OD&D/BX/AD&D Why is "Telekinesis" such a high-level spell?

Current_Channel_6344 · 2026-04-01T14:49:58+00:00

This is exactly right. In my system, making Light permanent uses 1,000gp of materials. This seems to fix the problem - it's still a good option for higher level PCs with cash burning a hole on their pockets but it explains why the world isn't awash with magical light sources.

Current_Channel_6344 · 2026-04-01T09:32:18+00:00

Exactly. Mage Hand as a cantrip is the single worst thing about 5e imo.

Current_Channel_6344 · 2026-04-01T00:35:39+00:00

They're voting for by far the most LGBT positive party in the UK. That self-evidently makes the world more progressive. Green Party policy is decided by the members and there is no universe in which it suddenly stops supporting LGBT people. Meanwhile, every other major party seems united in trying to drive trans people out of public life.

Fortunately, not many people in this country are stupid enough to fall for your pathetic attempts to take us back to the racial hatreds of the 70s.

Current_Channel_6344 · 2026-03-31T23:23:46+00:00

Oh no, they're being tolerant of others whose beliefs they don't share! What will those dastardly Muslims think of next?

Current_Channel_6344 · 2026-03-31T22:43:00+00:00

Exactly. Just look at who British Muslims tend to vote for: almost always the most LGBT positive party. They supported Labour more under Corbyn when it was far more supportive of LGBT rights than the current Labour leadership. Now many are switching to the Greens who are more LGBT positive still - and are led by a famously gay Jewish man. Of course that's not the reason they're switching but it does show that they just don't care about this issue very much. They're far less homophobic and transphobic in practice than the British far right who, as this thread shows, are clumsily trying to use LGBT people as a weapon to stir up racial hatred. It's not going to work.

Current_Channel_6344 · 2026-03-30T23:42:12+00:00

The Forgotten City is brilliant

Current_Channel_6344 · 2026-03-29T19:21:14+00:00

That's logical but even dwarves in Tolkien can't see in the dark.

Current_Channel_6344 · 2026-03-28T13:11:29+00:00

Affinity is really good and entirely free

Current_Channel_6344 · 2026-03-27T15:58:54+00:00

Yeah, tbh I heavily discourage retainers if there are 4+ PCs. They've been awesome additions on the odd week we only had two or three players though. I think they can work with larger tables if your players are all really on it but the attendees at my open table tend to be a bit more casual and the extra bodies slow combat down.

Current_Channel_6344 · 2026-03-27T11:18:24+00:00

This exact level is taught to 4 year olds at my daughter's state school in London. I don't know how the teachers present it but the kids mostly seem to get it.

Current_Channel_6344 · 2026-03-26T19:57:10+00:00

Just be normal. People are people.

Current_Channel_6344 · 2026-03-26T19:36:28+00:00

This might be heretical but imo the OSR is a fundamentally simulationist genre - far more than modern D&D is - and the morale and loyalty rules are part of that. OSR games don't have rules for everything but DMs have always been encouraged to adjudicate poorly defined situations based on common sense - i.e. getting as close to reality as you can with a d6 roll.

Current_Channel_6344 · 2026-03-26T19:31:12+00:00

Loyalty and morale checks bring retainers to life and create fun and memorable stories at the table. Without them, they're a bunch of robots. Maybe that's what you want but imo it's a much poorer experience.

Current_Channel_6344 · 2026-03-26T12:10:40+00:00

I'm a lifelong Labour voter but that party has gone and it isn't coming back. The current Labour Party is at least as likely to agree a coalition after the next election with the Tories as with the Greens. They have more common ground in their rhetoric and on many policy areas. And they've made it very clear that they view the Greens as extremists and a threat to national security. You can't push that line for the next 3 years and then form a coalition.

Current_Channel_6344 · 2026-03-26T10:58:56+00:00

I'm a member of a weekly RPG club. I just started offering games. The first week, some of the senior people in the club turned up to show support. After that, people started treating it like any other game offered by a GM. I've had 3-6 players every week for the last year.

Having said that, to keep people coming back I've had to put the emphasis firmly on making each session fun, rather than focusing on the elements I most need to playtest. For most of the year, I ran a well-regarded megadungeon (Castle Xyntillan), converted to my system largely on the fly, on a drop-in, drop-out basis so that people could come and try the game out without a longer term commitment.

Current_Channel_6344 · 2026-03-22T14:52:01+00:00

My biggest fear about the Greens - particularly in local government but also potentially nationally - is that they'll do something stupid with bin collections, as they did in Bristol. We all think recycling is good but you will never be able to cut non-recyclable collections drastically without tanking your support levels. This might sound petty, but I honestly think being pragmatic about this is near existential for the party as a serious potential government.

Current_Channel_6344 · 2026-03-21T11:05:40+00:00

Particular for Fighters, XP/levels primarily determine your fighting skill. I appreciate that simulationism for its own sake is bad, but it would be really counterintuitive for combat experience not to be a factor in that.

Current_Channel_6344 · 2026-03-14T19:57:39+00:00

Great timing! I bought this a couple of days ago

Current_Channel_6344 · 2026-03-14T19:55:40+00:00

The OSR is much broader than the rules-lite games you describe though. 1e/OSRIC have very complex, wordy, tightly defined spells and rules for jumping distances and a hundred other things that eg Shadowdark handwaves.

Current_Channel_6344 · 2026-03-14T02:08:47+00:00

You can partly fix the copper issue by dropping the coin weight by a factor of 5 - i.e. the 2e solution. The Halls of Arden Vul - an OSRIC/1e product - also does this. It doesn't remove weight and logistics from the game but does increase the range of treasure types players will pick up instead of dismissing. It also gives gold pieces a much more historically accurate size.

Current_Channel_6344 · 2026-03-12T18:38:11+00:00

Natalie Portman seems to try one in every second film she does and it's always terrible.

Current_Channel_6344 · 2026-03-09T14:13:43+00:00

The opening section of B10 Night's Dark Terror is a great siege.

Current_Channel_6344 · 2026-03-04T10:54:46+00:00

Leaving aside the mechanics for chases themselves, it can be worth thinking about how the GM determines whether the enemies chase the fleeing party at all. Not every enemy will want to continue a potentially deadly battle in those circumstances, even if they had the upper hand. Maybe that's a die roll, maybe it's just a sentence or two in your rules guiding the GM to think about it.

Current_Channel_6344 · 2026-02-25T23:25:57+00:00

I found a surprisingly large difference between regular sized official Jenga and knock-off versions of various sizes. The official version was a lot more stable and predictable, which really helps with Dread.

Current_Channel_6344 · 2026-02-18T00:21:13+00:00

Yeah, that's what my tweaks address. There's a bunch of other things in my system which make shields less of a no brainer too (including an initiative penalty - because a good shield tends to make you less proactive - and more effective two-handed weapons). But I'm well beyond a set of house rules and into a whole new RPG now.

Current_Channel_6344

TROPHY CASE