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Don’t know any game that really reflects the game-changing aspect of firearms, but I think that’s because game designers make a point not to, to keep melee combat enticing and armour relevant, especially in fantasy. In the first edition of 7th sea, firearms automatically cause drama wounds IIRC...

Definitely feasible. I mean the feature is called "Ability Score Improvement", and the feature's text goes something like "you gain the Ability Score Improvement feat or another feat for which you qualify"; my feeling is that this was the intention from the beginning.

Haha, yes; that’s often my feeling toward D&D! That said, I’m cool with D&D allowing groups to crank it to 11; I just wish the baseline wasn’t that high. The ranger abilities listed in the OP are pretty cool though; high-magic ranger is not my jam, but this is quite colourful. The more I read...

Spellcasting is a good way to quantify and balance abilities that may or may not be supernatural in nature (i.e. hunter’s mark) but I otherwise would prefer a ranger class that doesn’t appear blatantly magical. I would also prefer a D&D game that tunes the “magic level” dial and “everything goes...

True, especially if the alternative is for fighters to swing their sword a few times a day until they run out of swings altogether.

Let see. Vancian Magic is built on three principles: 1) Magic is finite - a wizard can "run out of magic". On that regard we could argue that D&D isn't Vancian anymore with at-will cantrip, but for the most part spells are still counted. This I would try to preserve, either through a system of...

Not gonna lie, I’ve been staring at my screen for the last 5 minutes wondering what the heck did I just watch. It’s like distilled 80s delirium on a high budget and admittedly good production value. …what was the question again?

most snakes are at least somewhat resistant to their own toxins so the gas mask/chemical warfare look is questionable. The fact that they can eat poisonous frogs and newts suggests that they are somewhat immune to that too. Of course if their production of venom and toxins is external (as the...

Improv has a few hard rules such as number of players allowed, a set amount of time, whether the teams mingle or play one after another, which theme(s) and/or genre(s) are imposed, etc. Break any of those and you're disqualified. In addition, players get various penalties for a number of...

While I agree with the essence of your statement, I don’t think it’s obvious to everyone. Mostly because being a GM does not mean the same to everyone, and because the profession and the responsibilities of a director are misunderstood by many. A director and a GM differ mainly and principally...

Failed to see the minus sign! So yeah, that tracks.

Though CATS as the OP describes should happen before character generation, as it will influence what types of characters are allowed/expected, and how they fit with the tones and themes of the game.

No way! Cats jump on the table and knock minis over and throw dice all over the place! But more seriously, I’ve been trying to be more me more upfront about the themes and tones of the games I’m proposing to play, and clear about what I expect from players (and what they expect of me). It’s...

UPDATE: 2024-09-02 here's the latest version in a single document. Star Wars hack of The One Ring RPG Many things were consolidated but not a lot changed over the last few months.

I usually create a short primer of sort, expecting that out our four or five players, only one, maybe two players will read it. It should include at least a map and a bunch of images or visual support. Nevertheless, making a primer is a good exercise to do as a DM as it forces you to distil the...

While I understand and agree with what you mean about GMs who shouldn’t make it about their own story, it is not the director’s task or responsibility to create the story either. It never was. Authors make the story, directors bring it to the screen or to the stage. A GM absolutely is a...

I’m on the fence about this. A gamemaster is not there to guide or direct the players’ acting, so in that sense GM and (movie) directors are very different. But otherwise, framing the action, choosing how NPCs are introduced, choosing how locations and people are described to set an ambiance...

Indeed that seems young... IIRC, as a comparison, a real-life medieval boy could become a page (learning the basics of combat and knighthood) at the age of 7-8 and a squire around 14-15. But even then, a squire was still a few years short of being considered a fully-trained warrior. DL is 1)...

For me, a tactical RPG is one that offers multiple approaches to the same problem, and that depending on the circumstances around that problem, some approaches are more likely to succeed than others. So for a RPG to be tactical... 1) it needs to offer multiple approaches to a single situation...

In the end, I plan not to buy the new edition because: I don't need it. Funny; when I was younger, I was hungry for lots of crunch and bored with lack of options. Now having lots of options bore me out to sleep and find myself hungry for tighter designs. From what I've seen, D&D 2024's...