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Yikes! :eek: Do you have a source for these "designer comments"? One session per level sounds very strange to me. I mean, a short, focused and limited campaign could be fun as a kind of "one shot", but I prefer long campaigns that could go on "forever" and where neither the GM nor the players...

I will let others speak of their experiences, but just note that the published adventures (whether for 3E, PF or 5E) are written for levels 1-10 (ish). Personally I think the sweet spot for any D&D game is around levels 4-8. I've not tried anything beyond level 13 and I suspect most games...

Across the scorched heat of the barren desert lie the jungled hills of Shoma, where the crazed queen of a lost tribe jealously guards a mine that contains untold riches. But in your quest for the buried gold, what terrors that slumber in the prehuman vaults beneath the mine might you awaken...

Joining the choir of praise here... I've been variously lurking and posting on these forums (with at least one other user account lost to time) since the early days of 3E... with so much having changed in the meantime, it's great that some things stay more or less the same! (y) :)

As an aside, I wrote up Tower of the Elephant for D&D 3E back in 2002 (boggles my mind that it was 21 years ago...!). I put it at character levels 4-7, but it was intended for a small party (2-4 PCs). https://hyboria.xoth.net/adventures/tower_of_the_elephant.htm BTW, the same adventure has...

Exactly! And I will argue that this approach, with complex character motivations, is much more interesting than the typical "good vs evil" D&D fantasy adventure. I've never been a fan of the alignment system, and for my World of Xoth setting, first published back in 2008, I threw out alignment...

The way I implemented the "Civilization vs Savagery" concept in my World of Xoth setting was through different "cultures". Since every player character in a sword & sorcery campaign is basically a human, each must choose a culture which is a package of both benefits and drawbacks, and some...

In a remote mountain valley, a bitter feud rages between two rival nobles and their militias. Recently, dark sorcery and undead things have become involved! Whose side of the feud will you take? "The Crypt-Thing of Khorsul" is a stand-alone sword and sorcery adventure module, inspired by the...

A design goal of this "mini-game for travel between adventures" was to avoid wasting/spending time playing out encounters in full. Of course, if the GM thinks it would be more fun/appropriate to throw in a regular encounter instead of just rolling for damage, go for it! And yes, in the special...

All excellent suggestions! I've updated the blog post incorporating some of these suggestions as well as other details discussed earlier in the thread. I can't make up my mind regarding the use of exhaustion instead of damage... on one hand, it makes it more level agnostic and it makes sense...

I like group checks and how everybody can contribute, but for this mini-game I feel it would perhaps complicate things too much, and/or perhaps it would become repetitive with the same actions proposed every day. I think we actually agree. It's not that you make the (same) lock more difficult...

It's not a design goal that the sea voyage should have the same difficulty / danger regardless of level. In other words, given the same environment, it's okay if the voyage is easier when you are higher level. (In 5E, a lock doesn't get a higher DC to pick just because you are higher level.)...

Thanks for the detailed feedback! This is exactly why I wanted to pick your collective brains :) The DC is 15, not 20... not sure if it was a typo on your part, or if that would change the calculation? So the long rest on a 20 is probably too generous then. Perhaps it can be fixed by making...

I use the following house rules: The first short rest takes 5 minutes, the second short rest takes 30 minutes, and each short rest thereafter takes 1 hour. Long rests only in safe havens (village, castle, special "safe rooms" in dungeons, etc). A long rest restores all Hit Dice (not just half...

I like that suggestion! What do you mean by "one thing at a time", what kind of "thing" ?

Thanks for the detailed explanation. I agree that your suggestion creates a more streamlined system. However, my design goals also include a) make this mini-game engaging and activating for players, and b) since players like to roll dice, then let them roll! Instead of me as the GM rolling for...

You seem to refer to the rule on page 78 of Xanathar's Guide to Everything, "Going without a long rest". Note that this actually refers to going without sleep for extended periods. I wouldn't impose exhaustion on a character that sleeps normally every day (as you would when aboard a ship), even...

Adding levels to checks is generally not done in 5E, and it breaks Bounded Accuracy. Also, any chance to actually use skills is good. Only long rests when it is safe is part of this rule. Week-long long rests could be used if you opt for more "realism". This is too complicated for what I'm...