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The book sets that put The Magician's Nephew first generally put The Horse and His Boy as the third book in the series since it's after The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe but before Prince Caspian. And I don't like it put in that slot any more than I like The Magician's Nephew first.

Yes, but I don't see it paying off for a while. Perhaps he has a collision shortly after leaving for sabbatical and the season cliffhanger is they wheel him in with a head injury?

Technically correct, but also incredibly wrong at the same time. Pretty much a textbook example of "technically correct". You can use algebra to give the players just addition and still use THAC0, but you can't really do that and keep it limited to the terms the player has readily in front of...

The problem here is that with two tests that must be achieved to sneak, it makes it a lot harder for the stealthy PC. Now try to handle it with the rogue trying to sneak past multiple potential opponents - UGH! And that's ultimately the trouble with multiple checks being necessary to succeed at...

How dangerous is that trek, though? Because can't they largely stick to the trail where the encounters aren't all that violent on the encounter table?

With the exception of the ranger class which I would pull over from 1e, I'd play 2e in a heartbeat over 1e. No question.

What I'm getting at as far as being a narrative or conceptual consequence is that it either comes out in how a player (or DM) uses the smallness in the narrative or as part of the character's concept rather than a practical consequence imposed by the rules looking to simulate some difference...

But you do keep returning to the idea that the story isn't what's being done at the table now, it's what you see and talk about when it's all done. And we are saying that's not the full truth. If you're playing, story's emerging now and can be talked about now and directed based on the agendas...

I'm going to add one evolution that I'm seeing in D&D... for good and bad. I think we're seeing a shift from practical consequences of choices in favor of narrative or conceptual ones. Take, for example, the change in the Heavy property for weapons in 5e. So, as long as they're strong or...

It's also worth considering what the magic item (in this case armor) represents in the setting. Plate may be an option for PCs now, but it may not have been an option for the lost empire that crafted it for a famous warlord who served their monarch well in a troubled time. One of the things I...

And the funny thing is - it's not entirely true. Saying that a wizard's daily spells are "daily" doesn't really change their nature. They're as Vancian as anything else in the sense that you've got a designated slot, you prep one spell for it, and when you cast it it's done until you prep it...

Totally with you on that one. I also don't advocate people watching the prequel trilogy of Star Wars before the original trilogy. Just because it's in chronological order by content doesn't mean it's better storytelling.I find it's generally better to read/watch in chronological order by...

Those tables were a mess though and inconsistently used in various modules. Plus, the thief was screwed by them because too many of their values were just plain bad. They needed a desperate rewrite and 2e elected not to do so. And the fighter's saves were nothing to write home about until after...

Oh, yeah, and it wasn't just other game companies horning in on his market. Gygax turned on the 'zines too. You'd think all these competitors were picking his personal pocket directly making whatever money they could from their customers. And I'm pretty sure he felt EXACTLY like that.

I think there's a good argument that it's better to not follow detailed PC build rules. I'm less convinced that it's as good to follow different rules in-play when the spells, in this case, are otherwise the same. In any event, I'd like to make sure to differentiate between the two ideas - NPC...

Evolutions I have really liked: Everyone on same XP table - balancing by XP cost to level up never really worked, period Stealth/Perception - one opposed set instead of 2 sets (move silently/listen, hide in shadows/spot) Stat bonus progression - no longer packed at top of dice range means...

Today, when I went to pick up my daughter from work at Pegasus Games, I chatted a little with the owner. They had a Magic event there to today and the organizer had arranged it so there were an appropriate number of players so the organizer could participate as well. Unfortunately, there was...

Nothing wrong with doing one-shots on game night. Gives you a taste of a lot of different character options, adventures styles, whathaveyou. It's also pretty much a norm for most convention games, if you go and play at them.

You could design an RPG without variations between PCs that would tend to influence various related checks (strength-based, agility-based, whatever)…. But why bother doing that to D&D? What’s the point in killing that particular sacred cow? Is there any real indication that the 6 stats D&D has...

I've run a number of adventure paths (formal and non-formal) over the years. Favorites include: Scourge of the Slavelords (A series modules) - run in 1e and 3e Queen of Spiders (G, D, Q series modules) - run in 1e and 3e Age of Worms - run in 5e They've all been very enjoyable. The two 1e...