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Um, if "detail be damned", you already have the answer: forget the details. Don't write out statblocks for your NPCs, just figure out class(es) and levels, and thus approximate saves, BAB, max skills, etc. And that's it.

So... What you're saying is that there is at least one good piece of art in the new books.

You get a cool cybernetic replacement body that can totally kick anybody's ass (and looks cooler than a ninja and comes with a bonus Deep Voice), and way more mystical power than you had before? Sign me up! ;)

Setting and scenario are only loosely coupled. That is, a given setting might support multiple scenarios, and a given scenario might fit multiple settings. And "core story" is really just a special term for the super-simplified structure of a scenario, which is intended to be in many, most, or...

But gameplay at the mechanical level is mostly-distinct from gameplay at the "core story" level. That is, while the mechanics can favor certain activities, which in turn favor certain core stories, it's merely a favoring, not a necessary thing. In particular, a setting can at least attempt to...

Yeah, but you can constrain "competitor" somewhat narrowly, and still be ethical. So, if you wrote Elements of Magic [i can't keep screen names and real names straight, and don't feel like looking up to confirm right now], don't write a review of someone else's new magic system--maybe even steer...

I think that's a reasonable interpretation of the label. But i'd say that the first part (what you label the "Indy part") is stock D&D, too. Stated the way you do, i'd say the only part that is a deviation from standard D&D is the "unsure of who their enemies truly are" bit. And, IMHO, the...

Yeah, i over-reacted. But this meme needs to be nipped in the bud, because it only makes things harder for non-D20 System open-content-RPG publishers. How do i tell you my game is OGL, without you presuming that that means D20 System and thus being burned when you find out it isn't? Especially...

Where do drow/Lolth come up in the Al-Qadim stuff? [just curious]

And, it seems to me that it's quite possible that, whether they thought of it in these terms or not, that was what WotC had in mind: multiple, equally-valid, core stories. While Eberron doesn't appeal to me, it still appeals to me way more than FR. Part of that is that i don't much care for the...

"Lloth" (1) is too easy to pronounce by English-speakers and (2) sounds too close to "loath". I'll stick with "Lolth". [Doubly so since the thread referenced at the start of this poll is the first i'd ever heard of any other "correct" spelling, so i'm not about to override 20 years of habit.]...

Well, if you're gonna presume sexuality enters into it, and it isn't a purely gender-determined bizarre magical power, shouldn't gay female characters be affected by nymphs?

Those aren't houserules. That's the way it's always been--it's not our fault that WotC's wrong. :p

Robin's Laws is a 16-32p digest-sized paperback, and the easiest read in an RPG book i've ever seen. Uncle Figgy's guides are each 10-12 webpages. All 3 of those are something you read once to get a feel for the job, and then refer back to when you have problems. The DM's Design Kit is a book of...

You know, i might buy that. I was one of those who never accepted the outer-planes-for-low-level-chars thing, and just couldn't get past that in order to give Planescape a proper chance. Return them to the high-level-only setting, and i'll check it out.

Are you sure? I was pretty certain that FR consistently used "Lolth". Drow of the Underdark definitely does. [I don't think i have anything else to check.]

That's true. I guess partly it's just a matter of semantics: if an "easy" lock were DC10, but the only ones that actually came up were DC20+ (because who bothers to put a lock less secure than that on something? and why make the players roll for a DC10 lock?), i think it'd work better for me...

It is, and it isn't--look at all the horror stories of bad GMs. Now, i suspect that, even in aperfect world, some of that is inevitable: you have to be a beginner at some point. But, the fact that people can learn to GM with D&D is not counter-evidence to the claim that they could learn...

It's not just you, you just got the privilege of being quoted, but: It's "Lolth", folks, not "Lloth".

Actually, *did* sue them. But not until `91.