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It gets a little fraught and detailed: I ended up changing a bunch of elements across the full game. The martial characters get the equivalent of non-magical invocations that they can choose. These provide bonuses like extra movement, extra skills, bonuses of certain checks (like with...

What kind of problem do we have? Kick-down the door dungeon crawls exist and are a valid way to play the game. If neither the DM or the player want to create a lot of setting elements, that is what you would get, and for DMs/players who don’t want to create a lot of setting elements, it...

In my home game, I made rangers and paladins non-casters, and bards half-casters. You end up with 6 non-casting classes, 2 half-casters (including artificers)and 5 fullcasters.

Following up with the natural question, did the fact that the powergamer created beneficial NPCs stymie your efforts to challenge the party? It seems to me threatening the relationships the players’ created (especially the powergamer) makes it easier rather than harder to challenge the...

That party was: Tabaxi rogue arcane trickster Tiefling Pact of the Chain Genie Warlock Human Pact of the Blade GOO Warlock Human Circle of the Moon Druid We had another party: Tabaxi Pact of the blade Celestial Warlock Fire Genasi Battlesmith Artificer; Water Genasi Evocation Wizard; Elf...

Our parties virtually always have a rogue. On occasion, the rogue was the sole non-caster.

And default classes.

Would you characterize the DM as having world-bending power? I don’t think you would, since « world-bending power » suggests a pre-existing world to bend. If certain elements of the world aren’t established: who is in the bar? Are they wearing a hat? then it isn’t world-bending to establish...

Let’s explain this a slightly different way. My barbarian has just found out that his detested cousin has taken advantage of his absence to usurp his position. He enters a bar looking to let off steam. The DM briefly describes the bar. Large mirror, wood panelling, halfling barman on a...

Inigo Montoya in the Princess Bride. Axl Foley in Beverly Hills Cop Edmond Dantes in Count of Monte Cristo (depends on the adaptation) Col Mortimer in a Few Dollars More. John Wick in the original John Wick Oberon Martell in Game of Thrones Greed is a common motivation for RPG characters. In...

I think it is something a bit different. Horseshoe theory is when extreme positions tend to overlap. I think it is more like convergent evolution. Different ways of solving the same problem.

Hamlet? Terrible! Count of Monte Cristo? What a whiner! Moby Dick. For a few dollars more. Cask of Amontillado. Most operas. But no, greed is more justified as a character motivation.

I do appreciate the irony that for all the classic players and the neo-trads tend to dunk on each other, their playstyles tend to resemble each other’s more than either resembles the 3e AP-heavy playstyle. Both: tend to heavily look down on fudging dice rolls; agree that the adventure is...

I just don’t think that « having control of the setting » is or should be an important part of the draw when I DM.

I think even the most player-side posters are fine with DMs making a spot ruling in order to avoid slowing down the game, so long as the issue gets a fair hearing afterwards. To emphasize, I don’t even think this is controversial: it’s the same approach when a rule is forgotten.

I like your point, but is it possible to somehow blame the younger generation for this change? 😀

I don’t see how to interpret this other than « if I as a DM don’t get final say in everything, I’m a slave to my players ». Which seems to reinforce @EzekielRaiden ‘s point about DM unreasonableness (#notallDMs).

The world is less spiteful and miserable than one where the guards stab you immediately after you walk up to the front gate and politely ask for an audience with the king.

« Spite rectangle ». Chef’s kiss. No notes.

Let’s go back to the Wookie Jedi example. Though some posters have suggested that there are Wookie Jedi in canon, for the purposes of the example, I’ll assume that Wookie are weak in the force and can’t be Jedi. If a DM pitches a Star Wars game and a player wants to only play a Wookie Jedi and...