I'm feelin mighty low, Veeky Forums and I don't know why...

>1) Multi-classing pisses me off

You don't have to multi-class , it's perfectly balanced in 5E at least if you do. In my ten years + of playing I've yet to see it honestly.

>2) No context at all. Almost every other RPG had a setting in the core book.

Forgotten Realms, Grey Hawk, Dark Sun, Eberron, 4E's points of light setting. They're all included in either core books or as supplements. Likewise you're encouraged to homebrew with the setting being a generic fantasy world for you to add to.

>3) Wisdom as a stat makes no sense.
I don't see a basis for this. There's huge amounts of examples in fiction and history of wise characters from Obi Wan Kenobi to the seven sages of ancient Greece.

>4) Rewarding players for killing monsters alone is bullshit.

Rewarding players for overcoming obstacles makes perfect sense. Just again as in fiction Hercules is rewarded for killing the Nemian Lion with his impenetrable hide

5) Humans are a retarded race, never once seen someone use them at the table.

Luckily there's multiple other races to choose from, I've seen plenty in my games. They serve as a common ground to build the fiction around.

>6) The constant debates I've seen over class balance.

People argue on the internet over everything. This is inevitable with any game as perfect balance that satisfied everyone will never exist.

8) Has 3 books for content that is almost always in 1 in other RPG's.

While this is to a degree marketing it's original intent was to obsfucate the rules so that players would play more naturally by not attempting to metagame.

This also means players only need to buy one , cheaper and lighter book to play making the game more accessible and easier to understand.

D&D is hardly a perfect game by any means but most of the complaints about it are fairly baseless once you actually understand the system and play it.

>Any questions?

What system do you play or would you suggest ?

I don't hate fantasy, I just don't like D&D
>I think you're focusing on ONE system as a stereotype for the whole thing.
Meaning?
TY. I made a whole, to-scale map of Paris and highlighted a few areas I thought were interesting (see above), and made a secret macro for artifacts. I'm trying to put a different spin on the overarching backstory so any players who saw chapter 16 would get surprised, but so far I have few concrete details. Other than that, all I need to do is make sure I have a few rules down and pat.

>Forgotten Realms, Grey Hawk, Dark Sun, Eberron, 4E's points of light setting. They're all included in either core books or as supplements. Likewise you're encouraged to homebrew with the setting being a generic fantasy world for you to add to.
I should probably clarify that I got into D&D when 5E came out, and I don't remember anything about settings there. That, and having multiple settings can get confusing fast for someone who's just getting into it. Also homebrew can get complicated, especially when it comes to something as arbitrary as magic.
>I don't see a basis for this. There's huge amounts of examples in fiction and history of wise characters from Obi Wan Kenobi to the seven sages of ancient Greece.
Wisdom might make sense as a progression currency, but D&D treats it like some sort of mish mash of things like willpower and perception as well as magic depending on your class.
>Rewarding players for overcoming obstacles makes perfect sense. Just again as in fiction Hercules is rewarded for killing the Nemian Lion with his impenetrable hide
Overcoming obstacles doesn't always equal killing things, and players shouldn't think that way.
>What system do you play or would you suggest?
For a Fantasy setting? Numenera, Shadowrun and Edge.

>I just don't like D&D
>Meaning?
Well, that. What do you mean with D&D? Do you mean fantasy RPGs? D&D the first system? D&D the series of systems? Gnolls aren't specific to any of those, they're a mythological entity. Put them in your next game where they're gonna mock everyone's haircut and steal their ice cream.

Never heard of Gnolls outside of D&D.

So I take it you're going for a bit more of a sandbox style where the players can go where they want?

Are those red dots the areas of interest? How many sessions do you expect the players to spend at each? Is each one like its own little plot hook?

That sounds like a good plan if you have artifacts prepared or you can improvise interesting artifacts. Just be sure to give the players a reason to go to those locations. A bit of railing in that regard is rarely a bad thing.

Now you did

Gnolls are eternal
Gnolls are the stars

I'm gonna talk to my psychiatrist about it soon enough

Ok, I'll bite. Tell us why you like gnolls so much.

What is Might and Magic?

WoW comes to mind.
Gnolls are basically hyena-goblins; they're a fantasy staple.

>Overcoming obstacles doesn't always equal killing things, and players shouldn't think that way.
yeah, you know, there are optional rules for progressing in DMG - milestones, events, such stuff
Only closet FATAL admirers use XP anyway

I'm not "going" for a sandbox, that's just a core of the system, one of the core classes are based on exploration. Also the game is sort of civilizationey in that your hold has stats and a population that constantly declines (no one can give birth), and one of the fastes ways to upgrade a stat is to venture out and scavenge.

Yeah, the dots are areas like the eiffel tower, the french senate building, and a museum that houses what is believed to be the sword of Charlemagne. As for how much time, IDK, one session? 2 if it gets drawn out. I mainly just put them there for context (after all, there's a reason Fallout games are set in places with historical land marks). The context is also important because the players don't actually know where they are (they have no parents and know nothing of their origin). I suppose I could put a few plot things or side quests there, just for exploration. I have a plan to rip off Fallout 4 and have an Alien space ship crash land.
Never heard of it, lol.
Never played it, and usually when something is a "fantasy staple", it's either from LotR, or D&D. Unless you can point out to an earlier origin of mimics.

I think I get what you're feeling. It might just be a result of spending too much time focusing on one thing and you get sick of it. I find myself obsessing over a game line and plowing through the books or plotting out a setting and story only to find after a few days I lose all interest.

Just forget about it for a while and you'll feel better. Read a book, play a video game, or go outside and do something distracting so you'll stop focusing on whatever's bothering you. These games are fun, but it's not something you wanna overdose on so if you come back to it after a break you'll remember why you enjoy them so much.

>I should probably clarify that I got into D&D when 5E came out

5E core setting is Forgotten Realms as shown by all the modules including the starter set being set in Forgotten Realms and multiple forgotten realms references throughout the core books.

>Wisdom might make sense as a progression currency ,

Well that's XP. It's possible to split the various core stats into component parts. Other systems have done so. Gurps has Perception and Will for example. For simplicity's sake however 5E embroils multiple things into one. It's a trade off simplicity and ease of access for. I'm not sure either are wrong but what D&D does suits it as a system.

>Rewarding players for overcoming obstacles makes perfect sense.

Players are rewarded for completing encounters. They can choose how they deal with these encounters and get rewards as set by the DM for overcoming them. If they kill the hill giant they get XP. If they persuade the hill giant to stop ransacking the local village somehow they get XP. Likewise you can use milestone leveling and do away with the XP system. Even 1st edition gave you XP for getting gold
>Numenera , Shadowrun and Edge.

Why are these systems actually any better ? Because Shadowrun has more stats to represent wisdom? That doesn't quite sell a system.

...You want... A serious answer?

Yes. Be as detailed as possible.

Sounds nice and flexible. I count about a dozen dots, so you've got plenty to work with. The only other thing I can think to do is to make sure there's so catch or twist or something isn't as it seems for every artifact so that they don't get boring to explore.

And maybe have a few random encounters up your sleeve in case the players decide to try exploring other places around town, or if they players decide that they don't have time for artifacts and just need to focus on scavenging and survival or something.

It sounds fun, and ready to run, unless you need artifact ideas or something.

Oops

Didn't realise you were OP. Wouldn't want to derail things with an edition war jerk about D&D when you're down about shit. Sorry to hear that honestly. Dming and trying to create things is really difficult , it's always hard to project the great vision you have on your mind onto paper and then onto the group. It's easy to burn out stressing about this before you've even began.

My suggestion would be you take a break , look after yourself, go for a walk, cook a healthy meal for yourself,read a good book whatever good self care you know that helps.

Without sounding condescending have you considered that there might wider issues to what you're feeling ? You might have issues with anxiety or depression that you could get help with via something like CBT therapy or medication which is perfectly understandable and okay.

All the best hope you move on from this one user.

Aight.

It's gonna start of weird, but first of all, I like them because everyone else hates them. Save for the occasional other gnollposter.

Everyone's always giving them shit you know? Kobolds: they're underdogs. Still they're popular, and people find them cute. Gnolls?

Gnolls they're always there when you need a monster, when you need something savage to be massacred, or just any kind of cannon fodder. I like this contrarianism I have, that there's a bad reputation over them, that most people feel outright, irrational HATE towards them, eagerly declaring them trash. I ignore morons that go "furries reee" because they're irrelevant to that point. But yeah, gnolls: nobody loves them. Nobody wants to give them something, make them interesting, and yet, they have a huge potential.

They're non-human people that represent a bit of african exotism. Just for that alone, how could they be different from, I don't know, Kenkus or other races? Well they're just always fluffed to be evil mindless savages. People jumped on it and gave it all sorts of red-flag connotations, though that's just an example on how lazy and close-minded they themselves are. Just make them a culture worth shit.

And personally, I suppose I identify with that situation a little. I've had forever people talk shit about me because I was never fitting the social mold of where I grew up. Then I learned to say "fuck that" to it and quit caring about what's said on me. Gnolls don't care either, they fuck shit up and they're happy about it, they like to hear the screaming, but they don't end up being edgy because they -just- want to fuck shit up. They're sort of like pirates, and who actually doesn't like pirates?

"Fuck the world, let's burn a village for keks"

Doesn't help that I'm seeing them as a race that loves to laugh.

Eat something, go outside for a bit. It helps. Really.

But beyond that, there's that whole depth of them being a race mostly survival-oriented. They live in a really difficult area and take the shit of the world but they tough it up. It's great to give them precious values you just never learn by being raised in a city upon a green hill where crops grow large and the cattle grows fat. Their culture is tough and brutal because it has to be.

Immediately I hear the others whining it makes them noble-savages. The thing is, it doesn't. They're still assholes and that's what I love.

Again, fuck the world, and it's a feeling I empathize with. They're not necessarily evil, but they just don't take your pity or shit like that; they'd find it funnier to throw you off a cliff, so they'd do it. It's a nice way to dip into a more complex morality, without going the obvious way of saying "everything's peachy actually."

I guess the closer RL approximation I could give you would be biker gangs. Aren't biker gangs cool? They are. But we admire them for that they are "badass", but what makes them "badass" are in fact what we see as "evil" acts. Hell's Angels? Big names, but they're drug traffickers and murderers or some shit. The point is, Hell's Angels aren't afraid to break the rules either. They wanna fuck shit up. Still you'll see that inside their clan there are a lot of strong positive values such as loyalty and camaraderie.

At the very least that is how I see the race. I know most others see them as trash they hate, and I find that irrational. If you hate the race, why don't you remake it in something that makes more sense to you? Since Anons in general piss me off, I'm genuinely happy to take the race and developp it even further in my settings, a way to slap it in their face and say "hahaaa I'm right bitches, fuck you".

Whenever I want to do a dude or a dudette that has his insight on the world but ultimately is quite relax about shit, I make it a gnoll. It's so easy to justify. Always hilarious to step on a burnt baby and say "what? It was already dead."

Making it ambiguous about how much of an asshole-on-purpose he's being is the best part.

When you're considered the "trashiest race of the fantasy universe"... It gives you that special, unique quality; it's the potential to subvert it entirely and say "yeah well fuck that lol".

Once again, I guess I identify on a personal level. I've always had problems with people because I'm emotionally distant and they call me an asshole so I get their hate. I can't help the way I'm born, but I've felt much better since I've decided that meant I didn't have to play by their rules and I get my kicks out of antagonizing people I see as boring, whiny or moralfaggy.

It'd take someone who's been living on carrion in the dry desert for me to consider them a bit more like potential friends. Fuck people with good happy little lives haha. They don't know shit about the world, they're just like "blahblah blah blah blah blah omg blah blah blah."

Oh yeah and.

Man gnolls look cool as fuck visually

SO MUCH POTENTIAL for character design. You can go absolutely crazy, all the excentricity. Fucking underrated.

Hmm, interesting. I don't usually play fantasy settings, so I was pretty indifferent, but you make them sound pretty cool. They also look like cute hyenas, which is a plus. Maybe I'll include them in a Traveler game or something because of you.

>5E core setting is Forgotten Realms as shown by all the modules including the starter set being set in Forgotten Realms and multiple forgotten realms references throughout the core books.
Know nothing about the setting, so any references are lost.
>It's a trade off simplicity and ease of access for.
Yeah, Numenera has 3 stats, (might, speed, and intellect) and Edge also has 3 (body, mind, and spirit). You still want to talk about simplicity? Besides, all those stats make sense, wisdom doesn't. All you'd need to do is change the name to intuition and put will related thing into INT and call it a day.
>Why are these systems actually any better ? Because Shadowrun has more stats to represent wisdom? That doesn't quite sell a system.
Maybe not, and I'll admit I just put SR in there because fantasy. But my other examples still stand. Numenera is a game where enemies don't roll FFS. Not to mention that it has the most original fantasy setting I've seen yet.

>Without sounding condescending have you considered that there might wider issues to what you're feeling ? You might have issues with anxiety or depression that you could get help with via something like CBT therapy or medication which is perfectly understandable and okay.
Yep, been taking meds and seeing shrinks since I was sick. Personally I like my anxiety, it gets me good grades in school.
>go outside for a bit.
NIGGA ARE YOU INSANE?

Thanks, user, for listening to what I'm saying.

You might not realize it, but I've hardly ever got to talk of them seriously with anyone since I've cut all bridges with my former friends. I thought in Veeky Forums circles people would be interested, but it turns out they either care for furry ERP or they just fucking hate them, and they hate my guts too, because I'm a gnollposter, and therefore I'm also a furry ERPer to them. You're pretty much the first.

I just want to open people's mind to the possibilities. They play too much by the book: they see something written down and they say, this is trash, we're treating it at trash. But what they should do is interpret it differently in a way that's not trash anymore.

Since people don't wanna discuss things and ideas, why are they even here?!

You know the psychos from Borderlands? That's how I imagine savage gnolls being actually crazy / evil. Mad Max? They're screaming "witness me" part because they're into it, and part for keks. It's also always funny to tell humans that you will never stop seeing them as cattle. Still, you can be friends, if they show they're badass enough dudes.

Also dog jokes.

Of course, you can make less savage, more civilized characters, for example, those that came to the city of other races and lived them. I still like that they retain that "wily" qualities to the very end, you got the old, stern matriarch that's still the jumpiest grandma of the neighborhood and will put an hex on your ass if you break her window. Fantasy satanism can be fun.

(pic related, that's my own satanist grandma. She's a comically harsh influence-based crime lord, but she's completely crazy over protecting her magically inclined granddaughter going through a goth phase, reserving the entire public library every morning to make sure it's empty when the kid's going for her stupid book fix)

Sometimes I'm thinking: maybe what I'm doing aren't even "gnolls" anymore.

How you feeling now user?

>go outside for a bit.
>NIGGA ARE YOU INSANE?

Seriously, sports beat depression. Trust me. Sports and sun.

Think like hard rock. Think like gnoll. Go out go out go out!

Mmmm, I just think that the most important thing is getting people who can make a big time commitment to each session each week. After that, you really just have to make sure everyone wants to play the same kind of game, cause some people like combat, some people like intrigue, some people don't like any challenge. Group dynamic is huge. What do you think Jewish Shrimp Bear?

Jewish Shrimp Lycanthrope, actually.