One of the sentiments many people seem to have in my #ttrpg threads is why not just let people enjoy games and play them the way they want?

The answer is because baselines are important. To show why, take a seat as I recount the story of the KibblesTasty artificer #dnd 🧵 For context, back before the final version was released in ERftLW, the artificer went through multiple UA passes, including a very poorly received wizard subclass attempt. The most prominent ones were the 2017 and 2019 playtest versions.

In lieu of my Battle Master conundrum thread, this is basically what I've been saying.

The reality is, d20 systems designed as mechanically heavy experiences are the most awful match for these kinds of games. #dnd #ttrpg

https://twitter.com/LuchaLibris/status/1581784578674819072

OP provides a literal example of this mismatch here. People want to reward ingenuity and open roleplay, in systems that mechanically chafe if not outright punish it.

https://twitter.com/LuchaLibris/status/1581784580239282176?t=KJ0chhepw-0EFTlMkC1Xgw&s=19

I do find it amazing how much in my #ttrpg related threads how often people just dismiss complaints and criticisms with the reasoning 'well I've never seen it before, so I don't see why it's such a big deal'. Tenfold when it comes to problem players and social isssues at tables. Like that's great for you, but that doesn't mean it doesn't happen. Part of me doesn't even believe you, but even if it's true, all that means is you've been lucky to be gaming only with decent people. From my (completely anecdotal, admittedly) discussions, most people aren't.

Saw this article while going down an article link rabbit hole. I vaguely remember reading this many years ago, but reading it again now when I'm much a much more experienced GM, it definitely comes off as bitter and gatekeeper-y. #ttrpg

thealexandrian.net/wordpress/2434… I definitely prefer tightly tuned tactical combat as my baseline, but I realise that's not everyone's preference. And that's fine, but it always amazes me the disdain particularly old school gamers have towards people wanting modern game design ethos being applied to TTRPGs.

I want to highlight this particular tweet, because I think explaining what #pathfinder2e does in terms of good encounter design will help extrapolate on the points I made in my Aesthetic of Numbers thread yesterday. #ttrpg #dnd

https://twitter.com/DjangoWexler/status/1549139952054611968

The first thing to make clear is, when it comes to encounter design in TTRPGs, I'm not suggesting what is desired is some sterile idea of encounter progression. I'm not trying to railroad encounters, or remove any semblance of unpredictability.

One of my big beefs with #dnd has been what I call my Aesthetic of Numbers theory, but I've been struggling to describe it in a way that puts my issues with it into perspective. Now I finally have it:

It's like trying to arbitrate a wrestling match. And that's EXHAUSTING. 🧵 To describe my theory, what it comes down to is this: most players don't actually care about the raw numbers rolled in a d20 game. What they care about is the appearance of those numbers doing something.

This is one of the main reasons I stopped GMing #dnd 5e and switched to #pathfinder2e, one of my major beefs with the culture around the game, and why I'm so vocal in my criticism of it:

5e is a very difficult game to GM and many players don't understand why. LONG 🧵 If you want to run the game with any mechanical integrity, you spend half the time compensating for rules that just aren't there, and the other half wrestling with the rules that ARE because they're poorly tuned, such as CR and class balance.

I'm usually very positive about #pathfinder2e, but I've decided in fairness to my followers and people who see me annoyingly pop up on #TTRPG Twitter, I'm going to talk about some things I DON'T like about 2e. 🧵 Some stipulations:

1. I won't pick obvious common complaints, like the big three 'undertuned' classes (alchemist, warpriest, and witch), or crafting rules being boring, because we all know those. Also crafting is getting new rules in an upcoming supliment, which brings me to...

This is the most tacit admission I've seen from an RPG designer of how elitist gatekeeping and grognardism was killing their game.

And I think it's good it was said. 🧵

#dnd #pathfinder2e #TTRPGs Years ago I made a Reddit post about how I hated the Ivory Tower Design of older systems like 3.5/1e because it was just kind of smug and gatekeeper-y, and it attracted douchebags who's narrative fantasies were inherently tied to the mechanical superiority those games offered.

It's always interesting to see a lot of the discourse around #dnd dismiss so much stock in the idea that official releases and design decisions are arbitrary to the system itself. It's such a hollow understanding of how consumers, zeitgeists, and game design in general work. 🧵 For context, whenever there's a release for 5e that rubs people the wrong way, there's always a vocal minority of people who seem to pipe up and tell others they don't *need* to use official content, they can just choose to not use it or use non-official/homebrew content.

One of the biggest hurdles I notice a lot of #dnd players seem to struggle with about #pathfinder2e is the concept of an actually accurate encounter building system and I think we need to talk about this because this seems like the biggest cope-cross-Stockholm Syndrome in RPGs🧵 Probably the biggest reason I switched from running 5e to 2e is because of encounter building. The encounter budget and CL (creature level) system in 2e WORKS. Every counter is as easy or difficult as I intend it to be, and creatures are as threatening as I want them narratively

As a huge #pathfinder2e advocate, I'm super glad to see it getting attention, even if it is mostly to spite WotC. While it's trending, I want to throw my own 2c on for people who are considering trying it, starting with one statement:

The game isn't going to be for everyone 2e is a game with set design goals in mind. It aims to make combat tactical. Rules and minutia are an important element of its design. Some will find that overwhelming. Even those who don't and play as close to RAW as possible may find it restrictive and suffocating.