Recent content by Amphytrion

I generally find Mike Mearls’ patreon very insightful, and I think he is much missed in thr D&D team. I agree with him here. Some control spells’ very existence is detrimental to the game, so monsters that serve a narrative function need to override such spells easily. The result is Legendary...

This is because both things are true: Ed claims (and I'll take him at his word) that the original FR sold to TSR did not include real-world analogues. However, TSR wanted some regions of the world to reflect some real world analogues: Egypt, Mesopotamia, Greece, etc. Therefore, they replaced...

In my experience, it attracts a certain kind of player with a more gamist bent. My more narratively-driven players have never cared for it. It's a bit of a waste of a spell from a design perspective, to be quite honest. If a player takes it, I'll work around that by creating encounters that can...

There’s a historical reason for that: much of our knowledge of the Gauls came from Caesar’s writings (or did, ~50 years ago). The Romans, like the Greek before them, generally didn’t think of foreign gods as truly foreign—they thought of them as the same gods with different names. Therefore...

Some like paper better, so yes. In this case, however, it’s moot: the book is still in print!

Oghma Silvanus Mielikki Loviatar Tyr Asmodeus Then there were those that were simply Greco-Roman Gods, but got renamed early on, like Sune (Venus). I’m sure I’m missing some.

Pets are a tragedy of the commons for players. My experience as a constant DM is that every player wishes he could have a cool pet or summon an army of them, but simultaneously loathes waiting for the others to manage them on their turns. I did not respond to any surveys (ever) but I’m glad...

This was always the case, even within Tyranny of Dragons.

I wanted to add one that I haven't seen mentioned here yet: The Waystop, which is AL-compliant but not part of any of the storylines (at least as I understand it; I've never played or DMed in AL). The whole thing is what I think a professionally written adventure should be: simultaneously...

I like my monster books with lots of descriptions, adventure hooks, and material that helps me put these monsters into the game. I think the statblocks are secondary. For example, I consider the 2014 Monster Manual section on Hags stellar. It is packed full of adventure hooks, each of which can...

It’s sadly very bland. I say this despite finding the adventure seed interesting. The map is fun, but the adventure doesn’t make full use of it. There are no NPCs. Just some statblocks. I don’t find this sort of minimalist design very useful, to be frank. If I’m using pre-written adventures...

The past has taught me me that if something isn’t Forgotten Realms yet, it is only a matter of time. I think they’re both, i.e. joint custody, because they’re both part of the FR universe and the multiverse at large. In Planescape, you can visit the realms of gods from multiple different...

It’s difficult with Bane because as FR accumulated other fiendish entities from the larger D&D multiverse, he got progressively less fiendish to occupy a different niche. Older TSR material portrays Bane as somewhat of a Sauron analogue. He has fiends and dark forces at his command, and his...

Like many bits in this game, this ranking is entirely DM-dependent. At my table, I try my best at making all skills relevant and to not have some outshine the others. I fail at this often. I run investigative adventures often, so Investigation ranks very high. If I have a religious character...

I agree with this. From a balancing perspective, it’s completely unnecessary. If anything, it makes combats longer, which is the opposite of what I’d like. Then, it doesn’t strike me as something you could feasibly accomplish wholesale and have another regular action in 6 seconds. Potions...