Recent content by The Sigil

Call me crazy, but I actually prefer the term "proficiencies" to "skills." To me, "skill" implies "you must be trained to attempt this action" while "proficiency" implies "anyone can attempt this action; you're just better at it than most." As a very simple example, I consider playing Fur...

Generally, I would point out that generally, swarms of smaller enemies (assuming they stay apart so they can't be cleared out by a fireball) is better than a single super tough BBEG. This is for two reasons: 1. Action economy - OP, you've already stated you're not a fan of legendary actions so...

Made it all the way to last night before getting Whammed. Bummer.

For me, the most frequent use case can be summed up as "player knowledge is not character knowledge." I, as the player, may be able to use (metagame) knowledge to understand what the most optimal decision in a given situation is. My character does not know they are in a game and certainly...

I'm reminded of a post I saw on Facebook prior to the 2016 U.S. Presidential Election: "Before you 'discuss' with me how I should vote in the election, I first need you to lay out what circumstances would change your mind. If the answer is 'there are none' then you don't want to 'discuss' the...

Just have to echo that this is perhaps the most elegant expression of the tension this old-school DM finds himself in with new-school players. I think I'm going to steal "the dungeon itself is the boss, and this encounter is one of its attacks" for my next Session Zero when describing my DMing...

I always enjoy your well-researched threads, Snarf, and can appreciate that you would prefer to "go the primary source" as much as possible rather than get information from secondary sources like Mr Welch (I happen to be a big fan of his, but I'm not going to try to convince you to like him...

In the earliest days of 3e, I ran a campaign that was extremely heavy on prep. Every monster and NPC had lovingly crafted statblocks. Every DC for traps, challenges, etc., was carefully tuned. I always had detailed notes to refer to when the PCs encountered something. My players loved it. Same...

Well, Training For Maximum Speed Takes Patience And Recovery suggests that three sixty-meter sprints (which take less than 10 seconds each) is strenuous enough to degrade performance. "Performing three runs at near maximum speed could mean taking anywhere from 10 to 15 minutes between each of...

I agree. It takes an hour OR combat to interrupt a long rest. ;) I know you actually meant "an hour OF combat" - but again, I ask, that's a 60-round combat... have you ever actually had a combat go that long (or even close to it)? Because if the answer is "yes" then your combats are probably...

Sounds like you are reading the list as follows: "Interrupted by a period of strenuous activity - at least 1 hour of walking fighting casting spells or similar adventuring activity" I read it as: "Interrupted by a period of strenuous activity - at least 1 hour of walking fighting casting...

I would probably go along the lines of the following... 1. When we are not actively involved in the game, time passes in the game world at a rate of 1:1 with real time. 2. A "long rest" is only possible in an environment where you are 100% certain you are safe and secure. In other words...

What's the quote? "It is difficult to make a man understand something when his salary depends upon not understanding it"? (Upton Sinclair)

I don't really want to debate the moderative merits of this point or clash with the Moderators here, that's not what this post is about. It is about "saying no" in a game. It's not tyranny. If your DM has created a world with, say, no dwarves in it, just because "dwarf" is a race in the PHB...

Perhaps I'm oversimplifying things here, but it's the internet, why not? I like alignment; however, I think it works best when used in one of the following situations: 1. The Players and the DM are almost always in agreement about what "morality" means so when a character (PC or NPC) commits...