Recent content by Retreater

To the OP, the hobby has lowered the barrier to entry so much that many casual players will put in almost no effort. For me this means: Never purchasing or even reading the rule book Never thinking about the game outside the session - including levelling up Not bringing their own dice...

I was trying to explain to my wife why I think modern Ravenloft has abandoned the horror genre and become a power fantasy with a Gothic veneer. So I hope we can agree that the Blade movies are pretty enjoyable (especially the first two). Wesley Snipes is a badass in them. Great superhero action...

It was supposed to be a trap. Being in the Ravenloft campaign setting was a curse and punishment. It was there to be scary and making you feel the limitations of your character. Not for being able to play a vampire and be badass. You'd literally lose your character to the Dark Powers and become...

No. I'm referring to the original Van Richtens Guide and the player options it contained under the editorial work of Wes Schneider. New lineages to play as a half vampire or golem. New subclasses. Dark Gifts that used to be considered curses in previous editions, now just superpowers.

I just don't like that WotC and modern D&D players view horror as an excuse to get "dope builds" and "mega powers" with a slight gothic veneer.

Van Richten's Guide was a disappointment to me. It wasn't even worth the $16 I paid for it on Amazon. Looked at it a couple times, then sent it to my FLGS for store credit. It was just another designed by committee book with no theme, purpose, or unifying sense of quality. Which is why it was...

So ... Uh ... Melf's a drow?

While no game is "perfect," I can find some that work for what I want. Daggerheart is really good for a narrative experience with enough tactical depth to stay interesting for a moderate-length campaign of 20-ish sessions. Dragonbane is a great "beer and pretzels" style, OSR-feeling game. Good...

I mean, have y'all ever seen a game that's not D&D or a derivative? Here are game systems other than SD with more rules, design, and advice for non combat play, including exploration and investigation: Forbidden Lands, Vaesen, Dragonbane, Call of Cthulhu. I guess the appeal of SD is "fruitful...

Ok. And just let me play devil's advocate for a minute. What is the bulk of the page content? Rules about fighting monsters. So I've got my hard copy of the SD rulebook right here. Monster stat blocks for about 1/3rd of the page count. Weapon and armor stats. Class descriptions with level up...

Sorry if that's unclear. I wrote it while getting ready for work this morning. Let me try to elaborate on the point... When rules are balanced and the game has a sense of "fairness," I think that put players on an even playing field where they can test the abilities of their characters and...

Hey, I'm glad you folks (and many others) enjoy the system. You're not wrong for liking it. It's not for me. I have very specific reasons about design why I don't like it. I state that so emphatically so my dislike for the system is not mistaken for a dislike of the creator. And if this were a...

If you're referring to me, let me explain. I have been running games since 1989. I own and have played dozens of systems that aren't 5E. Would you guess that I haven't played 5E in about two years? I'm a published RPG writer. I spend hours every week watching videos about game design and...

I made my point earlier. But the basic is OSE is balanced with OSE. Swords and Wizardry is balanced with itself. TSR-era D&D is balanced with itself. All of those can be interchanged because the ability scores are generated the same way and have the same meaning. Shadowdark is based off 5E...

I can see what you mean. I haven't applied this idea to D&D 5E yet. My thought experiment with it would be a chance at a permanent disadvantage in one of your ability scores. What that chance is, I don't know. Maybe 50%?