Recent content by Ebony Dragon

I kind of hate this because turns in D&D are a simplification of combat that narratively is supposed to be happening all at once, right. Or do we think the actors are literally all standing perfectly still while one person does their entire turn? Why wouldn't the rogue see/hear someone...

I like most of these a lot, with the exception of the polearm buffs and flanking. I'm not sure polearms actually need a buff - they are already great! And flanking is a huge nope for me in 5e - the basic movement rules in combat do not support it the same way they did in 3e or 4e, and bounded...

I also play with a group that hits 20 just about every campaign. But even so, the bulk of play tends to be in like the level 4-14 range. Usually the DM speeds things up as we get into tier 4 so we don't linger too long at those superhero levels of play. It's fine for confronting the ultimate...

I feel this same way about his music deep dive streams. Sadly, I wasn't able to watch all of them, but his streams about Genesis and Rush were both amazing. I missed out on him doing (I think) Jethro Tull and Yes.

I hadn't thought much on this topic until now, but I agree with your take on most of this. Graze doesn't bother me as much, but the weapon juggling and semi automatic range weapons really does.

I would always err on the side of a character making a hide check to be actively hiding, and not just waiting for someone to come up to them. If it were an out of combat situation you should tell the character that someone is approaching their position and they will be seen unless they can move...

BG3 uses facing so you have to stay behind or far enough away from a creatures vision cone during stealth. Combined with the precise depiction of the environment it makes it something that won't really work for most D&D games that are simply narrated and not controlled moment to moment.

I'm not familiar with PF2, but reading these rules it sounds like it would be impossible to hide from someone and then move out of cover to backstab them during a fight... which makes me not like those rules at all. Stealth needed a buff for the sake of rogues, and the fantasy of being the...

Stealth should be usable in combat. The rogue moving up behind someone to backstab them should be a legal play for a character specialized in that type of fighting. So it would be exactly a hidden creature walking towards someone - I think they were trying to make that situation work by using...

I would almost always go for the paralyzed opponent. They could make their eot save again Hold Person, or concentration could be lost at any time. Better to get them out of the fight permanently while it is extremely easy to do so.

Love the idea of doing this if exhaustion is the -1 per level. Unfortunately, I don't run any games right now, and don't really want to be making house rule suggestions to the DM actually running for me so probably not going to be happening.

Studded Leather isn't necessarily made with metal studs according to the PHB. It might have metal studs, or it might have stone studs, or bone studs, or who knows what else. The metal studded version is a no-no for druids, clearly. The other materials would be just fine. Make sure your druid...

That brings up a good point. Are the tier lists mainly looking at combat effectiveness, or all around utility and ability to shape the story/resolve plots? If we are just looking at combat the fighter and the barbarian are quite good I think. I've found those pure martial characters...

I wonder if the tier lists could be examined at different level ranges. Say level 5, 10, 15, and 20. Or maybe 3, 9, and 17, or whatever seems to be milestone character levels for most classes. It would be nice for people to know what they are getting into for campaigns of different lengths. If...

I have no problem with builds coming on later, so long as you are sure the campaign is going to advance that far. It's something to look forward to, which is always good! I often plan out my builds all the way to level 20 to make sure the choices I make early on will work with what I'm getting...