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When I was running a 3e campaign, we used scaling feats as a way of powering up martial classes and especially fighters. Many fighter feats were changed in such a way that they gave additional bonuses when BAB hit certain thresholds. It solved what we perceived as the biggest problem with...

I don't know any established way of pricing it, but +2 unnamed bonus to spell DC (for all spells you cast, if I understand correctly) is very powerful. About 60-70k gp, IMO. Could be much less if it was limited to, let's say, only spells up to level 3. Immunity to gas spells is nice, but not...

I really like the inherent bonus system. 1. It makes characters much less dependent on equipment. This opens a possibility of opponents stealing PC's stuff, sundering items in combat etc. without the risk of making characters unviable at their level and without having to give them the same or...

For me, it strongly depends on what kind of game it is. RPGs have different focuses, so they reward different things. What one has to care about is having the reward system fit what the game as a whole aims for - otherwise the dissonance will result in frustrated players, rule abuses or both...

If I was running the game, it would be quite easy for the PCs to talk their way in - if they are not 1st level, they should be quite well known locally, and such people should not have any problem with getting an audience with the local ruler. If there was any reason for suspicion (and there...

I cannot give an XP to pemerton at the moment, but I wholeheartedly agree with his line of reasoning here. I approach RPG in very similar way and play with people who do the same. I like putting my players in intense situations, strongly resonating with their PCs, and then letting them address...

I like the backgrounds short and tasty. What I put in my characters' backgrounds and expect from my players: - Important events that caused the character to became who he is or that illustrate his central traits. - Plot seeds to be used; ideas for plots the player would like to see in game. -...

I rarely use paper when preparing my games - a computer gives me much more flexibility in editing text and my notes change a lot between a first concept and a game session. I only use paper when I don't have a computer on hand or using a computer would be too time consuming.

While I know more male than female GMs, I played in a lot of games ran by women. My wife is one of the best GMs I know. My sister and several female friends GM sometimes, though none of them is a "full-time GM".

I disagree. This kind of rule is nearly necessary in each game where the system simulates the setting, because you cannot predict and describe everything what could happen in game and you have to make some simplifications. It is not necessary in games with abstract systems. Even more: this...

It may be too extreme if you only played D&D before, but I suggest you try Polaris. It is strongly focused on story creation and the whole system supports it. Mechanics is focused on ritualized negotiation, with a die roll used only if other approaches fail. There is no tactics, no optimization...

I strongly prefer to have the setting work in reasonable way, with no need for handwaving. It's much easier to immerse in such world and to imagine how things happen there. That is the reason why I strongly prefer Earthdawn and Exalted to D&D: all three use similar tropes, but Earthdawn and...

In my games, I try to keep to a single ethnic type, unless the campaign contains a lot of long-range travel, so that different parts of the game world may be explored. I rather wouldn't mix Asians, Caucasians, Africans and American Indians in a single setting. I don't keep the same...

My main reason for playing RPGs is getting into situations that are impossible, to hard to achieve or too dangerous to get into in real life. In RPG I may interact with alien and exotic cultures, I may explore strange places, I may have to take hard choices, I may act on morality very different...

I suggest widening your horizons and trying something completely different than the games you played. It's very good way to learn how much RPG has to offer. Polaris has already been suggested. It's a GM-less game, based on ritualized negotiation as a resolution system (it's perfectly possible...

What I would do is giving the PCs an opportunity to form attachments - that is what really drives character developement. Don't force them into it, but encourage to care about people and about what happens in town. To do it, one needs three components: - a few NPCs that are distinct enough to be...

I have few physical rpg books and most of them are quite old. I only bought one gaming book in last three years. I have many more pdfs. They are cheaper to buy, don't need storage space, are not in danger of being eaten by my baby daughter and may be easily used by more than one person at the...

If you go with the narrow class approach, you won't create "swordsmen, archer, spear throwers". The classes you described above are clearly defined social groups and you should go the same way with others. Bounty hunters and knights are good examples - they define not only abilities, but also...

I like how it's done in Dogs in the Vineyard: 4 attributes - Acuity, Heart, Body and Will. Traits you name yourself and that may range from things like "I'm big and strong" to "I can shoot a coin from fifty yards" to "I vowed never to kill a human again". Relations with PCs and NPCs. Equipment...

I won't answer the questions stated in the OP, because it would be completely uninformative. I could try to calculate average times we spend on various things - but what is important is that there is a lot of variation. And the variation is not random; it depends strongly on the system used and...