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If I may, I also have the same question about the absence of the incense of meditation from the 5e DMG's list of magic items. Is it missing because it's overpowered? Ironically, Fzoul Chembryl is also said to have used incense of meditation before encountering the PCs (FRE1, 35). In second...

Well, the feedback is helpful to me. If reactions to the rod of cancellation were completely negative, I wouldn't include it. But these responses so far suggest that DMs will be creative, and possibly exercise discretion, if using it. I think the rod of cancellation presents a neat plot device...

The adventure module author, Ed Greenwood, advises precisely that kind of hit-and-run tactic. If the DM runs the encounter by the book, Fzoul Chembryl is supposed to get away, to become a thorn in the PCs' side. Yeah, he should be at least 20th level before becoming a smoking pile of ash. . .

I agree about the bugginess--that's where my skepticism comes into play. Usually, I'm looking for a YouTube video or a discussion thread to get a sense of how well something works.

And I liked the meanness of AD&D. Plus, the bad guy isn't supposed to be nice.

Right. There's an opportunity cost associated with playing around with the new tool for an afternoon. We could be hanging out with family or friends, watching a movie, or whatnot. But there's no risk with the free trial. And, like you said, 5e isn't as complex a system as 3 or 4, so the tool...

Okay, I can present both alternatives in the conversion notes, a strong (permanent loss) and a weak (lost for a month) version. How the item functions can then be up to the DM's discretion, depending on an assessment of the players' tolerance for such outcomes.

Sure, I'm able to add the entire entry verbatim. The question is whether it fits the design philosophy of 5e. I agree. That's how I've run my villains, even since childhood: pull out all the stops.

Option 1: A month passes. You sit beside your cherished blade the whole time, staring at Excalibur as its rests on its silken cushion like an ailing friend. Then, suddenly, the blade flickers, coming back to life! You hear its familiar low hum and see once more its brilliant blue dweomer...

Thanks. I'm preparing the conversion as part of the Classic Modules Today initiative. It'll be for sale on DMs Guild to gamers who want to go through an old 1e or 2e adventure module in 5e and need conversion notes. It will be easy to convert the rod so that it lacks charges. Its entry in the...

I'm skeptical but charitable. It's easy to gauge the usefulness and reliability of digital tools early on, before investing a lot, if any, money in them. For example, I passed on both the Code Monkey stuff for 3e and the Digital Initiative tools for 4e after following those products and their...

I'm converting an adventure module from 2e to 5e, and I need your advice. The original 2e adventure gives two NPCs rods of cancellation. A description of the rod and its powers appears in the 2nd edition Dungeon Master Guide (DMG 2e, 205). The rod's primary power drains all magical properties...

The party chose wisely, especially if still 1st level.

Agreed that the breath weapon makes this encounter hard, if not deadly, for 1st-level characters. I walked through a party that was 1st level when they entered Calcryx's chamber--without Meepo. Calcryx recharged her breath weapon twice and killed the party's thief. She'd nearly dropped everyone...

That's creative, something the players may exhaust their resources trying to figure out. It reminds me of Jason and the Argonauts when Hera reveals to Jason how to exploit Talos' legendary vulnerability in order to defeat him.

Obviously, that was a tough question! I made an Excel spreadsheet that same night that calculates the values. I based it on a free "5e XP Calculator" spreadsheet that I found online. If you're interested, it'll take only an evening or two of your time to make one.

I'm converting NPCs from 2e to 5e. On page 274, the DMG provides a table titled "Monster Statistics by Challenge Rating." Under "Step 4: Final Challenge Rating," the DMG lists the steps to determine the CR of the monster. In brief, CRs are determined with reference to four categories: 1) hit...

I can offer only conjecture: 1) an editor concludes that "mage" needs to be changed to "wizard" and runs the errant "replace all"; then 2) the manuscript gets bumped up to the final editor, who adds an instance of "damage" but misses the "Dawizard" in the same paragraph. Maybe the final editor...

Dawizard check made! I discovered "Dawizard" recently while converting FRE1 "Shadowdale" for Classic Modules Today. The passage reads as follows: "Both the obelisk and the walls are made of an otherworldly substance, immune to damage made by weapons of less than +3 enchantment. They have 100...

Thanks. I'll likely stick with Photoshop and acquire proficiency. That said, I also backed MapForge at the commercial/publisher bundle level. Previously, I owned Dundjinni. The utility had lots of art assets, official and fan produced, but they were hard to see and categorize quickly, let alone...