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“World logic” is a criterion I use to decide how NPCs behave and how I roleplay them. It’s part of how I ensure consistency, not a deflection of responsibility. Another part of World Logic involves the natural and supernatural rules represented by the game mechanics, but I realize that's not...

I think the Lost Mines of Phandelver was outstanding and it slotted nicely into my Majestic Wilderlands when the group wanted to try 5e in 2015. Made zombies terrifying again.

This is a bit of an aside, but I think one major reason D&D has remained dominant is that every edition has featured the dungeon adventure. While D&D can support many types of campaigns, the dungeon crawl has always been central, and for a new referee, that’s almost ideal. Why? Because the...

I took it as a metaphor for whatever "not fun" thing could happen in a campaign. For example, Total Party Kills.

I apologize for the confusion, I muddled the explanation in my earlier reply and made it seem like the magic hat example had been introduced previously. It hadn’t, so sorry for the confusion. Yes, players don’t usually see my tables or notes normally. But the goal isn’t to disclose exact odds...

The flaw in your argument is that it incorrectly attributes the issue to the “loose hand” itself, when the real problem is a breakdown in communication. Yes, mechanics can be an effective and terse way to convey how things work, whether it's what a character can do, the abilities of a monster...

What you're forgetting in your equation is that the players know there’s a 50% chance they’re getting a bag of poo if they attempt something on Valentine's Day. You're describing an event table, and the magic hat in my example works exactly the same way. Both involve a pre-defined set of...

Outside of combat, it is most certainly is. It is not quite as freeform as OD&D, but fairly close. And like I said in the review too bad that Wizards didn't follow their own advice in their followup products. Rating the DMGs (2009)

It’s important to recognize that this is a two-way street. What you’re describing highlights real problems that can originate with a referee, but that’s only half the equation. The other half is: how do we tell when a player is being unreasonable toward the referee? In my leadership training...

I appreciate the relationship example and that you want to talk about character, I not sure how it addresses any of the questions I raised in the portion of my post you quoted. Those questions weren’t about outcomes in general or about theme arising from character interaction, they were about...

Only people can pretend to be people and have it be any good.

That can work. I am flexible in that regard.

All I can say is that if you believe in standing by your commitment to a principle, the last thing you want to hear at the table is "What the hell is up with that Rob?" Because that means just I screwed something up. All I can say is, if you’re serious about sticking to your principles, the...

I find rules that try to govern the behavior of sentient characters to be inadequate for running a tabletop roleplaying campaign. It’s OK if you don’t feel that way, but I do. For me, the rules are about adjudicating specific actions by the players. I swing my sword, I try to haggle a deal, I...

The existence of the table, or even just rough notes, is a tool for consistency. Yes, I’m still making a decision, whether I’m designing a table or making a judgment call in the moment. But I’m also making a decision about how decisions get made. That’s important. By committing to a model or a...

In the real world, we can gather data about people, say, from my hometown, and generate statistics, like “68% of homes within the city limits are rented.” That includes behavioral data about people. Of course, applying such statistics to individuals is poor reasoning. For individuals, we verify...

I figured that which is why I prefaced my reply with technically no. The best kind of correct. ;)

That and the Dungeoneer's Survival Guide go hand in hand. It also expands the Oriental Adventures skill system to AD&D 1e using non-weapon proficiencies. It is the prototype of what made its way into AD&D 2e.

There are several standards of proof in the legal system. Far more fine-grained than my three categories of most likely, probable, possible. Personally, I think folks should cut to the chase and debate the real point of contention. Who is involved in the process by which judgment calls are made...