That sounds right

Independently from common choices for point distribution, I was thinking more of how often certain stats end up with certain numbers out of all possible combinations how points could be spent.

Exactly! (Not a native speaker, blame it on that.)

Do you happen to know of a source that depicts the different probabilities for stats in point buy? I couldn't find one, but I'd love to see which of your suggestions comes closest to that. They're all still comfortably simple, I like that. I assume that it would become quite complicated to take the higher costs of point buy's high end stats into account.

It does indeed seem pretty simple and convenient. The graphs look good, more accurate than those by dice.run. Are they from another generator?

Thanks for the feedback!

Has anyone read the Unearthed Arcana for bastions? Is it good?

Make this a level 15 ability for fighters and then emigrate so that the caster inquisition won‘t crucify you for doing it

Rules option for DnD 5E, specifically for legendary and mythical monsters that tend to be the ones with the most HP:

'Attacks from legendary or mythical monsters hit automatically if they require an attack roll and the effects of the attack would not give the target a condition. Legendary resistances of monsters can only be used against effects that can be assigned to the spell schools abjuration, illusion, transformation or enchantment. Otherwise, monsters can still use their Legendary Resistance to pass saving throws against any effect that would give the monster one or more conditions. In case of doubt, the DM decides. After a monster has used Legendary Resistance, its movement rate is halved until the end of its next turn. The damage caused by the monster's attacks that require attack rolls is also halved until the end of the monster's next turn after using Legendary Resistance.

(These rules can ensure that battles are both shorter and more exciting due to the higher damage dealt by both sides. The battles also become more dangerous, making PCs think twice about taking the risk. Creativity is encouraged when considering alternative strategies for conflict resolution. Both ensure that there will be fewer battles overall, which remain the most time-consuming scenes in the game. The increased risk also makes combat itself more creative when searching for ways to damage the enemy or use the environment for a tactical advantage. It also encourages the player characters to improve their supply of healing options, e.g. through the help of NPCs that can cast healing spells.)'

Scribbled together based on this post and its comments as well as some additional ideas I've had.

EDIT: Fixed something that got lost in automatic translation.

Did one of your spellcasters know the Gate spell? If so, what stopped the PCs from pulling the BBEG out of their lair and beating them up from the comfort of their homes? I'm having trouble coming up with challenges that don't actively oppose the abilities of high-level PCs. Just saying 'no' and refusing to let a spell take normal effect would very likely seem unfair, no matter how logical the in-game explanation might seem.

I like your approach to speed up combat, although I inevitably will have to look up stuff and I would understand if my players would view it as unfair if only they have to skip their turn while this wouldn't apply to NPCs.

We have repeatedly debated the matter of spells for almost a year while never quite reaching a consensus. I understand your opinion on winning D&D, I just think that the game will not be able to develop any depth anymore if the preparation can't be relied on, being replaced by an inflation of poorly thought through plot hooks made up on the spot.

We will dive into that style of play as well, yes. But there are perils left in the game world that can't be taken care of by lower-level NPC adventurers. Thanks for your feedback!

Similar development with my group. I've come to enjoy RPing a lot more than combat, which actually takes us much more time to calculate with all the higher-level abilities than improvising NPCs on the spot. But I know fighting will still be inevitable in the future, so we're blending in some rules from Worlds Without Number and home-brew to speed it up in the future.

You actually write out your music, even record it? Sellout! Disgrace to our Lord Stan!

Wait, wrong subgenre

Freudian slip.

Commands triggered by Code Red

• Faelys: go get the prettiest red dress you can find
• Mystery: spill some red fire ants in the head waiter's bed and take their place for the best service during the date
• Sand: indefinitely borrow a golden engagement ring with a set ruby for if the date should go especially well
• Toron: set up an escape horse with red dyed fur at the backdoor for if the date should get the tiniest bit uncomfortable (red fur for safety in town traffic)

Depends. (Dunno if your DM plans to use them in your campaign, so spoilers?)

::: spoiler Spoiler If the succubus was polymorphed by someone else using the polymorph spell or did so herself (not one of her default abilities), then yes. However, as far as I‘m aware, dispel magic doesn‘t affect a succubus‘ innate shapechanging trait. :::

Enough of boring rules-talk; Konsi‘s a smart (wise) goblin. She‘ll know that she just has to hug Maybe-Razira hard enough. If it‘s a shapechanger, they‘ll pop back into their true form under the force of the mighty squeeze.

Excited for the next part! Really looking forward to seeing your posts everyday. 😊

The polymorphed succubus: (o_O;)

"If I had just one WISH, I'd WISH that all gold and weapons I could WISH for would vanish vanWISH from shops nearby and appear before my feet to fulfill my dreams and WISHES. WISH that would work."

WISHWISHWISH

My players are about to hit level 17 sometime soon, send help

Had the idea to do something similar with my group, then rejected the idea because I feared that this would become annoying for them over time. Did the chicken work out long-term at your table without causing annoyance?

I think the second book didn't catch me enough to read on? But if I remember correctly, the Winter Queen was already in the first book, will pick it up again

My initial thoughts when posting the OP were something like "When the decision against a male antagonist is made, there's a higher probability of the baddie also having a more original motivation." However, others have rightly said that just changing the gender of male BBEGs already gives opportunity for some great ideas inspired by such thought experiments. And my general idea when writing the OP isn't too valid, either. Should have been less fixated on gender and more straightforward that what I'm looking for are unique personalities and original motivations of antagonists unlike the classics money, power, dogma.

This is awesome! Thanks for pointing out!

Quite some! I'll look into those I don't know (some didn't come to mind yesterday), thanks!

Sometimes the simplest solution is the best... Actually didn't think of just changing their gender, thanks!

Also yeah, my head's must have been REALLY empty yesterday, 'cause of course I know the Dathomir witches, Hela and some others mentioned in other comments. Just didn't come to mind when I sat down, don't know why

Not-thought-through 1 Minute Solution #2: Using the one higher die for Martial Arts from the class table (always d6 instead of d4, d8 instead of d6 etc.)

Thank you very much for your replies! After some more research based on what you've told me, I'll settle with Worlds Without Number and keep Genesys and Mini Six as back-up plans.

I got the free version of WWN today as other reviews I've read gave a very positive impression. But it appears quite focused on one setting, do you think it's adaptable to other scenarios without too much work? (aside from Stars Without Number, of course)

Apart from that, Freeform Universal also wandered into the top tier of the original list after some more research.

I've looked up further reviews, and this one sounds really interesting, especially the way players set up their characters' abilities. However, there were some mentions about more or less frequent discussion of rulings during play that could take up some time. Does that match your experience? Was there a certain aspect of play that left especially much uncertainty rules-wise?

Do Old School Essentials and Worlds Without Number also work for long-term campaigns if that wish should arise?

PbtA seems to be too general to be usable without a lot of effort (as others have pointed out); I've read some more about The Black Hack and that probably won't click with me, too. The list's getting shorter, nice!

I don't mind game-specific dice. Without having read the actual rules of it, Ironsworn's vow mechanic seems like a double-edged sword to me. Seems to encourage RP and progress, but also sounds like it makes any side-track activity pointless. Am I getting something wrong? Also, is an Ironsworn game over once the PCs' vows are fulfilled? (It would be cool to have a system that makes longer campaigns possible. I'll add that to the original post.)

Sounds great! By mass battles, do you mean larger monster groups of like 20-100 entities or actually entire armies? I'll stick to fantasy for the most part like you said, but it's good to have a system that's generally adaptable to different settings. Does the Pathfinder version run on Pathfinder rules, too, and if so, can it be used for the Savage Worlds rule system instead?