Setting A notional idea I have in the setting of Be Not Afraid is that it is a “modern setting,” which is to say from a technological and societal standpoint, it’s not much different from our own world.
The exception of course is made for the supernatural, and while I personally do believe in supernatural things, the element is greatly exaggerated for the sake of a gameable and interesting setting.
“Winners don’t do Drugs”
Some FBI Director possibly? (lol) Maybe it’s just in the type of media I consume, but use of drugs in combat is a pretty common trope in fiction, which isn’t terribly shocking given it’s a fairly common thing in our history. Sure, fighting stoned out of your mind isn’t a great tactical choice, but the right dosage or mixture can make someone a great deal more effective given the right nudge.
I haven’t posted in a while, and that’s due to the fact I’m working on two big faction articles simultaneously, while also messing around with reverse engineering a magick system and a couple other things. But sitting in the backlog was this mechanic, so I thought it should be presented in the meanwhile.
First and foremost, this procedure is not a replacement for roleplay (duh), but to be specific, I don’t care for mechanics that trivialize social interactions or make it a “button to speak good.
“There should be a science of discontent. People need hard times to develop psychic muscles."
Paul Atreides Much like Firearms, psionics in D&D have this stigma around them, a very vocal group of people who think they don’t belong. My typical retort to those people is to tell them to browse Appendix N of any old D&D edition, and you’ll find psionics was quite a big part of the pulp fantasy that would inspire D&D.
Of all the classes, Thief receives probably the brunt of criticism regarding D&D’s early class design. I’ve even met some OD&D grognards who view the class as borderline heretical and excise the class entirely from their games, viewing it as a “forced niche.”
The point of this article is not to debate the merits of the thief class, which I believe it has - even if not mechanically, certainly archetypically - but that is a bit beyond the scope of this article.
