Sean Merwin

We'll call that a victory. We'll call it a victory. And also not coming off in your hands are our listeners. I don't know. That segue was worthy of Ben Byrne.

Yes, I retract everything that I've said. But we do have listeners and they do write to us from time to time. Sometimes they do it via our Patreon Discord or via YouTube or Mastodon or Blue Sky or the hellscape that is currently Twitter, real life at conventions, etc. So let's start with taking some of those questions right now.

Yes, I retract everything that I've said. But we do have listeners and they do write to us from time to time. Sometimes they do it via our Patreon Discord or via YouTube or Mastodon or Blue Sky or the hellscape that is currently Twitter, real life at conventions, etc. So let's start with taking some of those questions right now.

First, Michael J. Pastor, who I always think of as Michael J. Pasta because that's how Ben Burn pronounces his name with his Australian accent. Michael writes to us via YouTube, Sean's comment on the big bad boss battle in his home campaign prompted this question for a future episode. Were big boss battles in RPGs common before video games? Or is that a result of the game form feedback loop?

First, Michael J. Pastor, who I always think of as Michael J. Pasta because that's how Ben Burn pronounces his name with his Australian accent. Michael writes to us via YouTube, Sean's comment on the big bad boss battle in his home campaign prompted this question for a future episode. Were big boss battles in RPGs common before video games? Or is that a result of the game form feedback loop?

Or were they there all along and influenced video games from the start? Now, I would say they have been there since before video games and they have been there since before D&D. This concept has been around since people have told each other long stories. It's called a climax or a climactic scene in literature.

Or were they there all along and influenced video games from the start? Now, I would say they have been there since before video games and they have been there since before D&D. This concept has been around since people have told each other long stories. It's called a climax or a climactic scene in literature.

And over the years, the term boss battle has made its way into common parlance, whether it's video games or TTRPGs. But, I mean, Beowulf battles Grendel's mother at the end of that epic, right? That's a big boss battle. But it wasn't called that, but it was still a thing. It was the resolution of all of the action that had led up to that point. And we can go through...

And over the years, the term boss battle has made its way into common parlance, whether it's video games or TTRPGs. But, I mean, Beowulf battles Grendel's mother at the end of that epic, right? That's a big boss battle. But it wasn't called that, but it was still a thing. It was the resolution of all of the action that had led up to that point. And we can go through...

sagas, epics, you know, we could do Gilgamesh, we could do all of those that lead up to this point. So yes, it's always been there. It hasn't always been called the big bad boss battle. But I'm sure that the person who wrote Beowulf or the people who wrote Beowulf would agree that that is a great way to shorten and truncate and get that concept across.

sagas, epics, you know, we could do Gilgamesh, we could do all of those that lead up to this point. So yes, it's always been there. It hasn't always been called the big bad boss battle. But I'm sure that the person who wrote Beowulf or the people who wrote Beowulf would agree that that is a great way to shorten and truncate and get that concept across.

Yep. So, great question. I hope that helped illuminate at least our thoughts on it. Next, we have Falcon Neal, who writes in via Patreon. Recently, Teo said 5e was at its best when it wasn't trying to nail down every little rules thing. In 2024, the creator seemed to have tried simplifying and moving even closer to real-world language. I'm going to stop there.

Yep. So, great question. I hope that helped illuminate at least our thoughts on it. Next, we have Falcon Neal, who writes in via Patreon. Recently, Teo said 5e was at its best when it wasn't trying to nail down every little rules thing. In 2024, the creator seemed to have tried simplifying and moving even closer to real-world language. I'm going to stop there.

There is more sections to this question, but I need to stop there because... i don't agree with that statement yeah i would say the opposite is true and if anything we've seen 2024 moving away from simple language and using more formal language and more formal rules and the capitalization of terms to specify them as rule statements rather than language statements uh

There is more sections to this question, but I need to stop there because... i don't agree with that statement yeah i would say the opposite is true and if anything we've seen 2024 moving away from simple language and using more formal language and more formal rules and the capitalization of terms to specify them as rule statements rather than language statements uh

And so right there, let's discuss that first. Do you agree? Do you disagree?

And so right there, let's discuss that first. Do you agree? Do you disagree?

Yeah, and that's a pendulum that swings back and forth as Teos has been saying, but throughout the years, when it gets super light and it relies on conversation and GM ruling, people clamor for a more concrete fixed rule set. And then as it becomes more concrete and more fixed, you get all of the contradictions and all of the issues. at all of the problems with it.

Yeah, and that's a pendulum that swings back and forth as Teos has been saying, but throughout the years, when it gets super light and it relies on conversation and GM ruling, people clamor for a more concrete fixed rule set. And then as it becomes more concrete and more fixed, you get all of the contradictions and all of the issues. at all of the problems with it.

And then people say, oh, I wish it was just easy so we could just play our game and not sit for 20 minutes discussing all these rules. And the pendulum starts to swing back. And there is no right or wrong answer. It depends on your group and it depends on the kind of game you want to play.