Search results

  1. SableWyvern

    D&D General [rant]The conservatism of D&D fans is exhausting.

    Well, if you want to get a feel for my thoughts and processes while running a game, this is probably the best way. https://www.rpgpub.com/threads/return-to-the-old-school-how-to-kick-acks-or-die-trying.6939/
  2. SableWyvern

    D&D General [rant]The conservatism of D&D fans is exhausting.

    There is no single set of universal expectations. One of my first tasks as GM before every single new campaign is to make sure everyone is on the same page about the particular style, expectations and the like that will apply. However, as I just edited into my previous post, there are certainly...
  3. SableWyvern

    D&D General [rant]The conservatism of D&D fans is exhausting.

    Well, the example goes back at least as far as Finch's Old School Primer, where it is (as far as I can tell) a somewhat tongue-in-cheek call for players to interrogate the game world. As you mention, it's an example used in outlining a philosophy of play based on player skill. That discussion...
  4. SableWyvern

    D&D General [rant]The conservatism of D&D fans is exhausting.

    Why are you holding people in this thread accountable for things said to you by different people, in a different thread, on a different topic, literally years ago?
  5. SableWyvern

    D&D General [rant]The conservatism of D&D fans is exhausting.

    40 or 50 is still pretty big. Do what interests you, of course, but if you can fit it in somewhere, I do recommend trying a dungeon of that size, where the PCs are able to acquire a map in advance. Have some spots on it that look like maybe they have secrets. Leave a couple things out...
  6. SableWyvern

    D&D General [rant]The conservatism of D&D fans is exhausting.

    Not as much as you might expect, in my experience. If you're used to having your players map and you run large dungeons, I recommend providing an opportunity for a map of a level or partial level, just to see how it goes. Without knowing what will be found at any particular place, or what might...
  7. SableWyvern

    D&D General [rant]The conservatism of D&D fans is exhausting.

    So, in the documentary Behind the Curve, there is a scene where a prominent flat earther is talking about how some of her fellow flat earthers have conspiracy theories about how she's really a CIA plant. She talks about how ridiculous (and hurtful) this is and how she can't even begin to...
  8. SableWyvern

    D&D General [rant]The conservatism of D&D fans is exhausting.

    I don't necessarily agree that it doesn't matter -- the two modes of play (with a map and without) are different, and moving from one to the other will thus matter if those differences matter to you (and there is a lot more to operating without an existing map and needing to make your own than...
  9. SableWyvern

    D&D General [rant]The conservatism of D&D fans is exhausting.

    For what it's worth (not much, perhaps), I have random encounter tables with "tracks" entries, which is a standard process under the Alexandrian hex crawl system. (Edit: note that I'm not trying to win points for either side. It's just a random data point, take it or leave it as you will.)
  10. Screenshot_2025-05-30-09-13-24-52_6431dcd7adc47d9b8b1ef172f656a796.jpg

    Screenshot_2025-05-30-09-13-24-52_6431dcd7adc47d9b8b1ef172f656a796.jpg

  11. SableWyvern

    D&D General [rant]The conservatism of D&D fans is exhausting.

    I've tried to avoid it, but I'll cop to having been guilty to at least some of that. I want nothing to do with the ongoing "encounter" argument though. You can all sort that one out among yourselves. ;)
  12. SableWyvern

    D&D General [rant]The conservatism of D&D fans is exhausting.

    There is nothing in the post you were quoting that said "interesting" does not or cannot come into play. @Bedrockgames talks about using realism as a guideline and says nothing about how "interesting" is (or is not) factored in. If it was said by someone else or in a different post, at a...
  13. SableWyvern

    D&D General [rant]The conservatism of D&D fans is exhausting.

    I'm genuinely not sure what point you are trying to make. As best I can tell, everyone you're arguing with has already agreed that their personal biases and feelings have an effect on their judgements. Plenty of people have already said that, if they see a number of outcomes that seem similarly...
  14. SableWyvern

    D&D General [rant]The conservatism of D&D fans is exhausting.

    You have presented only two options: Do something fun but possibly implausible. Spend hours of real time simulating nothing happening in a jail cell. However, these are far from the only two options available. You don't need to play out the time in the cell in real time, and days of game time...
  15. SableWyvern

    D&D General [rant]The conservatism of D&D fans is exhausting.

    I'm really not sure what any of this means. If you're talking about articulating social norms as clear, formal and detailed rules, that's not sonething I'm interested in attempting. If you mean reducing broadly defined powers or responsibilities down to clear, unambiguous specifics, much of this...
  16. SableWyvern

    D&D General [rant]The conservatism of D&D fans is exhausting.

    Yes, I opened with that because I think it's important to establish that you're not technically wrong about those things. I think the main reason people push back isn't because your perspective is objectively wrong, but because those things just aren't a meaningful concern for us. As an...
  17. SableWyvern

    D&D General [rant]The conservatism of D&D fans is exhausting.

    One of the principles is to ensure the players can chart their own path and not to railroad or force them down a particular route. Your example repeatedly asserts that the GM, having created the bandits, will inevitably ensure they become the focus of the game, no matter what the players...
  18. SableWyvern

    D&D General [rant]The conservatism of D&D fans is exhausting.

    @EzekielRaiden, if you want to see what I do, here's the best example I have: https://www.rpgpub.com/threads/return-to-the-old-school-how-to-kick-acks-or-die-trying.6939/
  19. SableWyvern

    D&D General [rant]The conservatism of D&D fans is exhausting.

    Edit: Sorry, ignore my initial response, I misread you.
Top