AndrewGould

Followed. I've been on Twitter since 2008, I've made almost 6,000 tweets, but I still don't know what I want to use it for.

Do you ever say anything nice?

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You missed the wizard. That's a shame - the wizard's cool. Sounds like you're getting along pretty well, but I think you had too-high expectations of what the Starter Set should have provided. It's designed so that people can start playing immediately - as you have - and the mechanics and how things came about can come later. It sounds like you're finding all the info you need, so that's great.

Uh... have you ever met a cat?

Smoking isn't cool, it smells, it's expensive, and it doesn't get you off.

I can't tell the new voices from each other. I never know who's speaking.

I did not know this. I only ever play odd-numbered editions.

I want to say since this last post, Blaine has really stepped up the game - he gave them a goal (the golden city) and the players have stepped up to that mark. I've DMed many aimless improv games over the years, and all of them have been fun as heck - but none of them have been as good as the ones where there I've had an overall story arc.

Oh shit yes. The Edition Wars between 3.x/Pathfinder and 4 were especially vicious.

One of the things I particularly love about this edition is the capacity for epic cinematic action. I could mention several instances from my own game, but one of the most recent is the fighter using Boots of Springing and Striding to catch a flameskull in mid-leap in a sack, while the room around him was set on fire. It's not that these sorts of things couldn't happen in other editions, it's just that this edition (and awesome players) make them so easy and quick to resolve.

I think there's plenty of room for both points of view. For me, the strong point of the game was always the compelling story, but I'm afraid that Blaine hasn't quite stepped up to Sark's game here. Now I keep listening partly out of brand loyalty, but also because I've come to know the players through the game and I'm invested in how they do things. I'd like to see some more emphasis on play at times, but I'm certainly not going to complain about the table talk.

Part of the problem, I think, is that the characters keep walking away from everything the DM prepares for them. Props to Blaine for being able to deal with that, but it does mean that the game basically consists of the players wandering around aimlessly and waiting for things to happen to them. They don't care about anything. In the first season, they had something to care about - the Collectors, and the old guy stealing souls. There's nothing like that here. I said early on this season that they need a hook to drag them into the adventure, but if you provide hooks and the characters consistently ignore them and walk in the other direction, there's not a lot you can do other than try and hook them with something else later.

I've been running 5th edition games since the Starter Set appeared, and I love it. In my opinion it's the best D&D edition yet. I was a big 3.x player, but I skipped 4th because of its reliance on miniatures. 5th takes a lot of the ideas of 4th and blends them with some of the principles of 3rd, while introducing a few new ways of doing things. It sounds like it'd be a mess, but in fact it's a very well-streamlined and comprehensive ruleset that is a delight to play.

Purely from a gaming perspective. Someone recommended it when I mentioned at some point that I play D&D. Beyond his appearance in Brütal Legend I'd never heard of Brian and wouldn't otherwise have known him from a sheep. The others even less so. The perfectionist DM in me winces everytime someone rolls an attack for Magic Missile, but since it's funny and has a great story, I love it.

I for one hope they go back to the haunted mansion in future episodes - there was a lot of unfinished business, and I never tire of Dag getting punched in the face.

Please don't spoil the newbie...

I played my first session of the 5e rules just last night. It's really good. The mechanics are very straightforward and consistent and easy even for new players to pick up. The advantage/disadvantage mechanic was very popular, especially with the one guy who had played every edition since 1st. I absolutely recommend it.

I don't have a problem with the umming and ahhing - I do plenty of that myself when I'm GMing. But Blaine does need to find a new adjective. "Weird" is a bit overused.

I agree. It gives it more of a Saturday morning cartoon flavour, which is refreshing in a game that can often become quite serious. Oh, and the door-opening-procedure was in no way silly overpreparation. Every experienced D&D player knows - you check the door for traps. You check the door handle for traps. You check the lock for traps. If you found a trap, you check the trap for traps on the disarming mechanism. Then you always assume that there's something nasty on the other side which is going to attack/eat/burn you.

I think it should be said - in order to cut off all the rules lawyers reading - that they aren't really playing D&D any more. Bleyn is just making up rules as he goes along. As long as everyone is having fun, it doesn't really matter. So let's not have any more "THAT'S NOT HOW MAGIC MISSILE WORKS!" comments, okay? It works exactly how the GM says it works.

If we're nitpicking on the rules, then Hug's illusory wall from a couple of episodes ago should have been at least a third level spell, and I'm pretty sure it was mentioned earlier that Winter has only one hit point, which he took during the fight with the goblins. BUT THAT'S NOT THE POINT. It's good to see that the Plot Roc has descended on the party at last.

Okay, advice from a 30-year veteran GM. It's getting around the time when you're going to need to give these guys a hook. Danger Rooms are great for getting into character, but we're past that now. They need something to do. None of the players know what they should do next. It's time for the GM to step up and give them something to care about. One of the great things about the Collector campaign is that they had a villain - someone they could hate, someone who motivated them to keep going. Bleyn is going to need to dangle something in front of the party that will make them want to do something other than "be somewhere other than here". Otherwise the game is going to stall.

FOCUS, guys! Focus!

Great idea!