ExTSR

4,214 reputation

631

bio	website
	location	United States
	age	63
visits	member for	2 years, 9 months
	seen	Dec 24 '12 at 4:04
stats	profile views	300

Roleplaying author best known in the 1980s (over 25 million copies sold). Former active contributor on this site. Received "Top User Swag Package" from StackExchange.

Haven't been here much lately. I have plenty of RPG websites to visit, and this site is actively hostile to old-school gamers (including me). Moderators encourage it and even participate in the abuse. Example: One moderator refuses to rephrase his question: "In most RPGs, PCs become inured to murder..." Not in my 35 years of experience, sonny. That's like saying 'this banana is rotten so all bananas are rotten.' (And there's lots more negativity around here, and very few old school questions.)

To add insult to injury (literally), I was publicly derided/insulted by Community Coordinator Josh Heyer (aka Shog9), in blatant violation of the alleged policy (link below).

http://blog.stackoverflow.com/2009/05/a-theory-of-moderation/

::shrug:: I don't need the abuse. Look me up on other sites (user name ExTSR almost everywhere).

	4,214 reputation	bio	website		visits	member for	2 years, 9 months
631 badges		location	United States		seen	Dec 24 '12 at 4:04

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61 Comments

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Oct 3	comment	What are the big differences between the D&D editions? Your answer implies that no supplement after Greyhawk was ever used in the Holmes/BX/Mentzer line, which is untrue.
Jul 7	comment	How can PCs stop a fleeing foe without opportunity attacks? Note that in BECMI I also added nonlethal weaponry (such as a Net) which of course facilitates captures without damage. Did they keep that in 3/3.5/4?
Mar 13	comment	Do you get a save vs Falling Damage? Found a relevant reference (pls pardon the 13-month delay): DMG 81, Magic Armor and Saving Throws: "Saving throw rolls WILL receive an armor bonus against: Falling Damage" (amidst the 5 categories itemized).
Oct 26	comment	When should the DM hide a PC's hit points? Hear here. Exact hp knowledge can (NOT will, mind you) overfeed metagaming tendencies. It's not for everyone; it IS a lot more work for the GM, and you have to give the players some indicators.
Oct 24	comment	The first sold copy of D&D was to Chaosium's founder: were Chaosium's games influential on early D&D? Stafford's "Original Copy" has been sold on eBay. Stafford says in the attached Certificate of Authenticity that it's a 3rd printing and that is was his first copy of the game. So how could it be the first copy ever sold? (otoh, promotion of sheer falsehoods by virtue of popular vote is not unknown hereabouts.) :(
Sep 22	comment	What's the deal with alignment languages? So it's a magical function but isn't magical (doesn't detect as nor radiate magic, nor produce magical results)?
Jul 12	comment	How to kill a troll in D&D 3.5? This was addressed decades ago; you can't have all the pieces grow trolls or else there will be troll farms. In any edition, the pieces crawl together; any that are missing die off and are regrown by the single primary creature.
Jul 1	comment	Medieval problems in a magical world "traditional fantasy is maintained simply by ignoring much of the potential impact of magic. Treat it as a genre convention" -- perhaps, and certainly fueled by lazy or unimaginative authors. :/
Jun 23	comment	Which RPGs primarily reward roleplaying your character? But praps a valid expansion of the question, pointing out that 'all RPGs can be run in ways that actively reward roleplaying.'
Jun 23	comment	Any good resources for would-be authors of a line of gaming products? Thank you so much for skipping the request part (eg "could you clarify please, or rephrase it to more specifically answer the question?") and going straight to the downvote.
Jun 8	comment	Helping new players learn a setting on the go I certainly agree with the concept, and have used it myself. ;> Just saying that for the info to stick -- and to be easily referenced on a regular basis -- I've had to use handouts. My players have complex lives, and we only play every 2 weeks. Play more and I'm sure your way works fine. :)
Jun 7	comment	Helping new players learn a setting on the go So players should be taking extensive notes (and asking for spellings of course) during such a narrative, to the detriment of the atmosphere you're creating?
Jun 1	comment	Should a GM be a Player? Applause. Tho apparently our out-of-the-box views run contrary to more orthodox pov's. And yes, you have to be a good DM to avoid the obvious pitfalls, and really good to compartmentalize. But obviously you 'get it'. ;>
May 27	comment	What are the most important differences for a 1st Edition AD&D Dungeon Master learning to run D&D 4E? It is perhaps more fair to say that -- disregarding trivial milieu-based limits (e.g. you can't use a pistol 'cause they haven't been invented here) -- in much of NewSchool players & DMs are trained to think within the rules matrix and to not imagine more broadly, while Old School is the reverse. Both extremes have their plusses and minuses.
May 26	comment	What are the most important differences for a 1st Edition AD&D Dungeon Master learning to run D&D 4E? @Adriano, that's part of my point -- that you have to throw out or override integral parts of the rule set to achieve that.
May 25	comment	What are the most important differences for a 1st Edition AD&D Dungeon Master learning to run D&D 4E? I suggest you join the growing Old School movement, and not chase the fleeting 'current standard' (which will change as 5e, 6e, and more appear in the future).
May 24	comment	How do you kidnap a PC? Edited to include 4e tag (but system still downplayed) since Psion and Power are system-specific and the links don't work unless you're registered @ WotC.
Mar 20	comment	How do I make a dungeon the party will not know they are getting lost in? The extreme danger here, of course, is creating a dungeon (or situation) where the GM is having fun but the players are not. Beware...
Mar 2	comment	Inter-planar Merchants of D&D Pfft, they're only about 5' across. Teeny. ;>
Feb 15	comment	How do you help players not focus on the rules? Since you're not using a published game, does that clearly say "DM is god & game designer both" (a possible turnoff)?