Recent content by ph0rk

“The Typical Difficulty Classes table shows the most common DCs.” That’s in the SRD as well as in the basic rules. What the paragraph that quote is from does not include (in either location, or in the DMG) is text warning DMs that stuff gets weird if they use some of the DCs the text just...

And yet the DMG lists other DCs, because it is confus8ng and does not help DMs as much as it could.

The DMG lists DCs of 25 and 30 - so perhaps 5e is not that game.

A best practices DM guide would be a good thing - that should really all be in the DMG (and leave it as suggestions, for people that still want the books to leave it all open). But if it isn’t, it should be another (free) document. Possibly as an appendix to the basic rules document.

If we keep falling back on DM judgement, we don't need rules in the first place - the DM can just free-from everything by fiat. I would not want to play in that system or game, unless the DM was cult-leader levels of charismatic, perhaps. The entire point of a pre-packaged game system is so...

This is what leads to DC creep, and punishes the players that don't have expertise or choosing skills that don't align with their primary stat. Some DMs won't let their DCs creep, but I'd guess that most will be unable to help it, because the system doesn't set them up for it. The only way to...

Of course, since they mostly wrote out taking a 20, you have the embarassing absurdity of someone with a +5 check rolling ad nauseam to climb the wall.

Which would be a good change, but now characters need it get clear allotments of each type. In the present system, knowledge skills are erroneously presented alongside active skills.

Given how the rest of skills work, there probably only should be only one; or at most two. 5 skills with niche uses makes for pretty weak knowledge skills (and there is the common problem of vague DCs that don't specify for the DM what sorts of things a knowledge check may reveal). Better than...

The issue in 5e is they've gone so far that Int isn't really useful for much of anything anymore. I think true polymaths are getting there via some mental stat, and it does not make sense for it to be either Wisdom or Charisma.

If there is a rogue at the table I'd say no. If there is no rogue (or plans for one) at the table.... meh?

Probably closest to Guardians of the Galaxy, as there are some stakes.

This was mostly ok in previous editions; I'd remove the way to supercharge skills (expertise), I'd remove anything like cross-class skills, but also have a huge sidebar or conversation with players warning them of the potential pitfalls of spreading skills around rather than specializing...

Exactly - the DMG is unclear about "tasks so easy you don't even need a roll", and I can think of all sorts of tasks for which a player with a +5 or better to their check need not roll.

DDB was already successful. PR disasters aside, if they release an even adequate VTT linked to DDB, it would be tremendously successful and they could nickle an dime people for electronic tokens and templates til the cows come home.