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I don't like the idea of casting the same (or, at least, strongly overlapping) spells using significantly different mechanics. As the spells are something specific in-setting, it leads to questions why it is so - and then one has to either engage in strange explanations and justifications or...

For me, two approaches are acceptable: either tying subclasses strongly to in-fiction roles and archetypes, with mechanics that support it, or moving the fictional side entirely from subclasses to backgrounds and leaving subclasses as purely mechanical constructs. What I don't like is mixing...

I used a modified system for wounds and dying a few years ago, when I ran 3e. It assumed very abstract HPs (that means - no meaningful hits until one goes to zero) and aimed low lethality (but I also removed all resurrection-type spells). It goes like this: You don't track HPs below zero...

Campaigns I run or play in tent to have themes. Some of them emerge spontaneously in play, others are pre-designed. I never prepare the story in advance, but I tell my players in advance what, in general, the campaign will be about. In last campaign, there were three main themes. One was...

If we're asking what makes D&D D&D, as opposed to a different fantasy game, it's about 75% rules and 25% monsters for me. Rules: Combat focus (over 70% of rules are about combat or mainly useful in combat). HPs (and that nobody agrees on what they represent) and no lasting injuries. Rolling d20...

Wall of text incoming. You've been warned. In my experience, a good vs evil framework is not necessary for a long-term play and can, in many cases, be harmful for it. But moral themes, in general, are exactly what one needs. In all campaigns I ran or played in, the following were the major...

1. The first and most important step in solving nearly every game problem is talking with your players - and you probably already know this. The non-obvious part is how exactly to do it. I would probably start by asking what in your campaign players perceive as fun and what they find...

Most games I play are classless. That does not mean that I despise classes. I just don't want them where they obfuscate and restrict, instead of helping. In general, I see classes as useful in three cases: - When there are a few distinct character types in the setting, with separate areas of...

I used to run playtest games in the beginning, but I stopped several months ago. At the beginning, it seemed that WotC is aiming for a light ruleset, with fast combat and more narrative focus (today, I'd call it Dungeon World style). I was really interested in it. While the early packets had...

Not a woman myself, but I played in many games run by women. One of the best one-shots I have played, and the best campaign I have played, were GMed by my wife. My sister also GMs sometimes. One of our female friends used to run games when we were younger. In my experience, female GMs are...

I like how the dice work in Marvel Heroic Roleplaying You build a pool of dice, representing various character traits that affect an action (for example, d8 from Solo affiliation, because you act alone, d8 from "Save children first" distinction, d12 from Supersonic flight and d10 from a...

There is a few games I really like and, as they satisfy different gaming needs for me, it's hard to decide which one is my favorite. If I was forced to choose, I'd probably point to Nobilis. For the setting, for how it handles super-powerful characters, for the projects subsystem. But Exalted...

I did, in my Nobilis campaign. In this system, Powers (PCs and their NPC equivalents) are typically of human origin, but some might have been animals, aliens, objects, places or even non-physical ideas. One family of Powers that my PCs interacted with consisted of three fictional characters...

I really like the idea of equating skills' and spells' usefulness. This would make high-level D&D playable for me. It also made me realize that the biggest problem is not that magic can do things that are impossible without it. It is that players got used to magic that re-frames situations and...

Definitely. It's up to you and your players at which point you "fade to black", but sex itself definitely stays off-screen. Also, because of that, don't introduce sex in the romance too early. Remember that in a romantic plot the tension is the highest just before the first kiss. After you get...

This topic made me realize why I fell in love with Dungeon World. Because this game not only allows me to be a RBGM, it actively encourages it. Each time a player rolls dice, I have to be ready to introduce some complication or unforeseen consequence. And when they roll poorly, I am required to...

It's not survivability that will hurt you, it's action economy. At level 13, you have access to 6th level spells. Even if you buff yourself, whatever you'll do with the sword in a round won't be anywhere near what a single spell would do. If you want to be able to fight in melee as a backup...

While I suffered a burnout once and had to stop GMing for about half a year, it was definitely not because of the style of play you describe. Really, it is easier for me to run a game where players engage in relationships with NPCs and care about what happens to them. Players push forward and...

That's how I would handle that: - No rolls to advance the relationship, if it's honest. If the player puts some effort in pursuing this matter, it should be enough. If it's seduction, then definitely Bluff. - Think why the NPC behaves the way she behaves. What she values, what are her goals and...

I mostly agree. I don't see a problem with sexual themes in RPGs (including art), I just want them to be kept where appropriate. So, give me pictures of characters in armor, in normal clothing, and maybe sometimes in nude ("adventurers bathe sometimes, you know?"). But no "chainmal bikinis"...