It's starting to get warm in Khazan. A gentle breeze blows through the Blue Frog Tavern as customers relax during siesta. An orc clomps in through the back door, grabs several pieces of paper off the bulletin board, and leaves again, grumbling about supplies for the outhouse. The odor of the latrine passes briefly once the door closes behind him. Jack the bartender walks over to make sure the customer didn't leave with any posting pins and notices that the customer uncovered several old bills. One of them is rather peculiar. It has a map to a location in the countryside a few leagues away and a request for volunteers. That in itself is common enough, but the language seems queer:
"Wanted: Six (6) student volunteers needed for beta testing of video games at ENCOM research lab. Basic COMBAT skills or TECHNO-MAGE talents a plus. Successful applicants will be paid fifty (50) dollars plus passes to dine at the cafeteria. Apply in person at ENCOM (see address below) or send email to hutcherl@mac.com," the sign says.
"Oh well, he thinks to himself, maybe it was put here under the previous owner. Must be some old dialect we don't use anymore. 50 gold would be reasonable for a combat artist to take a trip like that. Dollar must have been an old name for a gold dragon."
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Lets put together a T&T Gedanken--a thought experiment--on
gaming rules. I have developed a system which will enable us to
perform case studies comparing different rule variations. I will
do a series comparing the 5th edition rules with David Thorn's
proposed "6th edition" rules. I will provide test scenarios
(experiments) and will run each as a GM. While the first experiment
is proceeding, players may submit via email their own suggestions
for future experiments.