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My whole point is kind of that mainstream media now heavily includes dark fantasy in ways that used to be very niche. In the 80s, comic books, D&D, and fantasy in general were all niche. You could pick up The Dark Knight Returns or Watchmen in comics and it was refreshingly dark, or you could...

Yeah, I can sympathize with that, and I know you weren't taking a run or anything. I love the settings and the worlds. Right now I want my fiction to be an escape, not a vehicle for examination. I'm looking for something to have fun with and maybe not be reminded of the world outside my living...

Historically I've been a big fan, too. I did mention upthread that I'm currently playing Warhammer 40k Inquisitor. It just feels overdone at the moment. I want something else. I'm tired of the consistent use of deconstruction to tell stories about how miserable everyone is. Well, there's...

This is one of the biggest issues that I have with dark fantasy, and why it's ultimately just less compelling to me recently. Whether it's purely cynical in nature, or if it's like Warhammer 40k where it's so over-the-top that everyone really is different shades of evil, I just don't find it...

I don't see them as any different. Neither in purpose nor consequence. Drawing a distinction feels like very explicitly saying "this part is a board game, and it does X" and then saying, "this part is story, and it does Y" and not expecting the two to have a united mission.

Upset? No. Disillusioned? Probably. However, many players don't have a positive experience when they learn how the sausage is made. That's why you don't tell them when you reskin an earth elemental as the powered-up form of the kobold priest. And why you don't list all the treasure that the...

I would guess that the reason is that it was also remade and published for 4e D&D in Dungeon #209, released in December 2012. That was a digital-only release, and to facilitate usage on a widescreen laptop, the digital Dungeon PDFs were formatted in landscape. When the map was used again in...

It looks really good. Blizz always had top cutscene talent, and the gameplay I've seen looks decent. I would be really excited to play it. Sadly, like several other posters, I don't think I will. I don't want to support Activision Blizzard, though I don't think less of people who do. I certainly...

Interesting. My original answer was: Cleric Druid Fighter Paladin Ranger Rogue Wizard Revisiting the topic now, I've changed by answer to: Bard Druid Fighter Paladin Ranger Rogue Wizard Dropping Cleric for Bard. I just don't think Clerics have very interesting stories. I'd rather fold them...

That's where I remember it from! Argh I've been trying to puzzle it out. Thank you!

What? WotC just said Dark Sun isn't going to get an update because it has recognized that the culture has changed. They're saying it's too difficult to make it work under the guidelines they just changed to. It's literally an example of a corporation changing.

I've known groups that have used "ring," "circle," or "list" instead of level, so it's confusing to me. I'd prefer something wholly unique like "house," "aspect," "facet," or "principle" instead of "circle."

Reddit, as usual, is vastly over-reacting. However, while I don't agree with their vehemence, I do agree with their tack. Fighter is underwhelming, while Wizard is inexplicably buffed. It looks like KP wants casters stronger and martials weaker, and I think that's a really odd direction to go...

Only working in specific situations is a big part of the issue. The DM shouldn't have to do special work or make narrative decisions to make the mechanics of the game work. The mechanics should support the narratives. We shouldn't have to say, "Well, I need to structure the story this way or...

That still doesn't solve the problem that it just doesn't pass the smell test, though. It's just silly. Every lost, ancient tomb from 10,000 years ago has load-bearing, self-destruct device that goes off in exactly 3 days? The Duke will only task you with arresting or destroying the marauders...

Narrative time pressure doesn't work in every situation, let alone every campaign. It also drastically narrows the kinds of stories you can tell with the game. What happens to downtime activities when everything is under constant pressure? They just never happen. Hope that crafting background...

Firstly, I disagree that D&D requires heroism. At its base, D&D is an RPG for fantasy adventures. They may be heroic; they may be more materially motivated. Nearly all D&D adventures include hooks for PCs that aren't heroic motivations because not all PCs are motivated by heroism. At a metagame...

I think the bigger problem is that PCs recover all their abilities so easily, and they are at maximum effectiveness immediately after a long rest. And there is no mechanical reason to encourage players to progress to the end of the adventuring day. As written, unless there's some peculiarity of...

Interesting. I fully agree with you about Spelljammer making me hit a brick wall in terms of interest, but I was pretty happy with a lot of Tasha's. The custom lineage ended up being too power-gamey for my tastes (several players I know literally never use anything else now) but outside of that...

Asmodeus is typically represented as being the ultimate ruler of the Nine Hells. That would likely mean he has contracts, obligations, and favors that could be called in on any other archdevil. Likely could do the same with several Lawful Evil deities, as well. And fallen angels, demons and...