Recent content by S'mon

From my experience running 5e Primeval Thule, this is exactly right. Teens-level 5e in S&S is kinda ok but leans strongly towards the feel of the Marvel Savage Sword of Conan comics, with Conan as a superhero stomping on gods and Great Old Ones. The most fun we had was definiitely with level...

Yeah I had every intention of playing 4e but bounced off it in 2008 & only really got into it late 2010. Conversely I said I had no interest in 5e but it hooked me pretty fast! But I feel like 5e has been on a downward trend for years with lots of bad stuff being released, so 'more of the same'...

No, I'll be contininuing several existing 5e campaigns but I took 2023 as a wake up call to try new stuff; I'm loving Dragonbane & Cyberpunk Red. My guess would be that it'd be around 2028-30 before I'd be looking at a revised D&D edition & really I'd prefer to see new management first, just as...

Game is still running & going great. PCs have reached 3rd level now. Link https://app.roll20.net/campaigns/details/16571999/dandd-5e-basic I'm allowing multiclassing, one PC multiclassed to Ftr 2/Clr 1 which fits her very well. Others are Ftr 3 Wiz 3 & Rog 3. The Mystara setting is of course...

Yeah I bought some although I had the old 3e versions. They have nice art & better maps.

Apparently this is a completely unfounded libel cooked up on Something Awful.

Manganiello said that the controversy led to Mearls getting pushed out of the 'drivers' seat' for Dungeons & Dragons. "And then the Twitter mob rises up with the pitchforks and the torches and it was right in that kind of weird spot when all of that was at its height and everyone was listening...

Wow. Manganiello has exactly my own view on 2014-18 D&D, Mike Mearls, and current post 2018 D&D. He's more diplomatic than me though. :D

I like the tactics in Dragonbane. We had a knight vs knight duel last session and every combat round involved tactical choices such as what kind of attack to make (slashing, piercing, piercing precision strike), and whether to spend precious WP on use of Heroic Abilities such as Veteran (keep...

Framing determines the start conditions - you "frame a scene". Framing doesn't determine outcome of the scene. Force - Railroading - determines outcome. Framing a scene while leaving its resolution open is generally seen as better than forcing the outcome of the scene, eg "The Villain Will Get...

The biggest difference from modern D&D is that there is much more emphasis on non-violent encounter resolution. Violence can easily get you killed or maimed. Many creatures are happy to talk, even many undead, and you get an XP check for resolving at least one encounter peacefully each session.

Looking at the Secret of the Dragon Emperor adventures, it's roughly 50-50 whether the PCs fight true Monsters or NPCs, with NPC including orcs, goblins, skeletons et al.

IMO: You only provoke an OA by moving out of reach, so you wouldn't be able to attack the OAer anyway. Ofc actions don't interrupt reactions so the OA would resolve before the PC attacked. But you could take an OA, then move back into reach, then attack the OAer with your extra attack.

Yes. But that makes the threat of it a major thing players will work hard to avoid.

Yes, that's my experience.