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Hey Barsoomcore, just need to make one side point: Video game design such that fufilling events that weren't designed into the system can happen is one of the lofty ideals of game design. Games might not be there yet, but they're getting ever closer. It's harder in RPG's and story based games...

This time around, it's writing. I got an idea from the peole playing of what they wanted to play as, then wrote up a couple of pages of backstory for each one. It did a lot towards grounding the players in the game. I also offer XP for character theme songs. It gives me something to listen to...

I'll do so when you do. Games aren't art? I don't know about you, but half the fun is tapping into my literary and dramatic background to make the games more interesting. And I know all of the people who were/are into theater that I play with feel the same way. It sure as **** might not be...

Well, to start with, treat them with some respect. Then, after that, you need to get off your high horse and realize that in some ways Exalted is better than D20. It might not be better all the time, it might not be better in all ways. But it does have things that it does better than D20. And...

Can I join in? I was thinking I was the only quiet Exalted fan out here.

Of course, there's videogamey players, videogamey DM's, and videogamey games. All of which have different syndromes and things they add to the video aspect of it. Mostly though, video games are close enough in expierence and goal that concepts from them migrate more easily then those from books...

Allright, real quick now: There's a tendancy for some of the bad things that happen with my players to be Videogamey in description. This is where: 1. They want a large storyline with lots of character interaction, dialog, and events that work around their characters without having to do any...

Ok, let me see if I get the starting point here. There's a method of presenting things, referred to as an academic plague, where someone puts effort into making a presentation seem more complex, or harder to understand, than it really is. And wow, trying to clarify that just made it...

Depends on the game really. In my military based game, there were Fabricators who made higher quality items for officers. Eventually, the players would be able to requisition potions, and as a reward get so many hours of a fabricator's time. In my current game, there's a pretty big business in...

The number of house-rules becomes problematic when the system begins to deform in an inapproprate way. Or when I say it does. Seriously though, I tend to find that I have problems with house-rules mostly when they're unbalancing to the system as a whole, or covering a 'flaw' that doesn't really...

It can, and I don't think anyone would say anything otherwise. However mindflayers sprouting wings in response to your wizard casting fly on the party is less cool. And if you give goblins 50 HP, I hope that you're not expecting them to remain a low CR monster anymore. :) Now, mind you, I did...

Allow me to be the sour voice of caution here. 3.x is good for adlibbing in that there are standard values for the difficulites of a great many things (climbing, jumping, just about any skill check). The problem comes up as a bit of a trust and control issue. I found that in games where there...

Ah, see, for me the trick is to have more rolls going on, so it doesn't feel like the chase is dependant on failing or making one roll. On something like grabbing the ledge, slowing a fall (and avoiding death) would be a low roll (ie: 5 or so), grabbing the ledge would be in the 7-10 range. The...

Talk in a really excited voice. Also, make sure that, if they fail a roll, you give them a chance to make it up with another. "Oh, you jump across the gap between the buildings, legs windmilling but you're not going to make it. Quick! Make a reflex save to grab the windowsill." Generally...

Well, I need to leave for work in minutes, so I'll make this quick. I don't like being bad at things. For me, low stats inherently do that. And I don't want to be dumb, oblivious, unlikable, weak, sickly, or clumsy. Typically, none of those attributes fit into a character when I'm generating...

Well, I feel sort of plain in my ideas now, but I guess that's ok. I like the idea of a ranger that follows that whole dual wield path, and uses an enhanced buckler to make offhand attacks. I just like shieldbashes I guess. The second is one of those quietly, stubbornly LG guys who wanders from...

Hey there ForceUser! I know the feeling. There isn't much worse than when my party does something that is just incredibly bone-headed. Except for the situations where we disagree about the level of bone-headeness and arguements break out. So, I've been in your shoes on a couple of occasions...

I find that I have a lot of problems with this as a DM. Most of my group can't come up with character backgrounds very well. The one who is good at developing background tends to always play at cross-purposes to the game, and creates backgrounds that are variations of "I'm an orphan without any...

That's a pretty cool idea for a game, Glass Jaw. My next game is going to be somewhere between a modern version of the Legend of Zelda games and Raiders of the Lost Arc. There are a set of powerful artifacts, used to battle evil, a cult surrounding them, and the hidden forces of evil on the...

I've spent quite a bit of time creating games. I have a pretty good sampling of them tucked away in notebooks somewhere. The most successful one I made was during highschool. After a couple of weeks of thought, it was put together during a weekend and refined the next week in playtests. The...