Recent content by DM_Blake

The problem here is one of player/DM communication. Something I learned decades ago: when a new player makes a paladin, or any other alignment-champion kind of character, it's my duty as a DM to present him, at character creation, with a full outline of my views, and my in-game world views on...

If you think that's hard, wait until the situation is reversed: A group of bandits menaces the PCs. The brute bandits hold an action until one of them uses Come and Get It against the PC wizard (bandits know better than to just let him sit back there and blow them away from afar). The wizard...

Even better qustion, is why would these cancel the state? (nice job, Tanj, on posing a few interesting ideas). So the MM gives ghosts (et. al.) fewer HP, then an ability to take half damage. Net effect: same as if they didn't reduce HP and eliminated the ability. In other words, the ghost is...

I truly wish 4e had avoided all the automagic push/pull/slide abilities, except in cases where they are truly justified, like if a power involves slamming into a foe and knocking them back (which should have been push X squares, but reduce X for larger foes). All the rest, like Come and Get It...

Some good stuff here. One that gave my group some fits is that standing from prone is a move action that doesn't trigger OA. So, tripping an opponent doesn't protect you from that opponent - next turn he stands up and hits you anyway. It can prevent him from being mobile on the...

So what you're saying boils down to skill challenges just being flavorful free XP for the PC group? Yikes! Shouldn't they be at least a little challenging? If I recall, the original early info on skill challenges, long before the books were released, said the concept was to get everyone...

I agree with Keenath. Unlimited surges gives them the ability to use a few each fight over multiple fights. They can still only use a few surges each encounter though, unless you're giving them backpacks full of potions - a clear "no-no" in your style of campaign. Another factor that might...

Doing the math. As I see it, the answer is no. I think what you meant to ask was, "wouldn't 3 characters take nearly twice as many rounds to do the same job?" in which case the answer is (almost) yes. Suppose that said solo takes 10 rounds to kill. For 5 characters, that's 50 man-rounds...

I don't remember seeing if 4e had rules for perception penalties over distance. I know 3.5 had those rules. Sometimes, it's nice to just chuck those rules out the window though. For example, I think 3.5 rule said -1 to listen or spot for every 10 feet. So, theoretically, if you could...

I like this approach. It leaves a sense of danger in the player's minds. They know that at any moment they could plunge into a bottomless pit or get squished under a 10-ton falling brick. They should also know their scout is excellent at spotting this stuff, and that scout should find nearly...

This works only if you assume that you will always game with just the people at your table. Allowing for things like people moving away, you moving away, you playing at a convention, you deciding you want to play in two games each week but your regular group doesn't, or any other change in the...

I have a hard time envisioning this being anything but a novelty item to impress young children at carnivals. For years I've houseruled that you cannot get flanking unless your ally is a credible threat to the target. If a deadly rogue is fighting an ogre, and a kitty cat gets behind that ogre...

:D Ooooh, the sword owns him now - reminds me of the good old days when a really cool intelligent sword had so much ego that those low-INT, low-WIS, low-CHA fighters who could have actually put that sword to good use were constantly dominated by the sword. The sword becomes the PC; the...

Why would you suggest this? A bow-specced ranger shouldn't have to deal with melee threats. When it happens in the chaos of battle, hopefully he can deal with it, and hopefully his team will take steps to free him from the melee. As for healing surges, think of real world battles. Imagine...

The simple answer tothe original post: Use common sense to understand the Rules As Written and to find the best interpretation of the Rules As Intended. Don't use common sense as an excuse to disregard a rule, change a rule, or create a new rule. The more complex answer is the same, but with...