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Optimizing for support is a great approach and something I do very often. This way, I can make others shine instead of overshadowing them - and at the same time know that it's me winning the fights. ;) Another useful thing is helping other people create their characters (of course, if they want...

I like optimizing and, in general, playing with mechanics. If various options available in a system gave no mechanical benefits, I would ask why are they even here. Just give the setting information and let the players describe their characters based on that, without listing mechanical items...

It's not about this specific example, but a general approach. The narrow interpretation is unlikely to unbalance things (assuming the system in itself is well thought-out). The generous interpretation may easily introduce unintended consequences and go against the game author's assumptions...

In some systems, players can create dramatic contrivances too. That only requires giving them a metagame tool for it (or just a GM open to player's authorial input). An example from the Exalted campaign I'm currently running: PCs are in a city of Nexus, which is guarded by a powerful and...

Among systems I have some experience with, the following seem to handle fencing in the most satisfying way: - Exalted 3e. Initiative is not only a measure who goes first, but also a measure of general advantage in combat; you gain it through successful fighting maneuvers (so called "withering...

Probably the simplest thing you can do is keeping D&D5, but changing rest and XP rules. Remove combat XP entirely, give XP for achieving story goals; make a short rest take a whole night and a long rest a week in a friendly location, including at least one party. That's not a perfect solution...

When I ran a campaign using D&D 3e, most of the encounters were in quite narrow range of difficulty. The difference between a trivial fight and a TPK was small and balancing between these extremes was exhausting. I definitely don't plan on running this kind of game again. Currently I run a...

Somewhere between option 1 and 2. I imagine other players' characters in more detail than a two-word description, but I rarely if ever think about someone's eye shape or similar minor traits. In most cases, people who I play with either use a picture/photo to visualize their character or...

If magic is relatively common and known in your setting, psionics fit the role of something strange and unnatural. If you want something darker and more vile, add to it some body horror. The dragon wasn't charmed - it was infested with a brain parasite. The soldiers weren't just killed - their...

I am male and while I typically play male characters, about one in five is female. Roleplaying females is quite normal for me, as I GM a lot and half of the NPCs are female. From my point of view female characters are similar to characters that differ from me in race, religion, social class...

It's hard for me to answer the poll because each of the answers without the other feels empty for me. Being able to do things but not having good reasons for taking actions nor values that can get me into interesting conflicts is not fun. Playing a character with goals and relations but no...

While I played a lot of fantasy games, I wouldn't want to return to most of them (at least for the games themselves - only a few were bad enough that I wouldn't play them even if it was the only opportunity to play with a fun group). Anyway, there are some fantasy games that I played recently...

Have you seen Strike? It's a game that hit the sweet spot for me at exactly what the OP is trying to achieve. It has 4e-like tactical combat, but is much lighter mechanically in general, has nearly no numeric pluses and minuses, but at the same time has as much (if no more) depth than 4e. It...

I definitely tailor my adventures to my PCs - but, like pemerton, more in the sense of themes and motivations than difficulty of encounters. As for difficulty, it varies wildly and I don't try to keep them "balanced". But the ruleset I use is good at handling it. On one hand, it has nonlethal...

The article very well characterizes the two main kinds of literary sources that fantasy is built on. The contrast between them definitely gives some food for thought. On the other hand, I think the article misses the point when it comes to translating it into what happens in game. The...

I've run or played games: - In train and bus, during long travels - In conference room at my office, after work hours - In a park, with people walking by - During a trek in a forest (this one required some creativity with handling character sheets and randomizers)

Having a player tell you openly that they don't enjoy the game is a good thing. It allows you to ask them for more detailed feedback and tailor the game more to their needs. That's the way to improving your GMing. A few things to remember: - It's better to ask than to assume you know what they...

Last time I've seen starting gold was in a Pathfinder game, 4 or 5 years ago. Nowadays, we play Urban Shadows, Exalted, Nobilis and various Fate-based games. No "starting gold" (or equivalent) in any of them.

The most interesting single power in D&D4 was, for me, the Fey Step. Not because of its tactical uses (although it had many), but because of its world-building potential. It significantly changed how the whole race interacted with the world and it was a great fun to explore in play. In...

I'd add one more criterion to "rules heavy": having players manage many different resources. If you need three or more types of tokens, the rules are complicated. For example, Strike! would be in the rules-medium category (no need to reference books during play, all rules you need are on...