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One option is to look for 'starter sets' that have the basic rules, pregened characters, and a sample adventure that can give you an idea of the game before you buy it.

I ran a game for 7, and I really don't recommend it. But if you insist, here's what I recommend. Speed. With that many players you don't have time to screw around. Players should be thinking about what they want to do on their turn when everyone else is going. If you get to someone and they...

You seem to be implying that 'Immersion' is RightGoodFun and 'Thespian Roleplaying' is WrongBadFun. I see no dichotomy between the two myself. I've never gamed with someone who didn't speak in character, even playing 1e. This style of gaming is foreign to me, but I'm not going to say that...

I always tell people that its like a combination of improvisational theatre and double-entry accounting. Though its totally unhelpful I also find that its the best description I've ever heard. Agreed. I'm all for consequences in a game, but what's wrong with making sure the player knows that...

I suspect Dungeons and Bunnies, a Buffy game I ran at GenCon would count as post-modernist then. The basic story is that a demon looking for vengence uses a spell that creates an alternate dimension based on whatever is around when it is cast. In this case, it hits Anya and Xander's book of...

I really make no distinction, referring to both as a scene. The scene could be a fight, it could be some talking, it could be whatever. Heck, most of the time I don't know what it'll be until it happens. But the point is well made that such encounters aren't really helped by the system much...

Exalted. Its an epic fantasy game. There's some anime inspiration (and artwork) but I see more classic myths and legends in it myself. There's an awful lot of Beowulf, Achilles, and Odysseus in here. In the default game the PCs are Solar Exalted, chosen champions of the Unconquered Sun...

In WoW, there are multiple ways to play the game. You can solo, explore and do quests on your own. You can play multiplayer, grouping with friends to do the same or do 'instances' where you explore a difficult area or dungeon. And there's also PvP, where you fight players from the other...

Might not even be that much. Might be flavor text for 'decided to shoot back'. It says 'immediate counter attack' but then says the Ranger fired on his turn. I don't see this as guaranteeing there's some kind of counterattack ability per se.

I think you make an excellent point. I played a lot of 3.0, but didn't 'upgrade' to 3.5. Why not? Mainly it wasn't different enough. They didn't change enough things. I didn't see any reason to spend $100 on a game when what I already had basically played the same. And I've gotten tired of...

I don't see the designers saying they're going back to AD&D. From what I've read monsters will still have ability scores, feats, skills, and so on. They won't be generated just like a PC. They'll have some simpler rules because adversaries don't need as much detail. I seriously doubt we'll...

Every sentence of background, personality, or concept deducts 1 from your base attack bonus and/or caster level. That'll learn em.

Character. World, Action, and Story are just means to the end of allowing the player to explore and grow the character. I disagree that this involves heavily involving backstory, all you need is a couple of hooks to get you started and then just run with ongoing plot developments.

Personally, I don't like death in games. I don't like introducing replacement characters every time someone gets an unlucky roll. Nor do I like using 'come back from the dead' magic all the time. I do know what the article is saying about dying being as fun as winning. I'd like to see a...

*sigh* I don't bring up Unisystem, other people do. Like just now.

No, I don't think people uninterested in 4e would go back to 1e. I myself became disenchanted with 3e because of the workload and tactical rules. My response was not to look at old versions of D&D, but different games altogether. That way I can have simpler rulesets with more modern mechanics...

I'm not getting into all the GNS theory stuff, as I find the definition of those keep shifting. I love the idea of per encounter abilities. Is it really that hard to explain as a few minutes of rest? If a 3e ability can only be used once every three minutes, isn't that effectively the same as...

Episodic. It makes each game satisfying, and while you can use an overarching plot you still have each night's game as a self-contained story. There might be the occasional to be continued, but most times when we end we are truly at an ending.

No no no. This is not what I, and I'm certain the others on the pro-story side, are talking about. I don't use a screen in any game that I run, I don't usually play at a table and even then I don't like having a barrier between me and the players. Heck, the game I currently run the GM doesn't...

Of course I have no way to know for certain, but I've known entire gaming groups swallowed by WoW. It gives them the experience they want, and they are often still with the same players, all fighting together over Teamspeak. For what you're describing, there are just other games that offer...