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When designing combat rules, it's good to ask yourself "Why am I doing it this way? How does it help achieve my goals?". That's because it is the part of the system most plagued by unnecessary and unreasonable assumptions. You don't have to do something just because it's done this way in other...

I've run it. Not a lot - for now, only two sessions of DW and one of another game using the same engine. But my experiences are quite different than Sanglorian's. I find DW very easy to run. It requires nearly no prep and not that much work during play. I have fronts, a basic sketch of the...

0: - Dazzling - Stabilize 1: - Ability Damage (1 point) - This definitely scales in level with amount of damage done and d6 would be 2nd at least. - Checked - Deafening - A minor complication only. - Entangling - Fatigued - Shaken - Sickened 2: - Confusion - Exhausted - Fascinated - Flat-Footed...

I think that taking away bonus slots from primary casters is a good step towards balance. Of course, it makes them weaker, but they stay at the top anyway. As a player, I wouldn't argue against it. I would ask for some kind of compensation, though - something that boosts casters at lowest...

I would design the spheres first and then choose or create spells to fill them. Probably, a lot of sacred cows would die in the process - but I think it's a much better approach than taking an existing spell list and trying to divide them somehow into more-or-less balanced categories. Also, the...

Is the service pledged to a deity exclusive, or is it possible to get favors from many gods at the same time? IMO it would be fun if it was possible - as long as the character can satisfy the requirements, they can benefit from many gods' powers. After all, shouldn't a sea-travelling merchant...

I'm afraid I don't agree with the title, neither in total nor in parts. And, thus, also with most of the article. There is no point in designing a game to be unfun. Everything that gets in the way of fun is an issue to be solved. But there are many different types of fun that players may pursue...

For me, it really depends on how a "random encounter" is handled in play. If it's not really meaningful - that is, the story proceeds the same way with the encounter as it would without it - than one is too many for me. It's just a waste of time and effort in dice rolling that doesn't enrich...

Sometimes the hard part is deciding what really is right and wrong. For me, that's the most fun type of dilemmas. If a minor misunderstanding gradually escalated until is caused bloodshed, which side is guilty for that? Maybe neither, or both? If an old villain that was never defeated and went...

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I like the idea of leveling races - specifically because it allows for improving racial characteristics without detracting from other aspects of character development. Racial feats in 4e didn't give this effect. I wouldn't mix favored classes into this. You have class levels anyway. Racial...

Some other initiative systems: 1. In Mistborn Adventure Game, each round players declare actions from lowest Wits to highest; then, actions are resolved from highest action pool to lowest (action pool depends on the action you're trying to perform). 2. In Exalted, you don't have rounds, you...

I love the racial abilities that are useful out of combat. They help make the character unique much more than combat ones, they often fuel roleplaying and (from the DM's side of table) they shape racial cultures. For this reason, eladrins and changelings are my favorite races and I really like...

You are definitely right when you point out that game design is more about psychology than math and that equivalent mechanics may give players a completely different "feeling". Getting the math right and the feeling wrong is a failure. Getting the feeling right and the math wrong is often...

1. What is the "arcane energy" in your model? Where does it come from? If it's easy to get and channel in big amounts, the most popular spells will be telekinetic and explosive effects. They require energy, but not much finesse. If energy is hard to get, detection spells become popular, as...

I would prefer complete decoupling of significant injury from HPs. You recover full HPs during a short (5-15 minutes) rest. You are bloodied at half HPs. Getting bloodied gives you a minor injury. You are knocked unconscious at zero HPs. It gives you a major injury unless the attack was a...

I don't have a preference for armor as AC or armor as DR. DR fits some games better, AC fits others. And in some games, the best implementation of armor is adding to HPs, negating a single hit every combat or something else entirely. For me, it's not really what armor does, but how it...

I don't have a "favorite" edition, but I know and like 3e and 4e. From 3e, I don't want: - Unrestricted multiclassing that encourages "dipping" and pre-designing character advancement - Save-or-dies, polymorph and general domination of casters - Rogues that can't really do anything useful after...

Two more fun non-D&D games: Dogs in the Vineyard You play a group of armed teenagers with a mission from God. You visit various towns where the Faithful live to straighten their ways and help them solve their problems. It may seem simple at the beginning - after all, you have training, you have...

Dungeon World has even smaller area of customization (you only select race, class, alignment and abilities at 1st, then a single "move"/special ability every time you level up) and is very fun. Race, class, background and specialty is definitely enough for me. I need interesting choices and...