I hate to say it, I think you might be in the minority here.

My take has always been that D&D isn’t an adversarial game - the DM isn’t trying to ‘win’, they’re just trying to keep things entertaining for the players.

The trouble with random is that it doesn’t always follow story beats, and doesn’t always feel fun.

A big boss not getting any hits in due to bad rolls deminishes the perceived threat, and the ultimate value of the victory. Stupid zombies that just won’t stay down despite the fact that everyone is now bored with them can easily be kept down.

As long as you know when to do it, it can be super useful for everyone.

Because continuous treatment is much more profitable than a cure.

I cannot overstate how much I love this artwork. It reminds me of visiting Games Workshop as a kid in the late 80s/early 90s and letting my mind run wild with all the incredible box art.

Is this pipe?

This. There is evidence that a preacher called Jesus existed, was crucified, and was well-regarded enough to start a following that persisted even after his death.

There isn’t, however, strong historical evidence for any of the magical parts of it.

Let’s not do the ‘every Christian’ thing. It’s worth remembering the US has a very ‘unique’ type of Christian.

Primary sources? No, but there are independent secondary sources by people with no skin in the game.

Antiquities of the Jews by Josephus (circa 93–94 CE).

Annals by Tacitus (circa 116 CE)

The earliest Christian writings are also more about the teachings of a disruptive Jewish preacher who was then crucified, than they are about magic.

Welcome to your doom!

Absolutely - if anything, there’s a reluctance to use formal titles in the UK in general.

I used to teach at university - students and staff alike just use first names when addressing each other. When signing emails, we just use our first name, no letters, job title, anything.

It’s even something specifically touched on in our orientation guide for foreign students.

As for newspapers and Prime Ministers specifically, one of the biggest newspapers, The Guardian, has a cartoonist who has always drawn David Cameron with a condom covering his head. There’s absolutely no deference shown to Prime Ministers here.

I’m not sure - just think…

Within less than thirty years there has been:

A sudden massive increase in the number of people who believe the MMR vaccine causes autism.

A global pandemic that large numbers of people: Swear didn’t happen, or Was artificially created, or Was a hoax to encourage people to have vaccines that contain something sinister.

Widespread demonisation of an entire religion.

A sharp increase in people who don’t believe the holocaust happened.

A baffling increase in people who believe the Earth is flat.

In short, people are stupid and surprisingly willing to believe nonsense, despite mountains of evidence to the contrary.

Were the Jedi actually magical? Nah it was just propaganda by a corrupt council. It was all special effects - seriously, a sword against blasters? Wake up, sheeple.