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You don't know what trolling is. :cool:

On "plot protection" . . . this is where we start to disagree on our views, I think.

HACKMASTER was a 1e/2e hybrid with lots of Kenzer innovations thrown in.

My historical understanding is that the original gaming grognards were historical-wargamers critical of D&D.

@mmadsen I started typing a reply to your last reply to me, but then I saw post 42 and I can say we are pretty much on the same page re: how ac and hit points work and are "supposed" to work.

My "level thinking" is based on AD&D (generally D&D pre-2000). Mostly going by "firepower" and ability (mechanically) to endure hardship compared to "zero level" characters or commoners, characters of about 5th level are of a stature that should make them heroes whose name is known by everyone...

In my opinion, if you apply a "realistic" fantasy world, the level progression only goes to about 5th or 6th level for truly heroic characters, and up to "name" level (9th-10th) for legendary paragons of their class.

I generally agree; however, the strongest (and reasonable) counter argument is that if monsters aren't at least somewhat "naturally biological" then the players cannot apply real world reason to interacting with them which can be problematic. This tension is related to the literary criticism of...

I generally refer to this as the "rules space" earlier D&D has that makes the system flexible to many play-styles and rules tweaks by the participants desiring to "flavor" various aspects of the mechanics to certain ends. I think this fits well with the emergent balance you're talking about.

Read what you just wrote. Why invent a new game-form for combat when you already have one? That's one clue on why D&D grew out of wargaming not as a combat-focused game. The central thing out of war gaming that blossomed into RPG was the referee adjudicating actions that 1) each player could...

This may be a somewhat heretical answer, but I'd rebuild using something like the SIEGE engine from C&C.

The first iteration of D&D had no rules for combat. Players were referred to the Chainmail Man-to-Man combat rules. Similarly, players were referred to Outdoor Survival for wilderness rules.

Sign my name on this post, too.

IIRC, AD&D Barbarians has an effective Charisma to other barbarians equal to Charisma score plus experience level. Something like that could work.

No, but 10th level characters ought to have some fame or infamy attached to their names. A couple battle cries by the party coupled by orc recognition of identifying marks (heraldry, distinctive items, etc.) could trigger a pre-emptive retreat or surrender.* *The PCs might even try to bluff...

Go ahead and sign my name on that one. :) Any game of a complex nature that takes 5 seconds of design consideration will attempt "balance" as a goal. If "balance" is not attempted as a design goal, the game risks being able to be "solved," which is certainly not something desirable in a RPG.

Hey RC, could you just start signing my name at the bottom of your posts? :D I found Morale a useful tool that made combat encounters more "dynamic," from both the foes and the PC's hirelings (the PCs had to at least give a passing nod to doing things to maintain decent morale for their...

Tournament =/= representative game-play

Dungeons, Dragons, and now Gay Sex, NY Times article about Dragon Age Origins

I've personally never encountered anything like this despite having played with some who were not very "deep" into the role immersion aspect. Several needed help choosing a name, and were very receptive to the suggestions offered by other players. In the event that a player deliberately did not...