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You cannot enchant a Monk's unarmed strike. Jimlock's right, it has to be masterwork in order to become a permanent magic item - and no matter what a monk tells you, he's not a masterwork.

Bracers of Armor should be considered a kind of Armor with an AC bonus of 0, no dex check penalty, no maximum dexterity modifier, and no arcane spell failure. Enchanted Bracers have an enhancement bonus to armor, and special abilities that increase the effective bonus can be added as normal for...

I think you need to decide what this class is doing. :) Originally, the Cleric was a crusader, a warrior-priest in service of his faith. The Paladin was a servant of good and law, who normally had a good relationship with gods of the same alignment. Despite that distinction being blurred in...

The last thing I'd do is make a hidden roll and make a decision. Lightning already has a bit of a deus ex reputation - if you are using deus ex, at least try to be subtle. ;) Most of the time, if the PCs can handle the wind and the rain, they can handle the lightning: save time and use...

It looks like your ref is more comfortable with 2e. Why don't you just play under those rules, and teach him 3.x in somebody else's game?

Belatedly, I've realized that this is a critique of Trailblazer. Ah, well, hindsight is 20/20. I think you're right - and that's why I propose the change. This sort of player entitlement is a weight around the neck of the ref. By leaving races out of the core rules, the ref doesn't have to...

I should make clear that I really, really like Trailblazer. It presents the best 3.x I've ever seen, and (to the limits of my understanding), I agree with the design philosophy. However, 3.x had significant problems. One of the biggest is that it's a very complicated game. Teaching new...

Doesn't that cause problems in 20' by 20' rooms? ;)

Good question! For a definitive answer, I asked Dave & Gary. Based on the flight patterns of nearby birds, their answer is: Use perfect communication so that everyone vividly imagines the very same scenario. I'm not sure this would work with all gaming groups!

Well, I guess the question for me is, "What's the hard bit of 1.5:1?" It can't be counting, or adding 2, so I'm guessing it's the 'blinking' aspect of the modifier. That can be removed. If this is going into a Trailblazer core book, I would suggest: 1:1 diagonals as the "Basic" rule. 3:2...

It's not a game balance issue. D&D is not a board game, it's the descendant of tabletop wargaming. The 1.5:1 diagonal move is a simplification of the measured movement still popular in those games (and still used in some people's D&D games). Aside from getting away from our roots, ditching...

Whizbang, if you really need to see the names of the modules, just highlight the text. The Spoiler tag exists in order to stop people (in this case, folks in my play group) from accidentally reading things. (The spoiler block would be a bit excessive considering the amount of information...

That's what should happen when I use the "Spoiler" tag! ;)

I've decided to run an old school module to open my Trailblazer game. I briefly toyed with before settling on . A common element in these modules is that they stress problems with supply - a game concern that usually falls by the wayside. So I decided to familiarise myself with starvation and...

If the Leadership feat is being thrown over (and GOOD RIDDANCE to it), then alternatives should be explored. Leadership was a direct replacement of 2nd Edition AD&D's "instant retainers at about 9th level" rule, and in fairness to the feat, it was an improvement. But just about anything would...

16th level characters shouldn't struggle with the Tomb of Horrors. You ought to have enough character history that the story from here is driven by what the characters want. They're powerful, rich and successful. Ask yourself (and if that doesn't help, ask the players) questions like: Who...

On languages: All characters know how to speak Common. A dwarf, elf, gnome, half-elf, half-orc, or halfling also speaks a racial language, as appropriate. A character who has an Intelligence bonus at 1st level speaks other languages as well, one extra language per point of Intelligence bonus as...

I've been doing some groundwork for a Trailblazer game. One of the things hinted at in Trailblazer is a return to the values of the 'old school', while still making use of the more elegant d20 mechanics. (If that's not the Bad Axe design philosophy - well, they've certainly done a fine job of...

If you're adopting the BMB, you're compelled to put the Paladin and Ranger on the Cleric and Druid spell list. From that, you'd need the Paladin class changes to preserve their distinctive class features (Bless Weapon & Holy Sword are now iconic). From there, I think it makes sense to avoid...

In addition: D&D was already broken before Trailblazer.