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<blockquote data-quote="mmadsen" data-source="post: 178328" data-attributes="member: 1645">Good point, Joshua Dyal.&nbsp; Too bad those side issues are so damnably interesting (and controversial).Absolutely, but Monte does have a point that people like D&amp;D -- not simply in spite of its &quot;flaws&quot; but often because of them.&nbsp; As I've been saying, other games that try to offer up alternatives that make more sense are really offering up much more complicated rulesets or much deadlier combat or whatever.&nbsp; Many people want a simple, heroic game, and the attempts to fix D&amp;D have generally led to complicated, unheroic games, not a better D&amp;D.&nbsp; (I think most of us agree that 3E acheived a better D&amp;D, even if there's always room from improvement.)Are they as easy though?&nbsp; As well codified?&nbsp; A group of 10-year-olds can set up adventures that (more-or-less) follow the rules with leveling up and gathering treasure as rewards.What are some good alternatives?&nbsp; We know people like big enough power-ups that they feel important (the gambling analogy).&nbsp; I think Feats and Spells achieve that.&nbsp; A +1 to a few skills doesn't feel like much.&nbsp; An extra Hit Die is quite a bit.People also like power-ups in the form of magic items.&nbsp; We definitely know that.Codifying fame and reputation into a Glory score wouldn't be too hard.&nbsp; Guidelines for NPCs treating heroes with respect, giving them free meals, calling them by superlative epithets, etc. could go a long way toward players' wish fulfillment.Simple rules for moving up in social power would also work well.&nbsp; After all, a great warrior in real life is usually a guy who's won a few battles and now leads a great army.&nbsp; A natural progression into positions of power would make a great &quot;carrot&quot;.Part of that could be acquiring important friends and allies.&nbsp; If your character is an official Friend of the Elves (complete with elven leaf talisman) or of the Great Eagles and can call in their aid, that's not a typical D&amp;D power-up, but it works.Everyone loves magic mounts and animal allies.&nbsp; Getting a Griphon, or Talking Tiger, or Winged Horse, or Unicorn -- c'mon, everyone loves that.Pendragon offers some unconventional progressions (for gaming, not for real life); characters marry, have kids, run the manor, and pass the adventuring mantle onto the next generation.I guess d20 Call of Cthulhu does a good job of that.But which ones are simple and work?Even the transition from mindless dungeons to sensible dungeons is hard for most young DMs to make.&nbsp; What are some good guidelines for new DMs to write &quot;real&quot; adventures?&nbsp; Guidelines that are easy to follow.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="mmadsen, post: 178328, member: 1645"] Good point, Joshua Dyal. Too bad those side issues are so damnably interesting (and controversial). Absolutely, but Monte does have a point that people like D&D -- not simply in spite of its "flaws" but often because of them. As I've been saying, other games that try to offer up alternatives that make more sense are really offering up much more complicated rulesets or much deadlier combat or whatever. Many people want a simple, heroic game, and the attempts to fix D&D have generally led to complicated, unheroic games, not a better D&D. (I think most of us agree that 3E acheived a better D&D, even if there's always room from improvement.) Are they as easy though? As well codified? A group of 10-year-olds can set up adventures that (more-or-less) follow the rules with leveling up and gathering treasure as rewards. What are some good alternatives? We know people like big enough power-ups that they feel important (the gambling analogy). I think Feats and Spells achieve that. A +1 to a few skills doesn't feel like much. An extra Hit Die is quite a bit. People also like power-ups in the form of magic items. We definitely know that. Codifying fame and reputation into a Glory score wouldn't be too hard. Guidelines for NPCs treating heroes with respect, giving them free meals, calling them by superlative epithets, etc. could go a long way toward players' wish fulfillment. Simple rules for moving up in social power would also work well. After all, a great warrior in real life is usually a guy who's won a few battles and now leads a great army. A natural progression into positions of power would make a great "carrot". Part of that could be acquiring important friends and allies. If your character is an official Friend of the Elves (complete with elven leaf talisman) or of the Great Eagles and can call in their aid, that's not a typical D&D power-up, but it works. Everyone loves magic mounts and animal allies. Getting a Griphon, or Talking Tiger, or Winged Horse, or Unicorn -- c'mon, everyone loves that. Pendragon offers some unconventional progressions (for gaming, not for real life); characters marry, have kids, run the manor, and pass the adventuring mantle onto the next generation. I guess d20 Call of Cthulhu does a good job of that. But which ones are simple and work? Even the transition from mindless dungeons to sensible dungeons is hard for most young DMs to make. What are some good guidelines for new DMs to write "real" adventures? Guidelines that are easy to follow. [/QUOTE]

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