Recent content by Jeff Carlsen

I've been through too many edition changes to feel anything but trepidation about the community going through another one. 5E is good enough. 6E needs to offer a substantial at-the-table improvement for me to get excited.

Yes. This would be a entirely acceptable approach. All current and future open game content would remain open under the OGL. The right to use a logo and claim compatibility with D&D handled by a license with more restrictions.

The way D&D uses the word "race" is the correct usage, and using it to describe ethnicity in real life is incorrect. There is only one human race. I wish the behavior of others wasn't making us so sensitive to the word that we avoid using it. But, if is to be changed, "species" is the correct...

When I think of shield cast as a reaction, I imagine an anime character casually deflecting a blast with a gesture. It's used narratively to show how powerful a character is compared to their attacker. So, perhaps the spell should scale. As a first level spell, it's +2 AC, but if cast at higher...

It would be a potential source of confusion, but not a major one. In third edition, it was common to refer to all d20 rolls as "checks", even though they could be skill checks, ability checks, attack rolls, saving throws, caster level checks, etc. With fifth edition being so unified in how...

I agree. As far as I'm aware, D&D has never used the term "test", so sounds out of place every time I read it. "d20 check" sounds like D&D.

A few have mentioned calling out who is on deck each turn, and this does help. I also break up every round into a declare and act phase. At the start of each round, I ask the players what their intentions are in broad terms: melee, ranged, spell, other. They may, but are not required to...

I answered from the perspective of "What is magic in D&D", which to me is heavily influenced by a combination of 3rd edition and my preference for "Psionics is different". In other words, magic is a particular type of supernatural power, often manipulated via spells and magic items but not...

I use InDesign these days, but in the past LibraOffice Writer and Calc were my go-to for their solid implementation of styles. I’ve heard great things about Affinity Publisher as well.

A GM screen has two purposes: To provide information that I need at the table so that I don't have to open a book. To add to the atmosphere of the table. For #1, what I need changes over time. When I'm first learning the system, I'll need rule references for combat, chases, DCs, etc. Once I've...

As others have pointed out, the stat block has to serve two competing needs: combat and adventure design. Because combat always happens at the table, whereas adventure design happens before, I think the stat block has to be optimized for combat and put AC, HP, Speed, etc. at the top. But, that...

As a GM, there are a couple things I would find useful: A table for "what are they doing". The blog d4 caltrops has been building d100 lists for this, and they're awesome. For monsters that are likely to appear in groups or often in an adventure, a table of distinct features I can use to...

I don't think my method is an accurate reflection of reality. Arrows are fairly sturdy. But it's simple and generally believable, which is enough. I've even considered reversing the rule, allowing you to recover all arrows that miss, but you lose all that hit. While I find it less believable...

This is how I do it as well. If you miss, your arrow flies off into the forest and is lost, or breaks against the dungeon wall. Otherwise, you can collect it. It keeps the bookkeeping to the same moment as the attack.

I wouldn't assume that they'll keep releasing settings at the recent rate. Demand for settings might be fairly sated by the recent releases, though I still think a Planescape book would be a good idea, and there's still no quality book on the Forgotten Realms. Instead, the release schedule will...