Recent content by Norm Morrison IV

I normally do run them as encounters, for a number of reasons, though I agree your examples are things I would be hard pressed to do more than ask how they were likking something. But due to various spells in the animist section of our game, all of the above encounters actually allow an animist...

"To be clear, I am not saying that every combat must put the entire party at risk of being wiped out. But I am saying that every combat should put the entire party at risk of losing something. There are three broad levels of risk: 1.Assets 2.Character 3.Party When an encounter risks...

Rules light is not Rules-light is NOT rules-heavy-in-earlier-stages. Rules-light is 'Open-to-rules-heavy-houseruling'. Those 27 pages or many of our other large sets of common law precedent is indicative of a game basically designed so that the individual GM can adjudicate based on the...

I find myself glad that you responded. Meaning I must be enjoying the interchange. I had enough tough GMs...Ok, I was that Gm most of the time, I won't deny it...that made it tough on groups to find treasures or move through dungeons without discretion and intelligence. My ogre magi hid...

You know, I've been hearing the Magic-user-investment/too weak at low, too powerful at high level thing for over 30 years. I think I made the argument a few times. But I see it very differently now than I ever did. I'm not saying I'm right; it's part of my job in the real world to try to...

Don't go here. Seriously. Madness, this way lies. You have pretty much just encapsulated why I had to leave the world of D&D, because it was too overpowered for me in AD&D. This was before the Epic rules...there is no wonder why I left the House with the Door Closed behind me.

No, I did not overlook the wizards growth. I was speaking of the focus of the rules, and where they are balanced. I agree that Wizards in most of the earlier games were made to grow slower due to some of their advantages, but again, they had such low HP, that they were still fragile. And...

The games were often very hack/slash, but if you look at how even the early classes were balanced, they were not balanced on combat. So the rules encouraged a roleplay based on class utility as well as a game based on the same thing. The early game's focus (based on how the classes were...

Just wanted to give some kudos here. Understanding what type of games a ruleset is suited to create seems to be too big picture for a lot of folk (much of the present company excepted), and it is really critical, in my book, as to who will play and enjoy a game. A good GM can do a lot, but a...

Boy, this cuts through a lot of layers, and quickly. (Not to mention the ready ref sheets from JG! )' Most rulesets for RPGs, and every version of D&D (especially after O), has been written for the campaign ideal, when looked at from that direction. Not always with the same intensity, not...

I'll post more thoroughly later, but this is much of my sentiment. The fact that you show such a grasp of the gamne design blog language is encouraging in and of itself.

I think a hard thing to understand for a lot of people is that many 'grognards' are not opposed to new systems as much as they are the change of focus. 4e does what it tries to do extremely well; and this is why the adherents to it are somewhat vehemently upset about a need to change. And...

2 years and going strong (or so it sounds) is the operative fact. Good Job.

You know, I left D&D years ago. So I have been 'outside looking in' for a while on this. And I find it funny when anyone accuses me of a bias, since my only real stake in the game is that I really want the hobby to grow, so the more money WotC and every other company can make, the happier I...

I'm so used to showing my name as LordVreeg that I don't even recognize my own name. This is what I get for using Facebook do things for me. "I define a successful long-term RPG campaign as a campaign that runs on a regular schedule that allows the players to complete the experience...