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  1. J

    D&D 5E (2014) Sorcerer Changes

    This is not at all correct, at least among the general D&D gaming community. Data from character-gen sites routinely ranks sorcerer among 5e's least popular classes, with the latest Beyond figures putting sorcerer second-to-last in popularity. By comparison wizard is the third most popular...
  2. J

    D&D 5E (2014) Sorcerer Changes

    This is exactly what we've done. Our group dropped Pathfinder for 5e because we disliked most of PF2e's innovations, but we like its new sorcerer a great deal and now use it in our 5e campaign.
  3. J

    Worlds of Design: Rolls vs. Points in Character Building

    The problem in actual campaigns is that groups often have a person or two willing to cheat while the rest of the group rolls honestly, which rewards bad behavior for months or even years at the expense of group members who play by the rules. There are ways around that, like having each player...
  4. J

    D&D General Alignment in D&D

    I think this very much depends on the campaign. I've run with DMs whose main characters self-consciously champion the impersonal forces of "Lawful Evil" or "Chaotic Good" as well as a Blood War campaign in which the LE and CE alignments were routinely discussed by name. I'd also say there are...
  5. J

    D&D General Alignment in D&D

    I think perhaps there is a misapprehension here. The dictionary definition of conscience is not "having desires" or even "whims" as some are claiming, but rather "a sense of the moral goodness of one's actions together with a feeling that one ought to do right or be good." So following your...
  6. J

    D&D General Alignment in D&D

    What's lost when you remove alignment as a mechanical feature is the ability to cudgel recalcitrant players into behaving as the DM expects. I've been in a fair number of campaigns where DMs see obvious answers to even the most ambiguous practical questions and strictly enforce penalties...
  7. J

    D&D General Alignment in D&D

    The 5e team didn't think it would be possible to provide the kind of concrete guidance you are asking for in the amount of rulebook space that was available, I don't think it was any more complicated than that. They just wanted to set down a few general principles while taking care to...
  8. J

    D&D General Alignment in D&D

    While 4e was being developed, a group of us used to discuss this at some length on Andy Collins' message boards. From what I can remember, the team felt good-aligned individuals would inherently respect laws and traditions and were especially puzzled by the traditional CG "frontiersman" example...
  9. J

    D&D General A campaign without classes that use magic?

    This is the main thing you need to think about in designing your ostensibly no-magic campaign. If as you say you are going that route because you dislike "high-management" aspects of the game, then it would be curiously one-sided to block all spells whether or not they are high-management...
  10. J

    D&D 5E (2014) [5e] Are classes too generic? (Read the OP before answering)

    Well, particular types of spells aren't tied to specific power sources. Bards for example have been able to cast arcane cure spells since 3rd edition, for example. So if all you are looking for is a witch-type character who can truthfully say her spells come from arcane and divine sources...
  11. J

    D&D 5E (2014) I wish they had a Sorcerer that had access to the Druid spell list like...

    Pathfinder 2 isn't a better game than 5e but its sorcerer sure is better than 5e's.
  12. J

    D&D 5E (2014) Exploring the economics of Raise Dead

    Yes, every figure in both this thread and the one from a year ago would be an "assumption" since we're talking about fictional settings. But both threads have common ground in that they purport to base their assumptions on logic and to some degree medieval history. This may or may not be a...
  13. J

    D&D 5E (2014) Exploring the economics of Raise Dead

    I'm not sure "being willing to come back" would be as much of an issue as some are saying. Those who are evil would almost certain want to return because even a tough world would beat where they ended up, whereas those who are good would almost certainly feel a duty to return so they can help...
  14. J

    D&D 3.x Multiclassing in D&D 3rd Edition

    First time I've disagreed so thoroughly with one of Jonathan's articles. Why you'd close off options for everyone just so some people wouldn't be "disappointed" seems very strange. Not every multiclass combo has to be equally strong, if you go that route then you should make every stat...
  15. J

    On Choice, Consequence and the Right to Fail

    Choosing to run one of the few APs where TPKs are a real possibility is a bold move, for sure. And seeking to avoid a logical consequence of that choice because it might interfere with the way you envision the campaign unfolding in the future is a desire with which many DMs would sympathize...
  16. J

    On Choice, Consequence and the Right to Fail

    These are the kinds of situations that test whether we mean what we say, when we say players have agency and their actions should determine the flow of the game. Holding to that principle when it is hard is much tougher than professing it when it is easy, for any number of reasons.
  17. J

    D&D 5E (2014) Interest in a Spelless, Yet Magical, Bard, Paladin, and Ranger?

    Why isn't "none of the above" an option? I wouldn't agree with any of the points made by the OP though I appreciate his point of view and have no problem with him creating variant classes that work for him.
  18. J

    D&D 5E (2014) Understanding the maths behind 5e

    PF2e brought in a fair number of 4e elements, from the abolition of free-form multiclassing to a simpler skill-point system to increased "guardrails" on player choice so you won't inadvertently create a gimped character. Some players who adopted PF1e because they disliked 4e are mystified by...
  19. J

    D&D 5E (2014) Making every point count: Ability Mod Variant

    If you want to make each point matter without fundamentally restructuring the underlying ruleset or the dice you roll, your best bet is to shift some of the benefits of a stat increase from even numbers to odd numbers. For wisdom, perhaps even numbers grant +1 to will saves while odd numbers...
  20. J

    D&D 5E (2014) Those who come from earlier editions, why are you okay with 5E healing (or are you)?

    If hit points really did measure physical damage, then the ruleset would need to restrict characters' actions as their hit points fell. But in 5e, even characters with 1 hit point can take their full allotment of actions without incurring penalties to their saves or attack rolls. For that...
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