Search results

In my world, I build sandboxes for ranges of levels. So start out we have some sort of base, and then there are tons of adventure locations all around that base. Players explore and discover what they want. There are NPCs (Good, Evil, and everything in between) who have agendas for the area...

In the real world there are only humans and they lean slightly evil. I don't equate fantasy "races" with real world ethnicities. There is only one race in this world. It's human. So why is a fantasy world with good, evil, and neutral bents all that troublesome. It is the default...

Can you tell me why? What does it limit me from doing? How does it affect players?

I am the opposite. I tend to think Gygax's idea that most everyone is 0 level except for an exception few doesn't make sense at all. This is one area I departed from this thinking. I will add though that even he didn't live up to this idea with any real sense of success. For me, up to...

I tend to have my stuff ready or at least a good selection for the level so the players engage with what is happening in the environment. I wouldn't call them mini-railroads (or subways) unless you call turn order a mini-railroad. My players can genuinely opt out at any time and other things...

I always considered racial alignment as a broad indicator and not an absolute. Perhaps that is based on a combination of culture and biology. So my players absolutely would consider an Orc or Hobgoblin an enemy on site if they were out "in the wild" but if they encountered one in a big city...

The key to something being or not being a railroad is players choose and there are options. If you have one adventure, then it's a railroad right from the get go. Now, when I say one adventure, I say one single approach. A good example of not being a railroad is the Keep on the Borderlands...

In my recent campaign, elves were immortal. They could be killed but they wouldn't age naturally beyond a certain point. Kind of like Tolkien elves. I portrayed them as almost infertile by our standards. When a child was born the news spread across an entire land. With the level of violence...

I think any adventure path is a railroad. The plan is for you to finish module #1 and go on to module #2. You might deviate off the beat path some but inevitably you end up back on the path. Now that is fine if the group is motivated to pursue the mission. Personally, I don't care for fast...

Lego Sandbox is sandbox. Open is improv. I'll only add a few nuances. The buffet is broad and not every group partakes of every possible option.

I think a great book was Arbiter of Worlds. It covered the essentials of what a DM wanting to run an old school sandbox campaign should know. I am in the fairly big design camp up front camp. (At least by modern standards).

I have to confess that I consume rules systems like potato chips. I don't play everything I read. I do like to see how different people do things.

I got value from it but not as much as Ptolus. I'm never bound to what is put there as a DM but I like having something there when I don't want to make it myself. I do my own creations this way myself. I'm already good on creating theme and flavor. I tend to need details fleshed out.

I like a map, which is why to me Ptolus has no equal, but I thought Sharn added a lot of good info that could be useful.

I believe Star Fleet Battles paid the Star Trek people something for what they do. Whether a license or just a one time payment, I don't know. It's not just a game looking like Star Trek and getting away with it. I think the situation is akin to the situation that allowed Never Say Never...

I think every edition has it's flaws and strengths. I played the first four editions. 1e: General Playstyle was a strength but mechanics were pretty much spaghetti. 2e: Lots of worlds and supplements but lots of garbage in the mix. Also rules were not spaghetti but maybe lasagna. 3e: Lots of...

This could have been written by me. The prospectus is perhaps the most important first step in any campaign. Even if you are following only the official rules, your interpretations should be listed if there is any debate. I haven't been as lucky but I weaned my players away from that way of...

Daggerheart is not my style of game but I'm not surprised Perkins has ended up there.

I think an easier and better way of handling the vast number of races in the D&D world would have been to say that alignment assigned to that race is it's typical expression and that this does not determine any individuals viewpoint. This had been my viewpoint in 1988. I never thought all orcs...

I ran a several long 1e campaigns and one that transitions to 2e. I was in college during that time so my game tailed off a bit. I played some after graduation. When 3e came along, I played another long campaign. For me a long campaign is at least three years but mine were much longer. I...