Recent content by fearsomepirate

Correct. V/S/M should be a more restrictive set of conditions than V/S. This would make logical sense, as it orders things by restrictiveness: V - No hands V/M - need a focus in one hand V/S - need one hand free V/S/M - need one hand free, one hand with focus This should be the rubric used to...

The rule in the PHB should be, "you cannot do somatic components without a free hand." No "unless that hand is wielding a focus." Spells that should be castable with your hands full simply should have the S component, why was this so hard for WotC? Magic wands and the like: "If you can use this...

...which is precisely what I am talking about. The fact that the "holy symbol" casting focus scrambles the hierarchy from V -> V/S -> V/SM to V -> V/S/M -> V/S is utterly moronic. Not only does it not make any sense whatsoever that it is easier to cast a more complex spell with my hands full...

We had a Cavalier in my Temple of Elemental Evil campaign who would occasionally Action Surge to draw a bunch of monsters toward himself. It was a really, really effective maneuver.

You'd have to redo all the numbers to fix HP bloat: 1. Cut the max ability score mod to +3 2. Slash the damage from various abilities. Stuff like rogue sneak attack increasing every 3 levels, and/or being d4s, or Paladin smites being d6s. 3. Monster AC curve needs to be tilted upward. Talking...

What they should have done from square one is systematize it: V = no hands VS = 1 hand free VSM = 2 hands free Then, as you write spells to think about if you want somebody to be able to cast it while wielding a weapon, or carrying a shield, or possibly both. It's really obvious they didn't...

double post

They didn't think through spell components at all when they wrote 5e. It's a patchwork of ad-hoc rulings to try and make various things not be broken and ends up being incoherent. And in this case, they didn't even bother to check if any bard healing spells use material components.

I think some people are misremembering how sexy corporate ads were in the 1980s. The bigger the corporation, blander the advertising was more likely to be. Pepsi putting Michael Jackson in its commercials, but if Hasbro had published the Monster Manual? Probably would have been a lot tamer. If...

Alchemist 2 Arcane Trickster 4 Assassin 6 Battle Master 7-2=5 Champion 3 Chronurgy Magic 6 Circle of Dreams 5 Circle of Stars 9 Circle of the Land 8 Circle of the Moon 6 Circle of the Shepherd 5 Circle of Wildfire 5 Clockwork Soul 8 College of Glamour 5 College of Lore 7 College of Valor 5...

If you really want to go gangbusters with young people, bringing back Playboy tracings will do more for you than seeking the coveted Middle School Principal Seal of Approval. Bowlderization has more to do with corporate risk aversion than consumer demand.

Barbarian just getting no love here.

Alchemist 4 Arcana Domain 4 Arcane Trickster 4 Assassin 6 Battle Master 7 Champion 3 Chronurgy Magic 6 Circle of Dreams 5 Circle of Stars 6 Circle of the Land 8 Circle of the Moon 6 Circle of the Shepherd 5 Circle of Wildfire 5 Clockwork Soul 8 College of Eloquence 0 College of Glamour 5 College...

Intensely dislike the Hexblade because of multiclass munchkinism. Love Way of Shadow Monks...maybe not the most "powerful" class, but just a lot of fun. Sorry to see Berserker go, RIP. Alchemist 4 Arcana Domain 4 Arcane Trickster 4 Assassin 6 Battle Master 7 Champion 3 Chronurgy Magic 6 Circle...

I don't think they'll ever publish a Greyhawk setting book again. Another Faerun book should happen sooner or later. Planescape is kind of legendary and has its own ethos, so that's my vote for what we'll see eventually.