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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Henry" data-source="post: 2707757" data-attributes="member: 158">From the e-mail:The ability evolved from backstabbing, but it's no longer literally a "back attack." It's knowledge of dirty fighting that allows someone to target vitals (between ribs, behind ears, kidney blows, etc.) thanks to the defender having to split his attention, but reduced to the always-loose D&D game mechanics of anatomy. If you're familiar with medieval / renaissance bear-baiting, it's the same concept. <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" />Having seen older Classic RPGA events, I have to agree - but also he needs to keep in mind that con events have taken a natural trend towards simplistic backgrounds, because four or five hours is very little time in which to make a "fleshy" character out of a PC you'll never see again. Give new players too much to digest and they won't have a good experience out of the session.My recommendation? He needs to find a local experience apart from the RPGA, because con gaming will lack the continuity and in-depth role-play that a home group can have. I stress that you can find in con games plenty of cameraderie, fun times, and good memories, but the games themselves will always be more disjointed that personal experience.I would also suggest he try out ENWorld, and check into a local ENWorld Gameday, if one is nearby to him. Chatting with the people from these forums is a blast, for all the reasons you mention; gaming with them is even moreso. I don't want to come off as elitist, by far, because Gencon is by far my favorite convention ever; but you were speaking of a "vetting" process, and the people who make it so fun to be here on a regular basis are what make it fun to game with them in person, too. In a sense, they're "vetted" from regular convention-going crowds just by virtue of liking this place enough to stick around, even with the tone of moderation we try to establish here.(re-reading that, it still comes off as a bit snobbish, but I can't think of another way to put it: Having a community of people who get along well in one environment are more likely to get along in other environments, is a better way. And not just enworld: If there are a number of people local to you who frequent a favored to you online community, it's a good experiment to try.)</blockquote>

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