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I think that alignments could work towards encouraging and strengthening archetypes, as races and classes do. I have seen them used this way - as inspirations, not straightjackets. The problem is with the technical side. Alignments suffer from poor connection with the rest of the rules...

It's probably not entirely justified, but when I read "morally grey", I expect something dull. A game where both true heroism and true villainy is discouraged, where the characters rarely if ever have moral motivations, where everybody is a cynic. And that is the exact opposite to what I want...

Actively bad, disruptive GM is worse than a disruptive player, if only because you can't play most games without a GM, but in most cases you can with one less player. So if a honest conversation doesn't help, you may stop inviting them. But a mediocre player, in my opinion, is worse than a...

4e is definitely lower prep than earlier editions of D&D, in my experience. You need much less time for creating NPCs and monsters, and much less care in make sure that your adventure is playable and fun. That being said, there are other games that require much less prep, and let players handle...

I used to search for "One True System", but I stopped some time ago. And it's not because I became disappointed with existing games and decided that none will be perfect. Quite the opposite. I found several games that I like very much. Games so good that I have no idea how to significantly...

Favorite (in 4e and Pathfinder): Paladin Very flavorful, tied into the setting by the paladin code Strong hooks for roleplaying and the mechanics to support it (high charisma, fear resistance, challenges etc.) Mechanically strong at what he does Least favorite: Cleric Pushed into the healer...

It really depends on what the game is about, what kind of stories it is designed to tell. In stereotypical, Tolkien-derived fantasy that D&D used for years, humans are present and typically important for the setting. But it's definitely not the only type of fantasy worth exploring. Use humans...

1. Craft the campaign to the characters. Before you plan anything more than a single session, ask your players what they are interested in doing and have them define motivations, goals and weaknesses for their characters. Then, use this knowledge to create situations that directly engage the...

I prefer PDFs to physical books, for several reasons. 1. PDFs are cheaper. And when I count shipping (I live in Poland), they are much, much cheaper. 2. Well-made PDFs are easy to search and to check for references (bookmarks, links, full-text search). 3. I don't have enough space to keep a...

I usually play games where character relations, motivations, goals, beliefs or something similar are an important part of character creation. We start by creating characters, so when I begin planning the game, I already have character sheets at hand. I draw a mind map, with PCs as central nodes...

What do we mean by "arbitrarily"? The GM makes a lot of things up. If it wasn't the case, everything would have to be pre-planned, and that is just impossible to do. So the question is what guides the ideas the GM introduces. The GM may make up something that follows from fiction (whatever...

Published settings, modified in some places, but in major part based on books. On the other hand, I never use published adventures, I always create my own. This leaves me at the middle of the scale, I think.

I like RPGs in general. There are several systems and settings I love, and I'm willing to try new ones when possible. I run and play many one-shots. We also do some campaigns, but they typically take a few months to year and a half, not several years. D&D is not high on my list of...

I actively avoid games where wealth gives mechanically represented personal power (through better equipment, buyable magic items etc.). Wealth may be a useful tool and a motivation for characters, but it has different uses. It gives you influence, it gives you allies, it lets you act on a...

Excrucians are beings from outside the world that want to destroy it, idea by idea, by proving it's self-contradictory, so obviously false. Actuals are manifestations of hubris: results of trying to use miractes to control powers greater than one's own. They tend to replicate and infect, like a...

If we're not limited to D&D, I'll borrow a lot of monsters and spells (with a wide definition of "spell") from other games. I have no idea where they'll fall on level scale, though. Monsters Excrucians (Nobilis) Actuals (Nobilis) Kandra (Mistborn) Steel Inquisitors (Mistborn) Raksha (Exalted)...

I advise against performing a survey. It encourages players to define their preferences separately and become invested in their preferences. What will you do if the results are significantly divergent? A better approach is filling a questionnaire together, finding the common preferences and...

My favorite version of D&D is 4e. If it was suddenly destroyed, I probably wouldn't care much. While it is my favorite D&D, it's far from being my favorite RPG. The loss of a game would be compensated by improved tone of many discussions on RPG fora. My favorite D&D-like game is Dungeon World...

1. Words are stronger than blades In a climax of a recent campaign, we removed an evil, immortal emperor that ruled the world for several hundred years. And we did it by peacefully (ok, reasonably peacefully) persuading him that it's the best thing he can do. Of course, it wouldn't be possible...

I generally assume that character knowledge is separate from player knowledge, but player knowledge may (and sometimes should) affect the actions taken in character. For example, we often roleplay secret meetings and similar matters at the table, with other players listening. If there are fun...