“The Fantasy KKK is right about everything because there’s an inherent intelligence difference in the default stat blocks” See meme above

Yeah, except my players were usually quite badass math people, so I get to use reasonably strong crypto (well, not proper crypto, but strong enough against manual attack) stuff for ratcheting. Often it was just OTP (when I’m being lazy). Then everyone just got annoyed with math arms race and we stopped using dice almost entirely.

I like that, great way to hint at the roll without revealing it. I would like if my DMs did this, but I’ve only played in very combat-focused campaigns so rolls outside of fights were rare and narrative was scant.

Yeah, people that want to be their D&D characters are probably skewed by happy memories of a world that might occassionally challenge them but ultimately wants them to enjoy themselves and be the hero/protagonist. That is to say, a fantasy world.

Yeah, it mostly worked. Mostly. It’s hard to say if my previous group worked better because they were used to my style, or just a better fit for me, or some other factor.

Is that the love or the lsd?

Here’s a bunch of nerdy geology videos, if you like that kind of thing. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4szl4Ra1ZD3m80wJP40UBA

I may have been fucking up puzzles and other stuff for everyone else but just going through, under, or over everything and either unlocking it for the party or doing tasks solo. I would rather not make things unfun for everyone else.

I have more heavily played with fellow theatre kids and LARPers, people who generally thrive when really getting into character. To that end, I have a lot more experience with letting my players guide the plot through tools like “Yes, and?” and other improv work. I wouldn’t call it “balanced”, but it has taught me to more build a highly flexible skeleton for a story, with large gaps to allow for downtime or sudden diversions. There is also the experience factor, though. When people better understand the game, and their DM/GM, some find that outlet, that flow of creativity, that allows for the more “extra” sides to come out. To that point, I also heavily reward roleplay and creative problem-solving. I prefer to run Milestone levels over EXP gain, but being generous with things like gear, trinkets, Inspiration points, all can work as a carrot to help guide people to express and engage in that side more. In the end, though, it comes down to your table. I have had players who cut their teeth on AD&D who wanted dungeon crawling grinders, newbies who have wanted to spend months in some little fishing village feeling immersed in the world, or people who just wanted to enjoy a nice, basic module for awhile. Finding what works really takes engaging with your table, asking them what they’re looking for out of the game, and working with them to achieve that. Be encouraging, both in and out of game. If someone does want to go that extra mile, help them do so, and they’re more likely to continue with it. That goes for every facet of the game, every type of player.

I think there’s probably a middle ground that most games that don’t plan for tone wind up at.

there are ancestries, which are like dnd races/species then there are heritages, which are like subraces/subspecies and there are versatile heritages, which any ancestry can take. for example, there’s nephilim, which means you have some celestial or fiendish being influence (it’s the pf2e remastered version of tieflings and aasimars). it lets you choose one out of a bunch of different types of fiends and celestials through lineage feats (which are kind of subsubspecies). there’s also dhampir, which means one of your parents was a vampire, and it lets you choose through a lineage feat what kind of vampire they were. and there are some that don’t have lineages, like hungerseed (half-oni), and duskwalker (reborn with a connection to death or something, it’s complicated) and finally, there’s aiuvarin (half-elf) and droomar (half-orc), which let you choose from all feats from your ancestry + elf or orc respectively. the rules allow you to create your own custom mixed ancestry, which work the same way, you just need to work with your GM to create feats that only work for those who are only half of that ancestry (both aiuvarin and droomar include feats that pure elves and orcs can’t take) if you want more specific details: Mixed Ancestry rules https://2e.aonprd.com/Rules.aspx?ID=2093 List of Versatile Hertiages https://2e.aonprd.com/Ancestries.aspx?Versatile=true edit: forgot 2 words

Not nearly as much as my wife, admittedly - she’s a scientist and I’m not. But there’s been a few small things.

And everything is orange for him, and himself, and everybody around, 'cause he ain’t got nobody to listen to, to listen to, to listen to… Now that’s gonna be stuck in my head

Talking is (not) a free action sounds like it could be a fun mechanic if everyone agrees to it. Let the big bad talk, but players get to write down an attempted action and roll for successful sneak for as long as he’s yapping.

Poor. … A poor lifestyle means going without the comforts available in a stable community. Simple food and lodgings, threadbare clothing, and unpredictable conditions result in a sufficient, though probably unpleasant, experience. Your accommodations might be a room in a flophouse or in the common room above a tavern. You benefit from some legal protections, but you still have to contend with violence, crime, and disease. People at this lifestyle level tend to be unskilled laborers, costermongers, peddlers, thieves, mercenaries, and other disreputable types. Mercenaries are a pretty unsafe job, and they can still only afford 2 sp a day, so I don’t think workplace safety factors in much.

It’s harder when it references Shakespearean phrases, this being one of the most famous terms from his works.

I ran one where the players were doing the tabloidery. It was great. I can’t take credit for the basic idea; it was one of the sorta-prefab campaigns in the system we were playing.

*star-crossed lovers. (For the original image author, of course)

Like I said. Every game. Mine is usually a polymorph into a T rex off something

Hey, one could do worse than be Jimmy Carr. You could be his ventriloquist. ‍️