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The cleric noticed the threat that it might be a mimic, and are taking action accordingly. If they thought it was just an ordinary chest they wouldn't be casting Toll the Dead on it. That's not at all what I said. I focused on specific threats and specific precautions for a reason. If, while...

If the cleric is casting a spell to test whether or not it is a mimic, then I think the cleric has noticed a threat, by definition. As a player, if my character is sufficiently aware of a specific threat to be taking specific precautions, I would not consider it to be a fair use of the surprise...

I voted no. Dread Counterspell could work on a subtle spell if Vecna had some reason to use the ability, but he will not make the IC decision to use Dread Counterspell if he isn't aware IC that the trigger condition has been met. I don't interpret the adventure text as giving Vecna the ability...

This is where I think my earlier post about granularity fits in. Your claim that "it's all resolving conflict" is both true and meaningful at a specific level of generality. At a higher level of generality where differences in types of conflict are the focus of analysis, however, your claim...

To clarify, the original sense you presented for "coherent" was: "having a single unified purpose and direction." (Emphasis added.) I questioned if there was a source for that usage, since I wasn't familiar with a usage of "coherent" that was restricted to unitary purposes or directions. Your...

Interesting--that's not a usage of coherent I'm familiar with. All the usages I know of (other than the scientific definition) are much more general than that, and don't require only a single unified purpose/direction. The closest I can find is Merriam-Webster's usage 3a of "cohere" to mean "to...

Oh wow! You'd let Vecna have the spell slots of a 17th level Wizard before the encounter, and then switch to the new-style statblock for the encounter itself? Normally spell slots spent in advance to shape an upcoming encounter are balanced by the fact that those slots aren't available during...

I was trying to engage with your argument, not the specific terminology, I apologize for being unclear! My point is that having the effectiveness of anti-spell abilities change in the mechanics either requires the table to ignore that change in the lore of the game world, or else to have that...

A dynamic competitive "metagame" for PCs vs NPCs only works at tables where either the lore of the setting is completely divorced from the mechanics, or else there is an equivalent IC metagame.

You apparently use monsters very differently than I do. The way I approach monsters, whether or not a monster is around for one encounter or more than one is not determined when the statblock is designed. Instead, the number of encounters a monster is around for is a consequence of the monster's...

Very true--it isn't new. But it's now much more prevalent. So it shouldn't be a surprise that the changes are a "big deal" to those for whom the changes make the statblocks less useful.

Where the current version of counterspell becomes tactically interesting is its short 60' range limit and requirement for off-turn line-of-sight. That gives PCs and NPCs who know counterspell an interesting tactical choice between staying within range and line-of-sight to try to shut down enemy...

I suspect you may be right that few have gone into the "fine structure", but I think that's mostly because different types of analysis (and different styles of play!) hinge on differing levels of generality. The fine structure analysis by Edwards, et al., definitely led to novel structures of...

I improvise heavily, but I rarely rely on random generation. Instead I'm introducing improvised content deliberately, creating new content on the fly that (ideally) is: (A) a plausible or logical extrapolation from existing content, and (B) would cause the players' choices to lead to a good...

Thanks for explaining! In the various discussions of PbtA and BW, I've noticed the emphasis posters have placed on raw, visceral experience. (That wasn't part of my PbtA play, but I suspect my MC wasn't using the system fully in line with the design intent.) However, I'd previously understood...

(Emphasis added.) To clarify, by demphasizing the importance of producing a satisfying narrative, are you saying that you're ok if the outcome of play is an unsatisfying narrative? Or are you saying that you're ok if the outcome of play isn't a narrative at all? In either case, how do you see...

This depends heavily on playstyle. At some tables, including mine, enemy spellcasters rarely start with all their spell slots available unless they're encountered immediately after they took a long rest. Even at tables where that is not the default, I'd like to think that if players deliberately...

Much appreciated! I hope that the changes do indeed bring in more players than they chase away. I'm skeptical on that count, particularly since the changes seem to be alienating entire playstyles without appealing to previously un-included playstyles, but I will readily admit my own frustration...

As a player, I really don't know what to do with the setting implications of PC and NPC spellcasters using different types of magic. If I'm up against a Rakshasha or an Abjurer, does my PC spellcaster know that NPC spellcasters have primary attacks that trivially bypass those foes' anti-spell...

To be useful to me personally as a DM, an NPC statblock needs to reflect the NPC's actual stats. Combat-only statblocks that are a subset (or, in some cases, a superset) of what the NPC is capable of out-of-combat don't do me any good, because it is important to me that how an NPC fits into the...