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If 5e still uses a map and position-based, round-based tactical combat, some kind of AoO analog is necessary. Otherwise, there would be no way of blocking passage or defending someone. I'd be perfectly fine if they just got rid of map and/or rounds, removing the need for opportunity attacks...

There are two approaches to designing a game: 1. Make the rules simulation-like. In perfect case, it makes the game more intuitive to play and easier to immerse in. But either the rules are very detailed, complicated and hard to remember, or they are simplified and do not take many situations...

I'll answer this question like most questions about my RPG preferences - it depends on what game I'm playing. In Call of Cthulhu, Unknown Armies or Vampire I definitely want combat to be chaotic, confusing and intense. That fits the genre and mood and works well with simple combat system. In...

I have nothing against monks. They are eastern-flavored, but for me D&D has too many historical inconsistencies to be treated as "european" anyway. It's just a fantasy world. Ki-powered martial artists are no better and no worse than spellcasting clerics. I have a mild dislike of assassin, but...

I would agree with this point of view if mechanics-heavy gamism was the only kind. But I can tell from my experience that it is not. I know a few people (including my wife) who really like "winning" and overcoming challenges in RPGs, but are not into character optimization, tactical combat and...

I really like Unknown Armies, though I only played it a few times. And the best part is the combat chapter. Specifically, that it begins with a list of methods to prevent or de-escalate combat. "Combat kills people. Are you really sure you want to kill somebody or be killed?"

I remember not only a single roll, but a whore round of awesome - more than 10 great rolls, from all party members, that left our GM completely shocked. It was the climax of an old Warhammer campaign, a fight with a powerful demon. And dice gods really blessed us. I remember my character...

My notes and pre-session plans are generally much less detailed than my players' plans can be. Details of the situation are created when players interact with them. When they plan and investigate, I get an advance warning about what I need to prepare. I definitely won't change facts already...

Dear Mike & Monte. If you want me to buy and play your game, give it sharp focus and make it work really well within the playstyle it is designed for. Let me know, clearly, how you expect the game to be played so that I may fully enjoy its strengths. Don't waste your time and my money on things...

I have learned that my gaming needs and wishes are not compatible. I want many different things that quite often do not work well together. Fortunately, this does not mean I have to be frustrated and play games I don't like. It just means I need to play many different games. Discovering it made...

Among games I play, Nobilis and Exalted are definitely well suited for campaign play. Both systems: - expect characters to make lasting changes in the setting and handle it well - benefit strongly from gradual development of character personality in play - offer interesting settings that are fun...

In TT RPG: - You can have the campaign build around characters, instead of characters being added to a fixed, pre-existing setting. - You can have your actions affect the world in a significant way, depending on the choices you make. - You can define a character in terms that fit him, instead of...

The best way of achieving good characterization is tying fluff and crunch together. Pure numbers do not mean anything and pure description feels empty in a crunch-heavy game (remember the 3e elves, described as talented wizards, with no mechanical support for it?). You need both to really make...

Never played these, so I don't know for sure. If they really satisfy all the criteria I listed, they would probably feel D&D to me.

Interpreting 4e mechanics as "process simulation" is doomed to failure. From this perspective, it definitely does not work. I think it's obvious to everybody here. The point is, that is not what 4e mechanics does. It is the first edition of D&D with reasonably consistent design assumptions and...

For me, the assumed and encouraged playstyle and general setting structure are much more important than mechanical details. Many things listed as crucial in previous posts (eg. 6 attributes) mean near to nothing to me. On the other hand, I'm surprised that many criteria that seem obvious to me...

That's why I suggested, in an earlier post, that HP-equivalent shouldn't be passively lost to attacks - spending them to negate an attack should be defender's choice. In this case, it is possible for the defender to spend HPs and block everything you try to do, but he'll use them up very...

Why would depleting his HP-equivalent "hurt" him? In this model, HPs are a completely abstract defense and have very little to do with injuring someone. Either your charm is powerful enough to take all shopkeeper's HPs and he's charmed or not - and if he's not charmed, then he'll be easier to...

I'm creating a system like the one discussed here. But there is a significant difference: attacks do not "deal HP damage". Each attack has a "danger rating" (usually rolled) and an effect that it applies to the target if it hits. One may pay attack's DR in "determination points" to shrug it off...

For me, the role and importance of balance depends heavily on how the game is designed to be played. Supporting different playstyles requires different design approaches. If the game is focused on overcoming challenges, strict balance is crucial. I want to be challenged in play, not in...