Recent content by Scott Christian

I agree. However, you can key the characters into the setting/campaign in many ways, not just subclasses. You can do it through divine boons, curses, magic items, rituals, etc.

While I agree with the number of players I've seen use background features, I disagree on the traits, ideals, flaws, and bonds. Those have been pillars for a plethora of players I've had the pleasure to sit at the table with. I have seen it make beginners understand roleplaying, and I have seen...

We were playing AD&D as teenagers, and then sometime around 19 or 20, we started perusing other books. MERP caught our eye for the art and the simple fact we already knew the lore. So we played that, then that turned into Rolemaster, then Rolemaster turned into Dangerous Journeys, then Dangerous...

100%... Chicken and the egg. It is because of session zero or because players didn't take time to learn about the FR.

I will state this succinctly: Yes, it is.

I am going to pushback a little on this. Player authorship derives from a different perspective, and therefore, can push out other narratives. One person's Feywild is another person's carnival.

Fair enough. Your experience is as valid as mine. Thank you for taking the time to explain it.

For my group (I did most of the DMing), we enjoyed 4e overall, and that included the setting. But it doesn't hold a candle to 5e. The computer game aspect of it turned off a lot of players, and that includes people who would have been fine with the lore changes. The text, the adventure set-ups...

Thank you for the clarification. I guess my friends and I just read all the books. Thanks again, that certainly puts things in perspective.

Were all the rules in the DMG? It's not how I remember. I am looking at the Basic Set right now, and it is all together. Again, not to belabor anything, but I really don't see the level of disfunction you see - especially between these 19080 DMs that brow-beat their players. But none of that...

That just isn't true. Basic, Advanced, and everything after actively engaged players learning the rules. I am not sure where you got that. Maybe one line taken out of context. I mean, they had an entire magazine devoted to players, giving them optional rules, races, inventory items, etc. Yes...

I would also like to add that while your sorcadin might be fine after three smaller encounters, the rest of the group might not be. But with a time push, that could also mean the sorcadin might have to play hero. I have found one golden rule while DMing: One min-maxer can make the group...

A few things: Encounters prior to the BBEG Lair reactions can be amazingly unforgiving to PCs Flying or invisible creatures with the big baddie Remember, the big baddie might have magic resistance Counterspell, silence, etc. Movement can sometimes really work against the PCs And sometimes at...

Good rationales @Zardnaar . I think Genasi. Also, to add to your number 5, I think shows like Critical Role do their part to make certain races more popular than others.

There is a divide though. The two are different. They have different roles to play in the game. They may be trying to reach similar goals, but they have different paths to get there. A goalkeeper and a striker may both be trying to win, but they have incredibly different paths to accomplish that...