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    D&D 5E (2024) Will you buy 5.5e/6e PHB?

    Unlikely. I've skipped 5E entirely, and it doesn't look like 5.5/6E is going to do much to change my problems with the game.
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    D&D General worst (real) advice for DMs

    "If the players disagree with you, have them hit by lightning bolts, reduce their Charisma, or have them attacked by an invisible ethereal mummy" -- as suggested in the 1E DMG.
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    D&D General Fighters of Fantasy Literature - Tier List and Ranking! (Vote once per day through February 14th).

    Tier 4 - Masters of the World Fingolfin (Tolkien) Ecthelion (Tolkien) Gil-Galad (Tolkien) Glorfindel (Tolkien) Erekose (Moorcock) John Carter, Warlord of Barsoom (Burroughs) Icarium (Erikson) Elric of Melnibone (Moorcock) Culain Lord of the Lance (Gemmell) Cohen the Barbarian (Pratchett) Kane...
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    Worlds of Design: Doing it All Over Again

    In play? Rarely. But I have let players redo their characters between sessions -- switching classes, reassigning skills, etc. -- especially in cases where the player is new to the system and is still getting the hang of how it works. Of course, this doesn't mean unlimited redos, but I don't see...
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    D&D General Fighters of Fantasy Literature - Tier List and Ranking! (Vote once per day through February 14th).

    Tier 4 - Masters of the World Fingolfin (Tolkien) Ecthelion (Tolkien) Gil-Galad (Tolkien) Glorfindel (Tolkien) John Carter, Warlord of Barsoom (Burroughs) Icarium (Erikson) Tier 3 - Masters of the Realm Hurin (Tolkien) Conan (Howard) Corwin of Amber (Zelazny) Aragorn (Tolkien) Drizzt Do'Urden...
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    D&D General Source Material: "The Knight of the Swords" by Michael Moorcock

    Yeah. I see way too many D&D fans who apparently think the fantasy genre stopped in 1989. As for Moorcock being lesser known today ... while I yield to no one in Moorcock fandom (I've been Lord Shark online for 36 years now, ever since reading "White Stars" in Legends from the End of Time)...
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    D&D General Source Material: "The Knight of the Swords" by Michael Moorcock

    For another example of Law as evil from Moorcock's work, see the Singularity and the Original Insect from the"Second Ether" trilogy (Blood, Fabulous Harbours, and The War Amongst the Angels).
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    D&D General A shorter Appendix N

    For one example, 1E thieves' ability to read spell scrolls (with a chance of reversed effect) is derived from The Eyes of the Overworld. Cugel steals Iucounu's spellbook and casts some spells by reading directly from it, but then has a spell backfire when he mispronounces a word.
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    Let's Talk About Fantasy heartbreaks and other FRPGs

    My first non-D&D fantasy RPG? Probably RuneQuest (the 2E boxed set). These days, if I wanted to run fantasy, I'd probably reach for 13th Age, Beyond the Wall, TOR, or Fellowship. Maybe PF2E, although I'd need more experience with it to be certain.
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    D&D 5E (2014) Philosophy of Greataxe vs. Greatsword

    In AD&D 1E and 2E, a trident does 3d4, although only against large enemies.
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    Dragon Reflections #51

    Search for the Emperor's Treasure was one of Tom Wham's best games, along with King of the Tabletop. It was reprinted in the Best of the Dragon Games boxed set. Unfortunately, the reprint version replaced the original Darlene Pekul-drawn map with Catan-style rearrangeable hexes, which weren't...
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    D&D General How Long Did You Play the Different Editions of D&D? (+)

    Holmes Basic: 1979 AD&D 1E: 1980-1989 AD&D 2E: 1989-2000 D&D 3E: 2000-about 2004? I don't really remember when I stopped playing 3E, I just drifted away. D&D 4E: 2008-2014 Pathfinder 1E: 2011-present 13th Age: 2013-2016
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    D&D 4E Martial classes

    Honestly, if you armed a fighter with a spear, polearm, or flail, you could get pretty controllery with tripping, slowing, and forced movement.
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    D&D 4E Inquiry: How do 4E fans feel about 4E Essentials?

    Yeah, the seeker and runepriest desperately needed more support that they never got. Some of the PHB1 classes were weak as originally created (paladin, star pact warlock, and I'd say wizard), but they eventually got improved through the Power books. As for best pre-Essentials classes, that...
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    Pathfinder 2E Opinions on APs available on Roll20

    Strength of Thousands is set at a magic school but it's not really Harry Potter -- the PCs are more like grad students than elementary school, and they are expected to become members of the school's faculty after the second adventure. The African-inspired setting is interesting, and there's more...
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    D&D 4E Martial classes

    One of the things I liked most about 4E is that, through feats and powers, they made weapon choice actually matter. Instead of just "this one does d4 piercing, this one does d8 bashing," different weapon types had different applications -- spears and polearms were better for tripping and...
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    D&D 4E Inquiry: How do 4E fans feel about 4E Essentials?

    As a 4E fan, I think the biggest problem with Essentials is not the books themselves but how poorly they were marketed. WotC wasn't clear about whether Essentials was meant as a replacement for the original books -- i.e., a "4.5E" -- or whether it was meant as a supplement to the game, and it...
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    Why Not Magic?

    Because after 40+ years of playing D&D and other RPGs, I find magic in most games dull, flavorless, and repetitious. When "magic" means a 100-page list of spells, only a handful of which most players will ever use, I'm going to avoid interacting with that system as much as possible. Also, D&D...
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    D&D 5E (2014) Zooming In On Monsters of the Multiverse [UPDATED!]

    Likewise, ever since 3E I've soured on the idea that everything in the universe with supernatural powers has to express them in terms of the same spell list. Say an angel, a wizard, a dragon sorcerer, a firebending monk, and a fire elemental all cast wall of fire ... and despite the fact they're...
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    D&D 5E (2014) Crashed flying cities/fortresses (maps/modules)

    It's not 5E, but there's a 13th Age campaign, Shards of the Broken Sky, that revolves around exploring a crashed flying city.
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