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Well... yeah. Extremely specific themes/cultural references aren't going to be done well by any game not including those specific themes and cultural references whether that's 5e, Rolemaster, Traveller, GURPS, Vaeson, Pendragon, or Champions. That said, if all you need is a system for...

Terms like thematic or focused design vs broad or generalist design can, I think, cover the differences in intention by the designers without characterizing a particular design intention as deficient, aimless, or lazy. If we were to use a medical analogy, people usually don't characterize...

Yeah, that's the term that set me off, which is why I asked about examples of what kind of game could be aimlessly created.

It's not a question of special purpose or general purpose tools here. It's the extremely value-laden comparison of intentional vs aimless or the idea that designing a fun game, even if not designing specific purpose tools, could somehow be "aimless" as if it's someone wandering in the wilderness...

Honestly, this kind of thing just tells me that people discussing "specific intentions" vs "creating aimlessly" are incredibly pretentious.

Did he have examples of games "created aimlessly"? Because I have a hard time imagining a game created aimlessly - even original D&D, adapted and cobbled together from about a zillion influences, wasn't exactly "created aimlessly". The aim was creating a reasonably fun game that used mechanics...

D&D, probably 5e due to general ease of running it. I've run 60+ sessions of campaigns before. I have a hard time imagining something well outside the D&D-verse (including PF and other D&D-variations) keeping PCs (mostly) alive and players interested quite as long. D&D is well-suited to doing so...

I don't know that there's any single definition of "modern" TTRPG mechanics that makes sense. I get that narrative tools are all the rage in the way some people look at RPGs in this discussion, but I wouldn't consider narrative-orientation to be a definitive requirement. Rather, I'm more...

Whatever, dud(e). I tried.

I mean, how dare those players go off script, right, and not build up dramatic tension? I guess the solution is to not depend on dramatic tension or narrate the dramatic effects and consequences on the NPCs who all died on the suicide mission while the PC was focused on exerting the force point...

Oh, I'm pretty sure you could break out 1e's cumbersome grappling rules and have yourself some druid Ultimate Surrender action going - for appropriately consenting adults.

The issue here is that a wizard, with the appropriate skills or tool proficiencies, does have that understanding as much as any professional armorer would in D&D terms. Fabricate may be a problematic spell when it comes to D&D simulating an economy if 7th level and higher wizards exist in big...

Same as with my suggestion, it gives the PCs a smaller, regular budget they can understand better (their hit points) while strongly encouraging them to not overspend it.

I think a major risk would be the ability to know what the PC's lifetime budget is from the beginning without necessarily having a sufficiently motivating reason to save those points over time. But then, why are we reinventing a wheel when we've got something already around we can use -...

Jane Goodall, famed chimpanzee researcher and conservationist, has died. https://www.newsweek.com/jane-goddall-dead-conservationist-institute-chimpanzees-latest-updates-10813647

Could be worse. Any of us could have answered enough that it "makes a hard man humble" or the "tough guys tumble". But I suppose that depends on exactly where that inn is.

There are times I think that 3e had the better approach to having two different skills that have this particular conceptual overlap. Spot was for being aware enough of your surroundings to spot lurking and probably imminent threats while Search was for a focused effort to examine things to find...

Recheck the description of the Poisoned Needle. The check to disarm, once found, is listed. That said, the traps section of the DMG is fairly lame in the sense that the traps are very limited. I think the descriptions of how to disarm them is feeding into the idea of declaring an action that a...

Well, considering I started with D&D, I can't downplay the quasi-Satanic rituals. After all, once your soul has been shackled to the Prince of Dorkness, it's kind of hard to shrug that off.

The first time I had ever seen a D&D rulebook include lodging fees was Oriental Adventures. There's a section on Services, Common in the basic equipment and supplies list. 2e's PH also has a Daily Food and Lodging section. I'd lift from that one if you've got it.