Bocoloid from Southern Edge

 It might sound counterintuitive, but the fewer powers, skills, and features your character sheet has, the more freedom you actually have as a player. In crunchier systems like D&D 5e or Pathfinder , when players are faced with a situation, the first thing they do is look at their sheet and "press the buttons" they have available. They look for the magical power that solves the puzzle. They only engage in activities where they have proficiency. And often, the same player ends up doing all the talking just because they have a +8 Charisma. It ends up feeling more like a board game, where each player has their set moves and just repeats them. In contrast, in simpler—and often deadlier—systems, solutions aren't found on the sheet. They're found in player ingenuity and interaction with the environment. You’ll often hear advice in 5e videos about making combat more interesting by encouraging players to interact with the terrain—kick over tables, shove crates, use el...

 Like many others, I started my TTRPG journey with Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition . I ran games, I played in games, and I fudged a lot of dice. I pulled punches. I softened outcomes. For nearly two years, I ran a long campaign where no player character ever died. Everyone was happy. It was safe, fun, and predictable. We all kind of knew that death wasn’t really on the table—just failure at best. Then I joined a new table, one run by a veteran DM I knew from Magic: The Gathering . He made one thing clear from the beginning: “All my rolls are in the open. No fudging.” We were playing Lost Mine of Phandelver , a starter module, with a mostly new group. In our second session, everything went to hell. The goblin boss had a great stealth roll and ambushed us. Several goblins dropped our wizard immediately. The hobgoblin leader rolled a natural 20 and downed another party member. We decided to flee. My dwarven cleric used magic to hold off the enemies and bought time for the other...