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In my opinion, the RAW for action points suck. They are meant to encourage players pushing on rather than taking extended rests. I found it a poor system that does not make up for spending dailies an doesn't take advantage of a great system for rewarding roleplaying. I allow AP not to be used...

I wouldn't mind simpler class based combat maneuvers for martial characters that give status effects (disarm, stun, daze, knock prone, push/pull/slide etc). Or to give multiple attacks (like a cleave or burst 1 axe sweep). And perhaps link combat maneuvers to something like healing surges -...

1e was very much quadratic wizards. Being a first level wizards in 1e was very dangerous. Personally I prefer less squishiness and less uber damage, as well as a more linear wizarding power curve.

Like everyone says. Note if you use inherent bonuses this does not matter and the character builder just uses the base AC of the enhanced armor and adds inherent bonuses based on your level.

I like tabletop but there is the reality of having friends with families, also separated by long distances. The internet enables us to game when tabletop is impossible. I've noticed that gaming is more focussed online as there are less side conversations and combat is very streamlined with...

It's not cheating if the DM allows it. That said, it can be important to reevaluate PC power levels if one PC is significantly more powerful than the others AND it is interfering with their enjoyment. Talking to the player out of game in a way they are part of the solution has worked well for...

Critical hits podcast did a recent one on skill challenges that is definitely worth listening to. They talk about what makes it interesting. Crossing a desert for me is a boring skill challenge, particularly if they are well prepared. CH gave the example of crossing a rickety bridge. Boring...

It is all online so no update limit. Elemental chaos is online now too. I find the tools and Dragon access great value.

Maybe limit races to particular power sources (half Orcs can't use arcane, gnomes can't use primal) or give bonuses to particular choices (eladrin using arcane, deva using divine etc?)

I find the question of class complexity an interesting one and harder in my mind to answer than rarity (which I've already out my 2c in on). Actually I see 2 types of complexity - complexity in character generation and complexity in playstyle. With splatbooks, 3e/3.5e/PF is complex for...

Epic tier sarcasm.

I must play D&D differently to others who have 12-20 or even 4-5 combat encounters per session. Even back in my 2e days it was less than that. Far less. I guess my games are 'character and story driven' so that combats are purposeful and significant. I run 3 session adventures usually with 3...

I don't really see rarity as a step forward. On my game the pcs are heroes a cut above the average person. As far as occupy Hero St is concerned, they are the 1%. The average guard can be considered a fighter but not a 'Fighter' in a PC class sense. They have a stat block, not the range of...

When my PCs come to a new town I try to (a) think of 1-3 cool things in terms of appearance, layout, or things to see. Then I (b) come up with 1-3 keywords or tidbits to keep in mind with the town. Things like 'super-tidy' or 'xenophobic' or 'heavily guarded'. This allows me a theme to throw...

I like personality and alignment being not too interdependent as I think it sends the message that a two letter alignment code is not the same as personality. D&D's strength is that it allows more character development than your typical Bioware style CRPG choice of saint or bastard. Sent from...

Not the case with 4e in my experience. You can adjust monster levels easily using the 4e builder and just call it a 'lesser vampire'. You can also change the balance of minions, which can modulate encounter difficulty. But it is generally best if you don't change monster levels by more than...

One issue with a shallow power curve is the expected adversary/monster balance. A group of PCs should go from fighting goblins or Orcs to dragons. Logically if a group of PCs can beat 5-10 goblins at level 1 and you only have a 2-3 level 1 van beat a level 10, logically 10-20 goblins could best...

I have and tried to be optimistic about 5e but many of the actual interviews and discussions with Mr Cook reinforce the above post. The spellcaster favoritism I find the greatest concern as the linear fighters quadratic wizards has been a problem with editions prior to 4e. Making wizards fun...

I remember this being an issue for players keen to play a paladin, ranger, or other class with ability limits. The DM could either allow them to have the scores (pissing off everyone at the table who rolled and stuck with low scores), deny them and make them miss out on the concept they wanted...

I'd like to see more advice on world building to make race matter more. For me race allows an exploration of prejudice and racial tensions. Dragon age did this very well in their world. Burning wheel is a game system that really makes race matter with dwarven 'greed' and orcish 'hate' that...