Recent content by rmcoen

Oh this is easy: I don't use the 5.5e rules (and I barely think I was using the 5.0e rules "right"). I either give the surprising force 1 action before initiative is rolled, or I give them advantage against surprised foes - and the only thing a good initiative does on round 1 is end that...

Starting at level 1 allows the players to understand their characters' abilities better and internalize their starting place. Even if levels 2 and 3 come quickly, it also allows the players to enjoy and get excited by the growth - while also allowing them the "narrowly escaping death" thrill...

75% this. More often, with my gaming group of the last 3 decades, this results in player turnover. Kevin got a night job, so he can't make it to Monday night's game. Carl got married. Michael switched jobs. Jay's boss changed, and California-timed meetings interfered with our game-time...

Responding to the OP: I like metacurrency for the PCs, but they need to be earned. IMC, I give each Player a "Luck Point" for showing up to the game on time; Luck Points can be used as Inspiration or for a slightly stronger effect. They get 1 "Fate Point" per level or major storyline...

Difficulties are Static. Works well in "Bounded Accuracy" 5e, but works in all the other editions too, where the adventurers simply get better at their job. There is nothing wrong with encountering a DC 30 lock the 1st level rogue can't pick, or the DC 10 "lock" the 10th level rogue sneezes at...

While I won't comment on the validity of putting cheese on apple pie, the mere question did raise the point of "how important is food, in your campaign?". Which I think is a great topic. Certain authors I've read spend a lot of book space talking about the food in their worlds. The characters...

Perhaps Humans are a "polluted" kind of undine... Water spirits, but mixed with a little earth and a little air. And the ones mized with Fire? Well, we call them Mages... (or "Heroes", depending on your milieu)

I, too, liked the 3e directive/support that there were essentially "NPC versions" of the PC classes. PCs are Fighters; NPCs are warriors. PCs are clerics; NPCs are priests. I've brought that concept with me through multiple campaigns and editions. In the current campaign, CONGREGATIONS can...

I specifically went with the playtest OneDD version of Exhaustion to keep things "simple" (as simple as I can, anyway). 10 levels, each level is -1 to actions (attacks, ability checks, skills), and -1 to spell DCs. I added "every 2 levels, -5' speed (min 5' final speed)", to incorporate that...

Most of my games, the encounters are once/day while traveling, maybe 2 or 3 at a given location, and rarely a true dungeon crawl with a half-dozen encounters. Last fight, where a life drain event happened, was two days of investigation in town, followed by a 5-hour hike, and then a 34-round...

We do "more than 50%" quorum. Right now, with 5 players, that means we play if 3 players are available. (I'm the DM.) Absent player PCs are still present if the game paused in the middle of action, or are busy doing something else (usually "nearby") if not. As a great "grey area" example...

I just meant that "magic is magic", not "duplicate Dragon Age". :-) My hypothetical "Caster" class can draw its power from wherever - gods, elemental attunement, fiendish patrons, arcane tomes. And select powers as they level up, with more powerful options opening at gateways... or choosing...

Maybe I missed it, but isn't the right solution "skill-based, not class-based"? Or, shoehorning that into a "5e-like" structure, take the setup of the warlock and run wild with it. Like Dragon Age, you really only have three archetypes: Martial, Caster, Skill "Caster" would all be a "pick...

Lodestar's powers, from the Villain's Code series, include bending reality to protect her identity. You literally cannot learn who she is unless she specifically and voluntarily tells you - no matter how meta-brilliant you might be. And if she tells you, you can't successfully tell anyone else...

I tend to make "real" places. Actual locations that people would actually build - complete with bathrooms/latrines, and kitchens and eating areas - or natural locations that might exist (cave systems with the water that created them, for example). This lets the PCs intuit some of the "design"...