Recent content by Charlaquin

Tracking different darkvision radii without digital tools like Roll20’s dynamic lighting is a bit of a crapshoot. I’d recommend abstracting distances, as one might when running combat without a visual aid (aka “TotM”). Just treat things as near, far, or very far. With a light source, near...

It’s part of his gimmick. Folks who read him regularly appreciate the depth he goes into.

I don’t think anyone has really addressed this. My suggestion would be to describe the character having some spiders on them, but not all of the spiders. Think about how you narrate swarms of flying creatures. There’s never a question that you can attack the swarm without harming the character...

Eyyyuuuhhh.... The relationship is more complex than that, though. Sure Hamlet is Shakespeare and A Christmas Carol is not. But is The Lion King Shakespeare? Or is it Tezuka? And for that matter, is Jungle Emperor Shakespeare, and what does that make The Lion King? And is Scrooge Dickens, or is...

I feel like that’s asking to take away the rogue’s niche. Would you want to make the Fighter not be the go-to person for fighting as well? Ah, now that, I think, is a much more workable design goal. What about replacing expertise with reliable talent (for the chosen skills only)? Then the rogue...

I’m unclear what you’re trying to accomplish with the reroll. Do you just want to limit the number of times per day rogues can benefit from their skill-enhancing feature?

Ambient sounds and background music are not necessary for me at all, but they can GREATLY enhance the experience when present. They can also be distracting if not handled well, so it’s important to use them with care if you do use them. Keep it to the background, keep the volume low, and don’t...

If I might make an alternative suggestion: Keep expertise, but instead of doubling your proficiency bonus for your expertise skills, add a proficiency die (DMG 236).

I don't think you're crazy at all. 4e was a great game. Arguments can be made about what it did well and where it misstepped, but I think even its detractors would agree that fundamentally it was solidly designed, even if they may not think it was the right direction for D&D to move in. If...

5e is not 1e or 2e, so I am not surprised that 5e’s location-based adventures don’t play like 1e’s or 2e’s. As for the reprinted adventures, I like to think of them more as remakes than remasters, if you know what I mean. It’s hard to put my finger on what, specifically, makes it better for...

It is interesting. 5e really lends itself more to location-based adventures than plot-based ones, yet pretty much all of the adventure modules that have been published for it are largely plot-based. I think the near-universal praise for Tales From the Yawning Portal (a collection of locations in...

There are times when this tactic is appropriate and times when it can undermine the players’ sense of agency. As with any tool, it’s important to be able to correctly identify when to use it and when not to.

Haha when 4e recommended your did this with magic items, everyone lost their minds.

I suppose it depends on how we’re defining “gatekeeping.” I eww referring specifically to the kind of “you must meet the following standards to count as a true fan” behavior that we see in fandoms, but if you extrapolate to factionalism more generally, yeah, there’s definitely an inborn...

Oh, for sure, and even new players really should go into these things expecting to at least need to read the whole adventure before running it. I’m just saying, it doesn’t surprise me that a lot of people, especially new DMs, expect published models to do most of the work for them. That’s kind...