Expedition: general discussions.

1) Things were better before. All other things being equal. 2) I realized that a story-driven game is more engaging for me, but in general... If you think about it, you should decide for yourself. It seems to me that the quality of the plot and the atmosphere are what will depend heavily on which format the GM finds more interesting to develop. 3) In general, I would say that checks are good, but... If, when creating a character, you have to balance between social skills and combat (and overall) usefulness, then it's better to have free-form roleplaying; otherwise, it's always been a bit of a turn-off for me.