Recent content by rmcoen

My party of level 9ish PCs are headed into some long-abandoned dwarven tunnels next session, which intersect an area of corruption/"taint" that mostly kills living things but occasionally "enhances" (mutates) them. My first thought was "troglodytes", but then the word "grimlock" popped into my...

I do have to say that most GMs tend to take "fumble" as "chance to make the character look stupid/silly/incompetent". I hate that, and try not to do it (although I can't help myself sometimes, based on the mood of the evening). Last session I was proud of myself because I took a "fumble" roll...

Ah, so many times have we asked that question! We have even provided character sheets for him where the data is already calculated. For every possible weapon he might use. Now, finally, on VTTs, the character sheet does it for him, and things have speeded up... unless we're in person. (But...

I loved [Keywords] in 4e. I thought it was a marvelous design concept. Magic missile causes [Force] damage. That damage is affected by things that affect [Force], but not things that prevent you from forcing open a door. A beautiful bit of scenery or jewelry can be charming without...

More rolling is bad; more dice being rolled is less bad, but requires more "understanding time". I have players at my table that - after literally 3 decades of D&D - still are doing the math of "I rolled a 12, plus my strength, plus my skill... 15. No 17. Wait, it's a +1 sword..." And that's...

In my current "sandbox-y" campaign, the starting map of the area featured a red dragon in the SW corner - not as a decoration, but as an honest and accurate "A red dragon lives here and terrorizes that area." The party is now 9th-ish, and haven't even stepped a foot in that direction. When...

TL;DR = I voted for a "Long Rest Limit". I thought about this in another thread where combat cantrips were discussed. I absolutely don't want to see mages going back to carrying darts and crossbows. Given that D&D does not have a "magic is exhausting" mechanic built-in (which is essentially...

Re: Diffle's Denial I could see this being something a caster picks up at higher level. Not to deny someone's 1d8 sacred flame, but to deny their 11th level 16pt (or level 17, 22 pt) firebolt ... or that 5th level warlock's pushing lethargizing multiblast for 19 force damage! Heck, as a fun...

This thought from TwoSix on page 2.... wow, that jumped into my head as such an amazing and simple thing. Easy too: 1 cantrip per day, per point of the associated stat (so, 16 to 20) - multiclass casters use the lowest stat. (For just a touch more, add proficiency bonus, so it's like 18 to 26...

In my current campaign, the "civilized" (PHB races) lands are a quarter of one continent. The rest of the continent (and possibly the world, we aren't there yet!) is loosely settled by "the Tribes": all the goblinoid races, plus pretty much all the giants. The Three Kingdoms speak a single...

TL; DR = My campaign stops level up at 5, or 8. In my previous campaign, 4e, we took the characters from 1st to 28th (aiming for 30th, but they didn't quite make it by the final battle). Whatever else you might say about 4e, I found it was pretty balanced at all levels of play, between PCs and...

Which is ironic, since my 2014 paladin that I played the most was already "stick and board", walking around apparently unarmed at all times (with a wooden baton snugged into a holder on the backside of his shield). [Warlock 3 for shillelagh based off Charisma... not necessary in 2024]

(Disclaimer: I only read page 1.) My solution to this is simply that the party frequently has to split up. The rogue can't be in two places at once, but there are two locks that need to be opened (party has a rogue, a fighter/rogue, and the warlock can pick locks - poorly! - as well). The...

I like both @GreyLord and @Laurefindel 's ideas. Grey's holds up lethality, and "yes it's still valuable to carry a one-shot pistol", while Laure's - as stated - holds ups ease of use and "this is different from a crossbow" mechanics.

Yes, to really start trying to model it, you need a computer. Pillars of Eternity starts getting into that math, for example, with armor providing damage reduction and deflection and taking into attacker skill with "grazes", hits, and crits. And doing this across each body part (since you can...