Search results

As opposed to this: A DM decides to run a game entirely based on the player characters. He has received the character sheets from the players, and low and behold... Player 1 wants to play a Tempest Cleric that was a former pirate. Player 2 wants to play a Fey Pact Warlock Firbolg. Player 3...

A properly crafted world is one that allows for the players to decide what their stakes are, decide what their motivations are, rather than some DM telling them what they must be. Which, when the DM creates the world centered around the PCs, it 'locks in' the motivation. Theres no room to move...

I cannot begin to claim I've played most systems out there, so maybe there is a game system that creating the world for the PCs works better with. I feel that would have to be baked into the system itself with robust rules that not only support that style of worldbuilding but actually expect it...

Critical Role is a show. It's there to entertain the viewing audience. It is not the same as designing for a gaming group game. If I was designing a game that was going to be viewed and observed, I too would change up how I approach the design process...since my goal would not be to make the...

Sure, but in 13th Age, anything above 7th level is Epic play. It works quite well for what it is. 7th level is the 4E equivelant of 21st Level and the 5E equivelant of 14th. Throwing out numbers about what amount of campaigns get to X level/tier is sorta meaningless, cause I don't think any of...

Man some of ya'll got some PTSD about 4th edition heh. Where on the doll did the bad system touch you? :angel: On a more 'on-topic' note, Familiarity and Exposure are comforting to people...especially if they remind them of better times. Nostalgia is a real force and its a force that the movie...

No formula, no, but there are good world building techniques and there are bad worldbuilding techniques. Even more important, there are Better worldbuilding techniques and worse ones. Whilst I also havent seen any codified guide to this, I think its not impossible that one exists or could...

Fun is just such a...hard thing to discuss. People find a wide variety of different things fun...and its hard to argue against having fun. This is one reason that the concept of Fun is kinda meaningless when it comes to discussions such as this. We have to separate ones enjoyment of a thing...

In a con setting, where you are often doing one-shot trial runs of a system? Of course not. Its a sample, you arent expected to know the rules or system before going in. But the guy running it really, really should. Also, a con setting is...well, not at all like a steady group in terms of play...

I don't mind them not knowing 100% of the rules. But they should be familiar enough with the rulebooks/sources to be able to quickly find the rules that they are unfamiliar with. Mistakes are okay, in moderation. However, if its a constant string of misreading of rules (especially if the...

How I usually run a campaign is that I create a world that has elements of drama and tension throughout. Its not detailed at first, very skeletal but the bones are there to build upon. I'll create a pitch doc teasing the main or potential 'conflicts' in the world and then ask the players to...

I think that the success of 'nerd culture' is something that has taken things like DnD along for the ride, rather than 5E DnD being the cause. Increased ways to Monetize 'gaming' is responsible for the rise in its popularity that weren't as ubiquitous as they are today. Streaming services and...

I didn't see the Divinity games as a successor to the BG games personally. I always thought NWN, NWN2, Pillars of Eternity, Pathfinder Kingmaker...all of these were the successors to Baldurs Gate. The divinity games did some interesting things, but there was for me a FAR different feel to them...

I'm not a fan of the AoS setting... But, if the rules are interesting, it might be worth checking out. I mean, I end up using my own setting for 99% of games I run anyway so its not a dealbreaker.

But morale potions exist in real life! Its called booze :P Liquid Courage and all that. Also, there have been plenty situations I have been in where no one has been injured, but someone remarks 'Ugh, I need a drink' and no one thinks this odd...as we are mostly feeling the same way. This...

One thing I have wanted to try but have not yet got around to, is simply changing what I call Hit Points to Morale Points, and then narrating successful attacks and such in a different way than 'He hits you with his sword, cutting you deeply!'. Mechanically? Nothing would change, so if your...

*nods* You are correct. Thats a reasonable point and one I honestly did not consider. Of course, the reason I didn't consider it is I've never participated, in any edition, in any form of 'organized play'. So I am unfamiliar how those go. Now, that said, I'd like to think that games I run are...

Pretending that HP has been modeled realistically in any system of D&D is, well, amusing to me. All it takes, realistically, is one good shot with an arrow or strike with a sword and you're done. That is it. So the narration has always been more or less left to the DM in order to properly...

I've looked into the various Fantasy Grounds and Roll20, but I've never much used them except in a 5E. When I say online, I mean how I normally run my campaigns...over skype or discord w/ a dice roller. 4E just couldn't handle that style of play. Had I learned to use a VTT and shelled out the...

I think that a robust set of rules makes for a better game, overall, as it aids DMs and Players both in interpreting what exactly happens at the table when it comes to the mechanical bits. A well written ruleset makes things very clear in how they work, so there is less confusion at the table...