Comments for Mike McArtor writes about stuff

Comment on More About 5e by Mike

Mike — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 08:28:50 +0000

Thanks for the comment, Geoff! :) I’m glad to see I’m not alone in my thoughts about this. ^_^

I have grown weary of the “kick in the door, kill the monsters, take their stuff” style of gaming. I don’t besmirch or begrudge those who still enjoy it, but it is no longer for me. Do I still hide treasures underground in the games I run? Yes, of course, because even in the real world “the treasure is always down” (as a gamer friend of mine once said).

Mystery and intrigue are damnably hard to do in D&D because a single spell can unravel any mystery or reveal any intrigue. And horror? Forget it. An animated skeleton or rotting zombie isn’t horrifying… it’s 1st-level stuff. :\

I couldn’t figure out how to tinker with 4e either, which I felt was a detriment. And the utter lack of non-combat options made me sad.

Oooh… a Geoff-run game…

Comment on More About 5e by Geoffrey M

Geoffrey M — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 17:53:47 +0000

It’s funny — as soon as information started to come out about the new edition, the very first thing I thought was, “I hope to God they make it easier to play without miniatures.” 4E was an interesting experiment in its own right, but between the heavy emphasis on combat rules and the fact that so many of those rules involved maneuvering on a map, it felt like a completely different game than the one I’d first learned.

Part of the reason (and from what you’ve said, this might apply to you, too) is that I’d given up dungeon crawls a long time ago. I ran games that were heavy on mystery, intrigue, and horror, small-scale and open-ended. Maybe that means that D&D isn’t the game for me anymore, but it feels like you used to be able to accomodate those sorts of things better, and I’d honestly be willing to go back to it if I thought it could do so again.

3E and the d20 explosion showed just how far you could stretch the rules for different genres, so I hope the new edition at least provides the option for that kind of expansion. (It would also be nice if creating a new setting didn’t involve the daunting task of working out thirty levels of 4E-style powers. One of the reasons I never tinkered with the game was that I was too worried about breaking it.)

So… yeah. I agree with everything you’ve said here. :) I especially agree with the playtesting part — it might be one of the few things that would get me interested in GMing again, at least long enough to test the waters.

Comment on A Charmed Life by gigz

gigz — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 17:22:56 +0000

Don’t stress… we’re squeeing with you. :D

Comment on Magic: the RPG, Part Two by Magic: the RPG « Mike McArtor writes about stuff

Magic: the RPG « Mike McArtor writes about stuff — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 05:30:49 +0000

[...] ETA: Part Two (Character Cards) [...]

Comment on Back From Baltimore by Mike

Mike — Sat, 03 Dec 2011 05:37:07 +0000

Comment on Back From Baltimore by gigz

gigz — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 18:48:17 +0000

I’ve seen you dude… you could use a good 8 to 10 pounds. Scrawny. :p

Comment on An Evening With Neil Gaiman and Amanda Palmer by Mike

Mike — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 20:47:57 +0000

Haha, except Neil Gaiman isn’t a coder…

Which is good. Because then we’d miss out on his awesome stories… XD

Comment on An Evening With Neil Gaiman and Amanda Palmer by gigz

gigz — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 18:27:35 +0000

…
Nerd
…

Of course, I’d have been much happier with a stirring rendition of Code Monkey. Mmm… Code Monkey…

Comment on Against the Horde by Of Wolf and Man (Horde Magic) « Mike McArtor writes about stuff

Of Wolf and Man (Horde Magic) « Mike McArtor writes about stuff — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 21:41:41 +0000

[...] Comments « Against the Horde [...]

Comment on Recommend Me Horror! by Mike

Mike — Mon, 29 Aug 2011 18:49:33 +0000

Oooh, I do like creep-tastic horror stories. And all those other recs sound awesome, too. Thanks Mimerki!! ^_^