"Adding a d% roll to an 18 Strength roll is hardly complicated. It was done because Strength was the only stat that needed to be increased in steps by the d% mechanic so as to improve fighters to hit and damage chances. So that was used because I favor interesting play over any imagined elegance, that being quite unlikely in an RPG in my view. RPGs are games, not art, and I don't give myself airs."
"Can you imaging the increases of stats going into the 20s needed in order to get the same result as 18/00? The human norm bell curve of 3-18 down the tubes in a jiffy. Not elegant at all, and simply foolish ;-)"
The thing I hate about this game, one of the biggest fundamental differences between it and any other BGS title is that it isn't compelling to go explore a planet that has copies of the content on all the other planets, and astoundingly little at that, the same way it is to just pick a direction in Skyrim or Fallout and walk, and end up stumbling on some shit going down in a cave or abandoned building just off the beaten path. Even if you remove the loading screens and add vehicles on planets to minimize the amount of time between engaging set pieces, it's still the same abandoned factory populated with the same pirates guarding the same generic fetch quest objective. It is such an aggressive, unrewarding waste of time with so few redeeming qualities that I'm a little shocked anyone at Bethesda thought this should merit any amount of hard-earned money, let alone seventy fucking dollars. Didn't they know? Didn't they know?
My biggest gripe with 5e is that T3/T4 play is effectively borked by the proficiency bonus scaling. Saving throws are impossible to make, AC is pointless, and martials get very little, if anything, that can compare to 6th+ spells. D&Done doesn't appear to fix any of those issues.
I mean, it does also illustrate how the empire's strength lies in numbers and resources, and not in superior skill. There's some evidence that stormtrooper accuracy is a lot better than popular media gives credit for (e.g. "these blast points are far too accurate for sand-people,") and the only reason stormtroopers miss as much as they do in the movies is because they are under Vader's orders not to injure Luke and Leia, which may or may not be true, but the battle on endor shows how susceptible the armor is to guerilla warfare that does, in fact, utilize those lower-tech weapons. I'm sure if the empire cared enough about the efficacy of the armor, they could develop a suit that incorporated shield technology and win battles with a fraction of the troops they use, but again, the suit's primary function is to mark these shock troops as the face of an insurmountably vast empire. I would not be surprised if the poor defensive qualities of the armor are intentional, to foster a strategic message to the empire's enemies that says "we don't care how many you kill, there will always be more."
I think there's a misconception, especially among less-experienced DMs, that the only valid interaction a PC can have with elements of their backstory is through conflict and/or resultant trauma, and while it is certainly a tool in the GM's toolbox to create tension and give real stakes to the campaign, it tends to create a world where nothing is worth investing in emotionally, and the character's personality and actions will reflect that. I mean, imagine you have a family or a community, and it gets torched by the fire-breathing dragon on the mountain. That can certainly foment a strong motivation to go slay the dragon, and if they succeed, maybe the character moves on from the loss (or they don't,) but either way the next time the opportunity for comfort and belonging comes up, they'll be more loathe to engage, because it opens up the possibility of getting hurt again. You effectively push the character (and possibly all that player's future characters) one step closer to being an edgelord rogue with no acquaintances who broods in the dark corner of every tavern.
It is perfectly okay for a PC to visit their hometown and spend quality time with their family with no incident whatsoever. You can also make this family a source of information or plot hooks - if they know their adventurer child is on a mission from god, certainly they'd be keeping their ear to the ground for tidbits whenever any adventurous passersby come through to rest, right? Or perhaps the PC left on bad terms, and this is an opportunity to patch the relationship (or summon the conviction to cut ties altogether, in the case of harmful relationships.) Even without loss, or the threat of loss, a PC can be reminded of why they became an adventurer in the first place and get some character development.
I mean it might help their value proposition to not attempt to sell monitor stands for a thousand dollars. I will never forget the audience's collective incredulous gasp at that reveal.
I go back occasionally to niche communities that haven't moved off yet but since I deleted my account, I can't interact and don't feel the need to stay long, and since I don't/won't use the mobile app my usage is even further reduced.
I feel bad for these players because it's obvious a shitty rugpull-lover DM got to them first with a humiliation conga campaign. You know the type, where you run into all the homebrew mindfuck creatures people like to post because the DM thinks an endless deluge of trauma and ambushes is good storytelling, and then fall back on "Challenging players is the DM's job!" Bro I'm here to tell a story, you think my level 3 warlock whose two invocations are "talk to animals" and "instant disguise" is built to get violated by a false hydra?
One rule I've considered using is, if you fall to 0 HP, you can forgo making death saves and immediately take a full turn, but you die at the end of that turn, no save or healing allowed. It would also allow PCs to get last words where they otherwise wouldn't be able to speak.
In a capitalist hellscape, any amount of damage is damaged beyond all hope because everyone is completely interchangeable, and ultimately, disposable.
So, y'know, you're not wrong.