Search results

That is a lot to ask from a playtest. If it becomes something that a lot of people are asking for, then I predict that they will eventually publish a few more options in a future supplement for people who want more draconic sorcerer goodness. Why not? If a bunch of people are demanding it, that...

I think 1 and 3 on your list are pretty much the same thing. By the time a character idea has established itself so firmly in fantasy that you could call it ubiquitous, I think it embodies a pretty specific archetype. I also think that a class needs to satisfy both of your (now consolidated)...

If you want to pick and choose pieces of established options while ignoring the rest, then of course you're going to have some extra work to do. But that isn't a problem with this version of the draconic sorcerer, specifically. Anything that they publish is going to cover a small subset of the...

Yeah, am I the only one who noticed that 4E and its vaunted encounter design tools led to a lot of entitled GMs?

As a half-breed/half-blood/daywalker myself I can say that those terms have never bothered me. I guess it's better (for them) to be safe than sorry, but it is kind of sad that they feel they have to be so hyper sensitive. Hopefully nobody complains about it and it never really becomes an issue.

Talk about a false dichotomy! What about a sandbox precludes role-playing? Just because I didn't design Jareth the ex-sailor blacksmith with one of my character's backgrounds in mind doesn't mean that they can't have interesting interactions with him. As my PCs adventure, the world responds to...

Fair enough. ;) In the long run you get a little better at compartmentalizing your reactions, even resisting it sometimes. Every time is still a struggle, though.

Well, it is psychic trauma. It bypasses your normal ways of coping with pain and discomfort. It could be like having the person you love tell you that they don't love you anymore. Experiencing it once doesn't mean it gets any easier if it happens again. If anything, the knowing of how painful it...

I suppose if the ranger had a bunch of stuff like "only usable in the forest" and "only usable while hiding in a tree", then I would see where you are coming from. But the sorcerer and the warlock's fluff is not nearly so integrated with their mechanics. If you want to change the example...

I love artificers, and try to convince all of my Eberron parties to have at least one (it usually isn't difficult). I also, like most 3.x GMs, have plenty of houserules in my game. One of them is that you need a schema, basically a blueprint, in order to craft a magical item in addition to the...

I admit I'm a little confused by statements like this. How could they "nail" a backstory to a class so firmly that you, as GM, couldn't replace it in its entirety at your whim?

They seem to be committed to putting all of the classes that have ever been included in a PHB in the 5E PHB. Maybe committed is the wrong word. They seem to be trying the idea on for size. I would love if they did that. I love having a bunch of classes to choose from, and I think the classes on...

I agree, this is a great explanation for yuan-ti as I see them. Yuan-ti in my games also despise the warm-blooded races, including the very cultists that form their power base in the modern, post serpent-kingdom world. They know on some level that they have to rely on mammal cultists and...

Why? I'm actually curious about what the difference is. I always thought that "primal" was a synonym for "powered by nature".

I've played and GMed for plenty of spell-point characters. It is fun. The trick is to have access to spells that are good in different situations. An area of effect spell can be great against swarms, but won't do much against a single foe or when your allies are spread out among the enemies. And...

Just putting in my 2 cents, but I know a few people like that, too. They seem like people who would love D&D if they ever gave it a fair shake, but they just can't take the game seriously. There is too much negative stigma attached. I've gotten a few of them to play and enjoy it though, usually...

Yes, but the designers won't be able to make a comprehensive list of every possible way that you could use a class in its description. Giving a representative example of how to use a class, which is firmly rooted in fantasy tropes and D&D history, seems like a good compromise solution. GMs can...

Fair enough. In that case I suppose you could say that 3.x offers you a slightly easier and more comprehensive toolbox when running a simulationist campaign. It's not the case that 4E is somehow fundamentally unsuited for the same (in this example, at least).

Odd. In 3.x, when designing a door, I select the level of challenge (read=DC) that either makes the most sense or the best adventure, and then use that to find what type of door I'm using. Does that mean I'm doing it wrong?

Sounds like an ability I would give a big enemy monster that I wanted to challenge the whole party. ;)