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Ferratus, I tried to give you xp as well, but it appears you were among the last couple I gave it to. I agree with a lot of what Farratus says, especially about 4e describing things in a way other editions of D&D haven't, but many other modern game systems do. I think a lot of the problems...

On a more serious note, for me, optimization isn't creating the most powerful character in a vacuum. If it was, all fighters, all wizards, etc., would all look exactly the same. Optimization is utilizing the ruleset to its fullest to bring your concept to life and make it a viable concept that...

I think I've been convinced to always optimize. All characters can be roleplayed. I can roleplay an optimized character or I can roleplay an unoptimized character. An optimized character is mechanically superior to an unoptimized character. Therefore, roleplaying an optimized character is...

In addition to 4e, my groups is diving into Savage Worlds and I love their initiative mechanic. It's a set of regular playing cards with the jokers. Each PC and the monsters (however the GM feels like grouping them or dividing them) gets a card, count is from Ace high down to Deuce. A Joker...

I love to houserule and tweak. I've not done a lot with 4e yet, mostly brought over some of my favorite bits from before. I will eventually redo the XP system. I like simple XP that requires no book consultation and no math. In 3e I used a 40 pt/lvl system. 13 encounters to a level they...

Ok, here's why things seem "samey" to some. You roll up a 1st level fighter. You pick a race with a +2 to Str, put an 18 in the stat, and pick a dump stat for your 8. You choose a couple of skills, a couple of feats. You pick out a couple of weapons, some armor, and gear. Then you fiddle...

No, they aren't. You are playing a role within a story. How that story is "written" varies a great deal. DM plot, player choice, shared creation, after the fact; but in it, the player's are playing roles. There are a number of metagame elements within any RPG. A collaborative act of...

This is really neat. I've been working on something similar for an upcoming game. This game doesn't have much background to go through, and is episodic in nature, so I am planning to do an opening credits ppt, set to music, showing the PCs as the stars and featuring images of villains and side...

I'm ordering some Gaming Paper to keep on hand to draw out both specific sites that will be used over and over (like interiors of the PCs spaceship in my Savage Worlds Firefly game) and to draw several generic locations (dense wood, city street, etc.) to keep on hand for quick encounters. My...

I miss and don't miss the wildly different class rules of older editions (thieves use % skill rolls, wha?). I miss the flavor and even some of the system mastery (not the 3e variety, headaches, but old school), but I don't miss the way things played out at the table because of those different...

What you describe here is my players. Most of them were at one time, in their youth, hardcore players, but they have turned casual in their old age. The group I have now got together around 2000, although a couple of us have been gaming together since the 70s. I DM the game, I am the only one...

A friend of mine, years ago, was betrayed by his lucky d20, so he crushed it into powder in a mortal & pestle, poured it into his Mt. Dew and drank it in front of his other dice. One of the crazier things I've seen. D&D related at least. That story even won me a set of dice from a contest...

I read this entire thread in one sitting and now hate you all. I am going to bed. Goodnight, sirs. I said goodnight!

Paranoia, but it was more the GM than the system/world, I think. Our GM was a terrible DM, so much so others DMed so he wouldn't. Unimaginative, boring, etc. But the first time he assumed the role of the Computer, everything clicked and he was incredible. The games were crazy and lived up to...

Yeah, I think it's more the Gnosticism, which is so central to the Matrix. And it would be Wachowski siblings now. :)

Greywulf, the blogger, ran a 4e as OD&D game for his group some time ago and wrote about on his blog. Here's a link to part 1: Like it’s 1981 all over again, part one | Greywulf's Lair

Translation: some kind of resource management (so no resource management). Doesn't make much sense, does it? Powers, healing surges, etc., are resources and require management.

Odd that you would include a few items that aren't a part of most editions of D&D, like cleric domains and skill ranks. Kind of hard for those to be sacred cows when they weren't in the game for three or four editions.

I'm having fun watching the RPG bloggers network. The grognardosphere is all in a tizzy because 4e won awards. It's amusing to watch. Paizo has almost sold me on at least getting the .pdf for a look. And I agree, their success is great and will keep WotC on their toes.

That's not quite what I am saying, though. I said that design, whether a retroclone or the official line, is informed by a wealth of experience and knowledge from decades of real world play. The advancement comes not from making the decisions (so one is "better" than the other) but from being...