Recent content by Pawndream

B/X: 2014-present BECMI: 1984, 2009-2013 1e: 1984-1989, 2011-present 2e: 1990, 1997-2000, 2012 3e: 2000-2001 3.5e: 2004-2008 4e: 2008-2011 5e: 2017-present

Honestly, it was a frustrating read. Parts of the Broken Earth series were really engaging, but there were large swaths of what I call meta magical babble I really struggled to get through. The use of alternate narrators was a neat concept, but also confusing because I wasn't sure who was who...

The bit about R.A. Salvatore working as a bouncer prior to hitting it big as a writer, as proof of his "realistic depictions of combat" is laughable. :)

After finishing up The Cleric's Quintet I dove right back into another power fantasy by R.A. Salvatore, Legacy of the Drow. This is a collection of five books featuring the classic characters Drizz't Do'urden, Wulfgar, Bruenor Battlehamer, Cattie Brie, Regis. I am only 50 pages into the first...

I have Tasha's Cauldron of Everything and don't get the sense of it being like Skills and Powers at all. It's basically a junk drawer of odds and ends, mostly character building stuff (new subclasses, feats, spells, etc.), with a little bit of DM facing stuff tacked on at the end (parlay...

I wasn't aware the Yo-Yo weapon thing was so prevalent. I was not familiar with any of those characters you posted, but apparently it's a thing :)

I finished The Cleric Quintent, a five novel series by R.A. Salvatore this week. I had heard positive things about this series over the years, particularly about the unique characters, but have mixed feelings about the collection. On one hand, R.A. Salvatore is a gifted writer when it comes to...

At the beginning of this year I loved to a new city and new nobody. Then Coronavirus hit and everything closed down, so I had few opportunities to meet new people to start or join a game. So, I subscribed to Roll20, purchased the DM Essentials content to get started, and recruited for a VTT...

I am fond of Elsir Vale from Red Hand of Doom.

I know a lot of the discussion in this thread has revolved around making the physical books more accessible, to presumably make it easier for people to learn how to play on their own, but one New User Experience I haven't seen discussed much is the accessibility of organized play options. Let's...

Finished The Stone Sky by Jemisin, and not going to lie, it was a bear to get through and there were many times I almost threw up my arms and gave up on it. But stuck with it and the final two chapters kind of made up for it. Overall, I enjoyed the Broken Earth trilogy, but I also found the...

I know this thread is starting to divert away from the original poster's question, but I did personally observe spellcasters completely dominating gameplay in an actual game, in fact, the last 3.5e game I played in before moving on to 4e. In this case, we had a gnome druid (may have been...

No. I barely played 3.0 when it came out. Was very excited for it when it came out. Bought all the core books as soon as they were available (PHB, MM, DMG) , played it a couple of times with friends, and then moved to Korea and didn't do any gaming while living there. When I moved back to the...

I have a DM screen but never look at any of the reference material on it. It's solely there to hide my game notes and miniatures. On the outward facing side is where I put stickies for initiative.

Read the graphic novel, Gary Gygax and the Creation of D&D: Rise of the Dungeon Master today. Quick read. Good topical/biographical overview and homage to one of the creators of RPGs. The author also did a good job of showing D&D's connection/influence on computer games and pop culture in...