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I'd add one more caveat (which doesn't really apply to the original posters question) Some characters have combat focussed Animal Companions as a significant part of what makes them competitive. In those cases you probably want to cut the player a little more slack on the social interactions...

There is a MASSIVE difference between the way that Animal Companions play in 4th edition and other editions. I think this difference also applies to Familiars but I honestly forget. In 4th Edition having an Animal Companion does NOT break the "action economy". The PC either uses actions to...

If NEITHER Pathfinder NOR 4th ed got you to move on then I think most game groups you know of are firmly out of WOTCs target demographic. While I sincerely hope that you're all happy with that I hope even harder that WOTC does NOT try and get you back into the fold as doing so would almost...

If the pet is basically fluff then I just allow it, especially if the pet is acquired in a normal way in play. Basically fluff means that it can definitely still be useful from time to time but it is primarily there to make everybodys time (including the GMs) more fun. I also make it clear to...

I think some of this depends on your players. Some classes and archetypes are more open to extreme mini-maxing than others. As an example, in the hands of a strong power gamer the Synthesist Summoner with all physical stats of 7 who is ALWAYS wearing his "suit" may be an issue. But a Summoner...

I don't think that they have anything that DIRECTLY covers what you're interested in but I highly recommend the Osprey series of books. They have lots covering Roman history (mostly Western but also with a fair bit of Eastern). Depending on how accurate you need to be stealing things from a...

I just had to point out the irony of somebody declaring, in a debate, that the topic being debated isn't debatable. This is very demonstrably false. Several previous publishers of OGL material publicly stated that the GSL was the reason that they weren't supporting 4th ed. What is acceptable...

At least one with a blank side is very valuable. They're more portable and more easily eraseable than battle maps. Beyond that, a couple that cover the kinds of terrain that you're going to use a LOT are valuable. I'm running a city campaign and frequently use the city map. In a wilderness...

Presumably the reason is the open playtest. Hard to do that without announcing the new edition.

I like the balance in Pathfinder. Almost all clerics are good healers (of both hit points and conditions) but there are enough differences in their Domain abilities that clerics of different Gods actually DO feel somewhat different. I play a lot of PFS, though. In that context it is very...

double post

I'm cautiously optimistic. Right now WOTC is making all the right noises. It certainly sounds like they've seriously changed their attitude since the 4th edition launch and that is a very good thing. I'm sceptical that they'll be able to achieve their goals. But I'm willing to approach what...

Youngsters and their newfangled Basic Set :-) :-) :-) Ok, so we have different memories and impressions of games back then. I guess that we'll just have to agree to disagree on this as clearly your personal and anecodatal evidence is exactly as valid as my personal and anecodatal evidence :-).

Were you playing in 1980 odd? I was. I don't (and didn't) have access to any surveys or the like so my opinion is (perforce) based upon my memory of Dragon articles, Dungeon adventures, and what was actually being published for sale (or, at least, the subset available in the VERY good...

I'm genuinely curious. Have you seen the Pathfinder Beginner Box? If you have, how good a job of doing this did they do? I certainly believe that their intent was to pretty much do exactly what you propose above (well, not the technology so much as it was still a printed product)

In my mind the ideal situation would be if 1) 5th edition is sufficiently flexible to mostly unite the D&D base (it absolutely will NOT be able to completely please EVERYBODY.) 2) That WOTC, at a minimum, comes to some deal with Paizo and other significant 3PP so that Paizo can concentrate on...

Actually, it doesn't. There are lots of books of GM advice that point out that there are alternative ways of gaming and that different groups and different people prefer different mixes of the alternatives. And it certainly isn't a matter of space since the addition of one tiny little word "if"...

I am honestly not getting your point. Are you assuming that those of us who are criticizing Wyatt are defending Gygax? I can speak only for myself when I assure you that the former does NOT imply the latter but I suspect that I am not alone in that opinion. Or are you assuming that the state...

I disagree with this. I think that (as AuldGrump pointed out) the addition of a single "if" would have made this very good and valuable advice for that beginning GM. "If the encounter with the guards is not fun then skip it" is absolutely superb advice. I wouldn't even have a problem with...

I should also point out that on more than one occassion something that I (as GM) had put in as "fluff" turned out to be absolutely central to the campaign. Sometimes the players get really invested in something and it is often hard to predict what that will be in advance. When I see my players...