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Yeah, That's probably more accurate. As a European it's really interesting to see how DnD puts an American spin on fantasy tropes, even when it borrows from Tolkien and other more European fantasy/folklore. (Not to say that anything is necessarily better; obviously Tolkien has his own biases)...

Yeah, these listicles are nonsense. Thankfully blogs aren't completely extinct.

I've had this sneaking suspicion that DnD Orcs were in some way informed by American stereotypes of their indigenous people (they're religious nomadic people with a supposed disregard for civilization and violent tendencies? okay...) and it's interesting to see an example where that's more...

Really like it as a DM; there's a lot of ideas there that can be repurposed. It sell inspiration as much as it sells rules. The structure is a bit odd, though. Before reading it I had almost zero idea what gem dragons were, and there's not really a sub-header anywhere there that goes 'this is...

If I have a Deception stat, I use the passive deception. Else, the normal procedure of selecting DCs. I don't stat out most NPCs, so mostly the latter.

5/5 serious/silly, though it's not intentional. I guess humour is a sort of defence mechanism for our collective inexperience.

So this is just about them using a sentence structure in NPC descriptions? Okay, that doesn't affect me at all. Most of it's just gobbledegook I refluff anyway. I guess there's the deeper issue of NPC stat blocks, which are also rather perfunctory. I can pick out relevant stats from the Monster...

Seems pretty clear for things like a Tabaxi's Cat's Claws and a Lizardfolk's Bite. They allow for special unarmed strikes, Martial Arts modifies unarmed strikes, they don't conflict directly, so they can both work at the same time. Trying to group things into categories like Natural Weapons...

It still needs a bit of work. For example, the Wand Prototype feature of the Artillerist uses wands to fire cantrips (magical pistols, essentially), but it doesn't quite say if that wand also casts cantrips at the same caster level as the artificer. I suppose it does, but for cantrips, that's...

It still needs a bit of work. For example, the Wand Prototype feature of the Artillerist uses wands to fire cantrips (magical pistols, essentially), but it doesn't quite say if that wand also casts cantrips at the same caster level as the artificer. I suppose it does, but for cantrips, that's...

Once per action or bonus action, not once per round. A War Cleric can use his War Priest ability to make a second crossbow attack as a bonus action in the same round, no feats required.

Just ask for an Athletics check?

What's the benefit of finesse on a sling? Don't ranged weapons always use Dexterity anyway? Or is the idea behind it to key it off of Strength instead?

Yeah, it's not a big hindrance at all, and the additional flavour is worth it IMHO. One of my players' druid is dead set on skinning the next dragon their group meets (also because that character hates dragons for their wanton disrespect of nature's balance, for the record). If he wants to...

I've experimented with having a player manage initiative (write it down, call out turn order), but it takes away a bit of the mystery of it all. This is the same group that begged me to use a DM screen so I could roll in secret, too. Outsourcing initiative can save on crucial DM brain capacity...

Just... give the lich magical items? Or just a natural levitate ability? There's nothing in the Concentration mechanic that limits what abilities a GM can give to monsters.

The Adventures in Middle Earth line by Cubicle7 is really good, but practically its own game. For more vanilla 5e-compatible material Kobold Press' Creature Codex is pretty great; it's got some interesting monsters without being tied too much to their in-house setting.

The book seems really well-made, but how good is ease of use compared to 2e?

Not sure how it'd be adjusted, but here's one that is quite irregular. Cover. In 5e practically every fixed circumstantial modifier from previous editions has been folded into the advantage/disadvantage mechanic. There are a few mechanics that add slight bonuses (guidance, bless, etc.), but...

I actually think in 5e's it's become a bit more flexible. If players come up with weird stunts, you don't have to look through the rules and calculate the DC (if it's even possible), you just set an appropriate DC, tell them what skills to use, and see what happens. Skate down a flight of stairs...