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Just to clear up semantics, when I say "play to find out", I mean specifically I want the dice and the game's resolution engine to tell me the answer, based on my character design and decisions. If "play to find out" for you means you leave your character concept relatively ambiguous until...

I think there's a question running through this thread as to whether the assumed baseline for half-elves should be relatively rare (like Tanis), prevalent enough to form communities (like the Eberron Khoravor), or some intermediary state (half-elves are relatively frequent, but not organized...

Of course you don't need it. But it's fun! (Value of fun based on participant, satisfaction not guaranteed. See a doctor if your level of fun does not diminish after four hours.)

This can vary with the system, but I mostly agree with this. The decision making portion of the game at the table, to me, is like an improv game. You have a concept, and you play the limitations the game hands out to you to the hilt. Who your character is heavily shaped by the resolution...

Games are supposed to tell you what way to play. If you didn’t want to change the way you were playing, why would you need different rules?

“Leader” probably isn’t the best word, but the intentions for the role are clear if you interpret the term with even the slightest bit of charity. Saying “a leader role class must be bossing around other players” is a choice, and not anchored in trying to meet a game where it is.

Warders from the Wheel of Time immediately come to mind. I mean, mixing up the "martial bodyguard of a physically weak mage" trope and the "trained witch hunter" trope makes tons of sense for any D&D-type setting with factions of mages. Making it a paladin subclass is just D&Ding the concept...

Changeling, Half-Elf, Halfling.

Aesthetic preferences are what they are, of course. But speaking just for myself, those moments of collaboration, where everyone is invested and participating in the fate of one character, are some of my favorite aspects of play. But, even in trad games like D&D, I've realized over the years...

So when you say "writer's room-y", do you mean it was the collaborative nature of the resolution that was problematic, as opposed to leaving the result of the narration up to just the impacted player and the GM? I've seen the same criticism of cooperative games like Pandemic, where everyone's...

There's a big difference between giving agency towards what kind of scene will be presented versus how the scene will be resolved. Many games and playstyles give the former, far less the latter.

<raises hand> I love 4e, and I'm ride-or-die for Skills and Powers 2e.

On top of spaghetti, all covered with cheese.

Looks pretty awesome. I’m on board with turning it into an isekai-type situation.

Yep. Dissatisfaction with Vancian casting was pretty rampant in 3e’s heyday in the mid-00s. It’s why you saw so much experimentation with casting mechanics in 3.5 supplements. The warlock, the spirit shaman, and the beguiler were all examples of the designers to see how far the boundaries of...

I’d like to introduce you to my friend Spherical Cow.

I'm talking about the 1989 PHB, the one with the fighter charging with the orange-y background. I don't have it handy, but I remember it having like at least 8-10 different full page color art work. I think this one is the most famous.

The real flaw with the "Dex save as a quick dodge" narration is that doesn't also cause a reposition if you're playing on a grid.

Yea, I think we’re just diametrically opposed on this. My first RPG book was the 2e PHB; when I read the 1e PHB a few years later I found the black-and-white sketches actively offputting.