that character as such then exactly. But the player at the table may not be so dim-witted. That player may want to contribute to puzzles or strategy or planning. Should...

Agreed! Honestly meta-gaming isn't really something I particularly care about. I look at it like this: I run D&D for people who've been playing for 30+ years, I also run D&D for people who have never played before. I'm not going to look a 30 year veteran of D&D in the eye with a straight face...

I'm not sure how it is possible to create a character without player agency. Again, even in the most strictest hard coded mechanic-heavy games. It is always the player who chooses to implement the abilities of the character. I guess if you want a game where only the character is challenged, you...

Your comment about the Sorcerer brings up a thought I've had regarding classes in 5E (and modern D&D). I kind of feel like a lot of classes in 5E exist solely as a means to express a unique mechanic in the game. I wonder if there is a chicken and the egg thing going on? The Sorcerer is no...

I understand your point of view, but I just disagree with it. Personally, I prefer game adventure design that bypasses the character mechanics and applies to the player directly. The mechanical aspects of a character should only come into play when there is no clear way to adjudicate the action...

Not sure I think that is at all relevant. How does your character know how to use a halberd? Because you, as a player, decided that to be the case. The player brings the character to the table. Even in heavy handed, pure roll skill checks for every thing game, the player determines what the...

Take two possibilities: 1. A room has a trap that can only be disarmed by solving a riddle or logic puzzle... say a sphinx or something. This is challenging the player, directly. The player has to figure out the answer. The challenge is framed as a fun 'meta-challenge' within the context of the...

What does it mean to "Challenge the Character"? Good question. I don’t think it is even possible to challenge the character. D&D can only ever challenge the player. Even in heavy mechanical games with character powers, it is the player who chooses if and when to use those powers...

I owe a lot of my current enjoyment and inspiration of/for D&D to the blog: http://hackslashmaster.blogspot.com/ I burned out from running D&D until I started reading this. It taught me to kind of 'let go' of the illusion of control that I thought had on the game and embrace player agency and...