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That series is probably my all-time favorite of the old modules that I actually ran. I'm still not sure why, either. When I look at it logically, I don't see anything in particular that really sticks out. Yet the whole thing just seems to fit together so well. Very much a "sum is greater...

For me, elegance in design is covering the most relevant ground with the least amount of fuss. If the problem space is simple enough, the simple solution is neither elegant nor inelegant, but merely appropriately simple. Whereas something that is going to cover a set of ground, no matter what...

I'd say this issue has nothing to do with combat whatsoever, or at least not a causal factor. In fact, I'd say the correlation runs the other way. To wit, if you run the following thought experiment, I think 4E has a higher floor but lower ceiling. Give 100 late teen/early 20's groups the 3E...

I think it's two things, really, though lately this particular statement has morphed into almost pure "goad": An example of how people (i.e. all of us) use imprecise language, made even more so without face-to-face interaction, sometimes trying to get to an idea. It's the nature of the...

Yes, though those thoughts are a bit muddy right now. It's the reason why I bolded the "for XP purpose" in that post. Basically, I see the critical structural problem for the daily adventure XP budget approach being that, at least thus as presented so for and discussed by fans of that idea...

The funny thing about D&D's version of Vancian magic is that so many of the terms have gotten tied up into what a particular version did, that it is easy to lose sight of the underlying game and story reasons for having things the way they are in the first place. So let me try theory-crafting an...

I'm torn on this question. On one hand, AD&D was so chock full of flavorful characters, items, spells, etc. that you were encouraged as a DM to explore them. And I think you are correct that 1E doesn't actively discourage you from doing so. In fact, most of the time it is encouraging you to...

Gardmore Abbey is quite good, though not without its flaws. Also, some might consider it a set of related adventures instead of one, since it is specifically set up to be left and returned to. Unless over-leveled, I doubt a party could complete it in one go, at least if the DM was moderately...

Perhaps the increase in number and size of dice is staggered with the increase of new CS options, so that the fighter gets a bonus to the dice at 2nd, a new option at 3rd, bonus to the dice at 4th, new option at 5th, etc? Pure speculation, but it is also possible that there are other things...

Note that the old D&D spell durations worked a lot better in the original, where if you played according to the rules, did have fairly rigorous time tracking outside of combat. That's part of the whole point of those 10 minute "turns"--and meant that a lot of things you could do six of with...

Maybe I'm reading it wrong, but I somewhat took the spirit of "adventure day" budgeting to mean something like this: The DM makes an adventure. Whether he starts off with 1,000 XP and parses it out into the idea, or starts with the idea and ends up with 1,000 XP, it doesn't matter once it...

I think a person much confused about the boundaries between player and character wants and agenda is incapable, by definition, of making consistently good adjudications as a DM, much less explaining them to anyone else. They might get by at it, the same way that people don't need to be perfect...

Chalk me up as another vote for creativity as using defined elements in odd but appropriate combinations, rather than lobbying to twist elements into an "I win" card. Or rather, I'd call that "imagination" instead of "creativity." However, whatever it is called, I'd rather have it than the...

50/50. I was a bit discouraged by the idea that they see no mechanical influence on the scaling of play for different numbers of characters. That's obviously wrong to anyone that has run well outside the norm and adapted mechanics to better fit their group. For example, side-by-side initiative...

We'll have to keep doing it as long as people keep dignifying blather with an answer. Since the sole purpose of the blather is to disrupt better conversation, I don't see the use myself. Various Mark Twain quotes are springing to mind ... ;)

The schism is with us, has always been with us, and will always be with us. The only question on that front is how well a version of D&D deals with it. I'm not willing to make any sacrifice that won't accomplish anything, merely to create an illusion of no schism. I'm also not willing to ask...

I agree with @DEFCON 1 (The Man from La Mancha) and @Neonchameleon , though can't XP either right now. Beyond that, I specifically want a good game with options that work to produce different playstyles. The game I want out of D&D isn't always the same game. So to be able to get multiple games...

Our attitude back in the day was that any old thing in Dragon was at least worth trying, if someone wanted to, but we viewed all such additions with a gimlet eye. That is, after it got a fair try, the whole group would tend to approve it for future use or not--or perhaps only in certain...

Well, if it were as dire as some people have been insisting, then negotiation would be the least of the problems. To hear some people tell it, this is figuratively Omaha beach on D-Day, where the "only people staying on this beach are the dead and those that are about to die." In that...

Many of my playstyle components vary from campaign to campaign. A few of them even vary session to session, as my rotating cast of players has different preferences. So active support from game elements is nice when I can get it, and there is a certain minimum needed there, lest I be better off...