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After my wall post was taken down, i could still post in "recommendations" on the right edge of the page.

I just posted this on Hillside Games' Facebook page. I expect it won't last long; feel free to repost it if it amuses you: This Sunday, come and playtest CYBERSQUATTING! Players compete to steal each others' domain names in this fast-paced Euro-style board game. Available exclusively at...

Here is one I've used: roll 4d6 and take the top 3, 6 times. Now count the net "plusses" for your stats (i.e. 14 or 15 = +2, 8 or 9 = -1) If your net plusses do not equal exactly 6, roll 1d6 for each point away from 6 they are; i.e. if your plusses total 4 or 8, roll 2 d6. Each d6 you rolled at...

We in the metabolically-impaired community are shocked and offended by your use of the offensive term "undead". We are not "un-" anything, and since we have in fact died we are certainly not "un-dead". We prefer to be referred to as "metabolically challenged", "differently alive", "recovering...

1. chasing a soul that, for whatever reason, they need to contact. Maybe to bring it back, maybe just to ask it a question. 2. escaping, either after 1. above or after an accidental crossing. Most encounters should be lethal if actually fought; stealth and cleverness are required to get out...

It depends on whether the survivor has any reason to believe them. The culture and expectations of the campaign as well as the PCs' individual reputations will have a lot to do with this. For some survivors, death may be a better choice than betraying their tribe/ people/ god, but this should...

I had to boot a player who drank before and during the game; he became loud and argumentative and we feared for his safety on the road. We told him he could play with us if he was sober; he decided not to.

Two things led to this design: 1. printer ink is expensive 2. several of my players are new to the game and/ or easily overwhelmed by too much information These are custom made for each character; you'll see differences in format for characters with a lot of minor/ triggered powers, and for...

Chimerae have a goat head, but it's only 1/3 goat... you're right, satyrs are goat not sheep. Perhaps a tiefling with curling ram-shaped horns that is optimized for charging and bullrushing, in a mountain terrain where falls are seriously bad? Or a siege situation in which the opposing army...

A critical hit used to mean "life threatening." Nowadays it just means "the best hit you could make with the weapon/ spell you are using." Wimps can do that just as well as bruisers; it just won't be as effective. "Is that the best you can do, puny human?" "Yes, I'm afraid so..."

The biggest change you'll notice right away is that your healing abilities are minor actions. This means you never have to choose between healing and making an attack; you get to do both in the same turn! Encourage players to be willing to give up their own standard action to Second Wind and...

My sentinel druid has striker encounter powers, two encounter heals, the ability to threaten OAs in 16 squares, a lot of hit points, and an at-will area minion killer. I think later class design shows a lot more willingness to blur the roles, while making sure that each class does have a role.

That is exactly the wrong use for a take 20. Taking 20 means accepting also getting a 1 on the way to getting to 20. If this conversation is meaningful enough to require a skill roll, then trying every possible avenue of conversation means you will surely imply something insulting about the...

It's not "roll until you win". It's "Take your time, focus, make all the preparations you need, and do it as well as you possibly can, because there are no external factors to make it difficult. And if you screw up, learn from your mistake and try it a different way." You might do this, and...

Do you drive a car every day? Driving is a hazardous task requiring skill and attention; countless things can go wrong. Hundreds of thousands of people annually are killed by auto accidents. In a game in which the PCs must drive, should a Drive skill roll be required every time they get...

I'm about ready to throw out the stealth rules entirely and just wing it.

One of the guiding principles of Eberron was "If it's in D&D, it can exist somewhere in Eberron." Subject to the GM's approval, of course, Eberron was always written so as to be able to accommodate any content that came after it. 4E just gave us some canon for those elements rather than...

I don't think I've ever sat at a table that didn't include a dwarf. They need no further help. But with around 40 playable races, if no one in your group wants to play a dwarf, why is that bad?

muscle zip smarts

I think a Tolkien style ranger describes an attitude more than a class. Generic rangers were like FR Harpers - it was their duty and mission that made them rangers, not the set of skills and abilities they had. Aragorn happened to also be the Heir to Gondor, which gave him (uniquely) certain...