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I mean - the 3e Gazetteer series goes into an awful lot of detail.

I mean - I'll be the first to admit I'm not a big enough Dragonlance fan to discuss the changes to the setting over the years, but to use Ravenloft as an example - introduced in I6, Ravenloft was just Barovia. The black box, the red box, and eventually the 'Domains of Dread' book in 2e added...

Faction War is the offending module in the case of Planescape. I led a long and happy D&D life before @Ruin Explorer informed me what that adventure introduced.

I dunno - at the end of the day, I don't know what separates "Krynn doesn't have any orcs in it" from "Hey gang, I have some ideas for a 'Thieves Guild' campaign, make some criminal characters". If I'm planning a game where you're expected to commit crimes left and right, a rogue of whatever...

I completely agree with you. Really, if you're going to be that adversarial as a DM, why bother with the pretext? "You long rest in the dungeon? You all die. Carbon monoxide - the silent killer."

I mean - I ran a Sigil-based game for a year, and my players never even saw the Lady of Pain. Again, I agree that what you’re describing is bad, it’s just a huge disconnect from any game I’ve been in, and honestly disconnected from the source material, at least as I read it.

I get that, but you seem - as recently as the discussion on the Lady of Pain - to always assume the absolute worst of the DM. Most of us are just trying our best to run a game for our friends where we all have fun pretending to be elves and wizards.

edit: stupid .webp format.

I think we can all agree: if the DM announces that they want to run a Forgotten Realms game and I show up insisting that I want to be a pot-dealing Setite from Boston, the DM is clearly the one in the wrong.

Having butted heads with you a few times here, I'm left with the impression that you've played with - and had your opinions formed by - some really terrible DMs.

At least in my experience, I think you have that first part reversed. That being said, that's to my mind a very healthy attitude - if I were to announce that I wanted to run a Middle Earth game and a player showed up announcing that they wouldn't play unless they got to be a Jedi? It may just...

As someone who came up in the New Criticism, I’d be inclined to argue that RPGs are more like dances or songs - the work of art is the act played out at the table, not the sheet music or Players Handbook that supports the performance.

I mean, I don't know how else to interpret a book that on one hand goes out of its way to reference Angel Pajaro from Children of the Night: Werebeasts and the Whistling Fiend from Van Richten's Guide to Fiends, but then turns around and claims that one of the Dark Powers has a name and a cult...

In fairness, the product lead for VRGtR was Wes Schneider, who originally cut his teeth working on the netbooks from the Fraternity of Shadows; and Van Richten's Guide is overflowing with references to nearly every 2e Ravenloft product. Having read the design blog on the topic, the book feels to...

Aah so - in example, is the BASIC thief class identical to the ADVANCED one? The ADVANCED just adds druids and illusionists and whatnot?

I have to admit - I’ve been playing the Black Hack for awhile now, and have wanted to try out OSE for some time, but it is extremely unclear to me what books I do and don’t need to buy for it.

I mean, not to pick a nit, but Old School Essentials is literally a reformatting of B/X D&D. What does that count as? As a sidenote - at least according to the Vintage RPG podcast, isn't Traveller the only RPG that doesn't have D&D as an antecedent?

I remain somewhat confused on what 'niche' both this and the upcoming Dragonlance are filling - WotC seems bent on figuring out a way to do Campaign Setting and Big Summer Adventure as one product, and I don't have the impression that either of their attempts so far, Strixhaven and Spelljammer...

That's my take on the Spelljammer set we got - a good little adventure with a bestiary and some player options. It's pretty good at what it is. My issue with it is that "a good little adventure with a bestiary and some player options" != a campaign setting, at least to me.