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I'm still waiting for the post informing the rest of that we're only interested in hack & slash, or playing video games on paper. You just know it's coming.

Exactly what stats do you need a monster to have in order to use it in a role-playing encounter? If you're talking about perception skills, they're still in the game. Stealth skills, still in the game. Why does a monster (or any NPC) have to have the same method of construction as a PC? Here's...

Having a GM who is adversarial with his players (and vice versa) is the surest way to ruin a campaign. The GM must be in charge, but shouldn't assume a my way or the highway approach to gaming. It is always important to keep in mind that it is a game, and games should be fun. That seems trite...

I could have written this sentiment myself, but I didn't. Someone beat me to it. I've never liked the term GM fiat myself, because it smacks of the GM doing whatever the heck he wants. IMO this is not a good thing. But the GM who follows the rules that are transparent to the character (I really...

To be fair, I said non-combat information - not non-combat skills. We've been told that monsters will have about a one page write up. The stat blocks we've seen are too small to take up an entire page, unless the game will use extremely large font. We've been given a stat block, not a complete...

Wow! I can't even begin to express how much I disagree with this statement. IMO, a campaign without a storyline is nothing but a series of encounters. The earliest published modules all contained a storyline (even if it were thin and two-dimensional). In every session I run, I weave a minimum a...

I'd never thought of it in the terms stated by the OP, but there is definitely something to it. I always strive for some balance between urban, wilderness and Dungeon adventures in any campaign I run. I had noticed that each had its own flavor and associated tropes and styles. Given the OP...

I have one player like this. Whenever a monster does something out of the ordinary, his response is, "Shouldn't this work like X?" I have to admit that it drives me crazy. In some ways, the default assumptions of 3e tried to replace the traditional GM role with the role of a game facilitator. I...

I agree with this wholeheartedly. I've used many of the monsters on that list in many games. You're welcome to your interpretation of the design presumption for 4e (no matter how full of hyperbole and lacking in factual basis), but this kind of statement just undermines the argument. Moving...

This Ken agrees wholeheartedly with that Ken.

Balance is making sure that PC character classes do not outshine one another consistently, or that monsters of different types but the same level are roughly an equal challenge for the PCs. It has nothing at all to do with making sure that PCs and monsters are balanced with regards to each...

I'll never forget a campaign I was running in the Army back in the late 1980s. Using random treasure generation, I gave the party a +3 Bohemian Ear-Spoon. They carried it around for months (real time) without using it - until they encountered an iron golem. They were really thankful then that...

I voted yes. The next game I run will try them out. Another GM is currently running in our home games. I don't know if he'll want to try them out at this point. [One campaign will likely conclude in one or two playing sessions]. From the post, it seems that the table above is a new core...

I agree completely. I've been in games where the GM insisted that these unsavory details be played out in excruciating detail. They were not games I chose to return to. IMO, PCs are the main characters of the story. Since a good story should be constructed around the PCs (their wants, desires...

When you're (or in this case I) wrong, you're wrong. I could have sworn that the rule about -10 hp had come from a Dragon article, but it is there in black letter on page 82 of the DMG. I don't think that I, or anyone I knew, ever used the rules about long term incapacity.

I would love to see a citation for it being in the 1e DMG. I ran the game for years. I never saw it. I never played BECMI until after 3e came out.

It was not in 1e in any of the rule books. I don't think it was in 2e either. It sounds very much like a house rule.

I never roll for NPCs to stablize unless it is necessary. I've always given them -1 hp per round unless the party (or someone on their side) heals them. It is simulationist enough for my purposes, without a lot of extra die rolling. I imagine that I will do the same in 4e (i.e. assuming that...

I don't know where you guys got these rules. In 1e, 0 hp meant dead.

Why can't a cleric use a per Encounter healing power on an ally outside of combat. If I were GM, I might say that he could only use it once between encounters (just to stop abuse). I certainly wouldn't say that he couldn't heal his friend just because the fighting has stopped. I may be too dense...