My BIG Problem With Dungeons & Dragons 5e

I try not to be negative or harp on negative things on this blog, but this has been gnawing at my brain for the past week or more and I figure writing it down would be good for me. The original plan was just to write it down and not post it, but then I came across this article from The Alexandrian, and it got me thinking that my big problem with D&D 5e may not just be a personal quirk, but a larger problem in general. Perhaps then adding my own $0.02 to the discussion will be helpful to someone looking to make fixes. More importantly though, maybe it will be found by a new GM and in explaining some of the places the system hiccups they'll see that it's not just them not getting it, but there are places where 5e prepares you well for the game and places where it does not prepare you at all.

If I Could Cherrypick Mechanics

On Friday I talked about my current favorite system - 7th Sea 2nd Edition - but despite my love for 7th Sea, it's not the system with the best mechanic for everything I want or love in games. Today I want to see what would happen if I did cherrypick my favorite mechanic from the world of RPGs out there, and how to make them work. I invite you all to do the same.

Weapon Choice Should Be A Character Choice, Not A Power Choice

(Signs you don't know what day of the week it is: a post for Wednesday goes up for Thursday. Sorry!)

As a gamer I feel like my choice in weapon should be more a reflection of the character I'm playing than a necessary choice made if I want to be relevant or at least not behind the curve for my concept. Obviously there are limits to this. Someone who uses a gun should have an advantage - especially at range - than someone with a sword. I'm also not looking for every weapon to be the same. Just for them to be balanced in such a way that how I equip the character says as much about them as what class or race I choose. Today I want to talk about that.

Identifying Combat Bloat

Monday I talked about slogging through combat. In a comment one of our readers mentioned trying to streamline combat slog in a game he or she is designing. I like the idea. I also agree that about 10 minutes for a combat round is ideal, but not one that is easily reached even with experienced players. Before we can make solutions though, we need to understand the problem. So, let's break down combat and find where it slogs.

Challenge Level Made Easy (D&D 5th Ed)

First, I apologize for the lateness of this post. Opening weekend at school was pretty quiet, until yesterday, and that just kind of kicked my ass. I also wasn't sure what I wanted to write about, and havingalready done a full work week of hours (with 3 full days left to go) made that hard to think about. However, there has been one thing I've been gushing about in real life, and I figured I'd get that down here. It's about D&D 5th ed, and it is kind of basic, so you may not learn something, but the perspective it's given me has been pretty cool to see.

Specifically, I'm talking about how D&D 5th ed handles the challenge level for encounters.

Fate Core vs. Dresden Files RPG

Hello there! How is your labor day weekend going? For me, I'm working all weekend (minus Saturday) as it is Move In day/weekend at the University. Anyhow, with that in mind I figured I'd talk a bit about FATE and how comparing FATE Core to Dresden shows you just how much you can do with the system, provided you're willing to put in the development work.

D&D 5th Ed First Impressions

If, like me, you've been living in a hole and more or less avoiding any and all news about D&D's upcoming 5th edition then you might have missed the news that they released the free basic rules on Thursday, July 3rd. Being as Free is not a price point I can really ignore for what is widely considered the grand daddy of all RPGs, I decided to head on over and check things out. What I found was interesting, intriguing even. To the point that I'm sad I doubt I'll be able to get my group to try it due to constraints of time and other games we have going on. Still, I'm breaking down my initial thoughts below for those who are interested.

Oh, and for those who just want the file. Click anywhere on this line and you'll be brought to the official release.

System Analysis: Dark heresy - Combat

System Analysis is a sporadic series on the blog where I'm going to go over a system in a more in depth fashion. The idea is to look at not only how a system works, but what that may mean for the games that you can run with the system itself. This series of entries in System Analysis is focusing on "Dark Heresy" by Fantasy Flight Games.

System Analysis: Dark heresy - Core Mechanics

System Analysis is a sporadic series where we go over a specific game in a more indepth manner. The idea behind it is not only to see how the system works, but what that may mean for games you are running in it. Essentially, what it does well versus what it may do poorly, and what those mechanics mean for games being run in it. This week we are going over Dark Heresy by Fantasy Flight Games.

System Analysis: Dark Heresy - Character Creation

System Analysis is going to be a sporadic series where I go through the mechanics of a system and explain how they, to me, are there to help convey whatever the game is trying to get across. With luck, the series will be insightful and give people cause to comment, thus leading into discussion on the matter and just how mechanics can really help bring the feel a game is going for across. This week, System Analysis is going over Dark Heresy by Fantasy Flight games.

System Analysis: Dark Heresy - Overview

System Analysis is going to be another series that will, sporadically, be updated. The idea of it is to be something similar to "Life and Times of a Philippine Gamer"  blog's series called "Let's Study." My take on it is going to be a bit less about education on how the system works, though we will be going into that, and more on the design side of what it may mean for the games that you run. Also, anyone who hasn't done so should click those links above and let the Philipine Gamer school you some on how to run an RPG.