Traditionally, the first negative encounter PCs have is with either Orcs or Goblins.
Complaints are fielded, declaring all-evil creatures boring; the complainant is taken aback by the dedicated, often harsh, defense of the practice.

...but what exactly is being defended?

🧵/- The creatures in the Monster Manual are usually pulled from European folklore: the folk would tell tales of monsters that lurked deep within the forest.
These creatures were inspired by primordial fears, given life in the imagination and the darkness.

2/-

Why should 1 gold piece equal 1 point of experience? This seems an arbitrary connection...but it isn't.

🧵time

1/ Let's start with one of the more popular methods of contemporary campaign tables: checkpoint leveling. The benefits, such as they are, are focused on reducing bookkeeping for the players and/or the DM. It is easier to announce a new level than it is to track it precisely.

2/