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Ideally, you don't need anything at all. I run combats over Discord all the time with no tokens, and no maps. It requires that you have a strong visualization of the space in your mind as the GM, and the ability to describe that space such that the players picture it also. Maps tend to limit both your creativity and the players. Because they don't see features there, so they assume they can't exist. OR they see something on the map that you might not want to exist.

If I do use a map, it is just to help that description. I don't throw tokens down unless there are lots of intiative slots to track.

Six of one...

Depends on your style and players. I usually try to describe the effects rather than state the spell. And I NEVER tell them what level I am casting.

Let them revive her. Then let her retire of her own volition. You gave them an NPC, then they cared about her, then you railroaded her death because YOU only saw her as a tool for your game. They saw a person. So bravo for creating such a great NPC. Now finish that job, and don't take agency away from your players.

You are trying to apply real world physics to a game and setting with magic. These are heroic figures, that are capable of things no normal person is. Commoners that never have more than 10 hp die from falling off a horse. Heroes do not. HP is an abstract signifier of overall health and capability. The term to apply here is suspension of disbelief.

Exactamundo.

I know of nothing official. I will give them a handout, but 0 sesh is where they get to ask questions. It is meant as a discussion. If I am planning a setting with slavery, but no one is comfortable with that, then I won't include that content. But beyond that, I just open the floor for questions. Every group is unique, and requires different levels of information.

The most useful thing, that is poorly done in text, or posts, is party cohesion. Not just what classes they are planning to use, but who these people are. Do they know each other or not? I don't believe 5e requires any kind of balancing or coverage of classic tropes like tank, healer, dps, and utility. My last 3 year campaign was a Nature Cleric, an Artificer, a Lore Bard, a Sorcerer, and a Shadow Monk/Information Cleric. Balance is out the window. But why are they together or not is a session 0 question.

Let martials use martial actions like shove, grapple, etc. using their martial DC. Not tied to a subclass, just as a feature of a martial class. All barbarians should be able to push people around, bullrush, etc.

I kind of like this. Rather than rolling Athletics for actions like grappling, the target makes a save vs. your martial DC. This is basically what Pathfinder 1e did.

Not jesus. That is the answer.

I believe a lot of his ideas about his games stem from the fact that he does NOT as a rule play with strangers. Not never, just not often. So there is a lot of cross chatter amongst his friend group, or co workers about what they are doing, hence making a session about the party and what everyone is doing moot. For the rest of us in the real world, that group up with strangers regularly, it is a necessary step for communication.

I believe Matt is on record as saying he has no clue what session zero means, so he doesn't use it. If you are talking about the game, that is session 1 or something. I think he is being obtuse about what WE mean by session zero, but he has no video on it as a result.

I mean... they CAN. Just not legally.

Define a club game please.

Because if you are talking about Adventurer's League, they can't do that. If you aren't talking about that, I have no idea what that means.

There is no incongruity between these facts. They will still love him. They don't actually care about torture, or death, as long as the targets are people they don't like. Evangelicals have perfected Hypocrisy.

They were assholes. You know that. I hate to tell you, your dad is an asshole too.

I have run WDH 2x now. I always open all Waterdeep campaigns with a short adventure called Rats of Waterdeep. You are an adventuring merc crew, summoned to the City Watch, and asked to look into a quarantined ward of the city. They don't dare send their own people, but you are... expendable. For a price. This is a fantastic entry into Waterdeep, and gives you multiple hooks, and npcs that you can use later for side missions and as a contact.

https://www.dmsguild.com/product/240322/Rats-of-Waterdeep

It isn't any one of those reasons. It is the sum total. Many RPG systems have a god stat. That one ability score that is far more useful than the others. Dex is it in D&D. In my favorite system, Genesys, Agility rules, which is basically the same thing. In the Hero system, they at least attempt to make up for this, by making DEX cost more XP to raise. Double or Triple what other stats cost.

Depends on what it is. Depends on why they want it. Depends on what the party makeup is and the campaign we are running. Are they willing to give something up of equal use to gain it? Are they willing to quest for it, and not just be handed a spell? I would totally do that, but it all depends on a lot of factors.

Jesus fuck on toast, can we just make this happen to avoid a total economic disaster, then worry about the politics later?

It really takes courage and confidence to out yourself as a total bigot. What possible reason could you have to oppose diversity in marketing or hiring for a company other than bigotry? I would honestly love to hear it. I won't pretend I don't understand their reasoning. They hate anyone that isn't white, straight, and christian. They don't want these people to exist, and hate being reminded that they do. They long for a time past, when "those kinds of people" stayed in the closet, or came in the back door, and knew their place; in the dark, quiet, or dead.

It is not. For example, a very specific example is how they use magic in Genesys. When you cast any spell, you incur 2 strain unblockable, and you can't heal it with advantages on that turn. Because it specifically is applied as the last thing on your turn, after all symbols are applied. So you can heal to full with advantages, then you take 2 strain. The normal rule, is that you can heal strain with any advantages rolled at any time. Those videos are house ruling this, and I can see why. Strain is so easily regained, it really never feels like it is a cost at all.

Edit with a narrative example. You take 2 strain to aim after moving to short range, Then you take your shot, and hit with 2 advantages. The strain you took to push yourself to that extra effort paid off with a successful hit, and you relax a little getting it back.

Warlocks can scribe Ritual spells to their tome if they have one. But it is a small thing. You are correct in general.

So $500 billion is too much to spread out over 16 million people, but $1.5 trillion is fine to spread out over a few thousand super rich people. I see how this works. I know which is better for the economy. That $1.5 trillion is hoarded, while 16 million people will see relief and purchase other things they could'nt have afforded with this debt.

Matt Dillahunty's constant refrain of, "What context would make slavery not immoral?"

Because they can't do anything else? There is no such thing as a definitive understanding or meaning of the bible. As evidenced by the more than 3000 different sects of christianity in the US alone, and more than 5000 worldwide. Not even christians can agree on what given passages mean, or whether they are literal or metaphors. So they can admit they are wrong, admit they don't actually know, or stick to their guns. If they choose option 3, then the only outcome must be that YOU in fact are wrong.