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I am planning on using a Song Portal in an upcoming session. Has anyone done anything cool with a Song Portal other than just an instant transport from point a to point b? I am looking the concept of the song path, but haven't seen where that idea has been fully fleshed out. I am thinking...

This. Monks too often are used to show the party how the "monster works". They become the "red shirts" of a D&D party.

The exceptions make the rule though. For every one person that has survived a traumatic event (like a fall) 100,000 die. Also, people don't willing bathe in D&D unless they are elves. Hot baths are straight out. They don't have sidewalks, but cobblestones at best. Now those should require...

IMHO, balancing classes around the concept of a long/short rest cycle has to be one of the worst design decisions in 5e. I also dislike races/class features that gimmick rests (like elves and now warlocks with Aspect of the Moon). Rests should add tension to the game or they should be a...

Funny thing about party size. I started playing AD&D in 1979. I played in two groups: one with my local friends about 5 of us total; and another at the YMCA. At the YMCA there were two tables (and two DMs) and each was open to anyone who wanted to join. Each table had at least 8 players and...

Your post that started this thread did not stipulate the exclusion of feats. But are Fighting Styles off the table then? You keep shifting the goal posts, so it is unclear what you are really arguing for. Even without feats, Fighting Styles create the separation between 2H, Ranged, TWF, and...

Sorry, but HP are not "Plot Armor". They are an abstraction of damage and perhaps a poor one, but they are definitely not plot armor. Plot armor is immunity from death because they character is so integral to the story that their death would derail it...

So you just want to stick your fingers in your ears and cover your eyes and pretend they don't exist? ;) They exist and are probably allowed in more games than not as restricting players is always difficult. I believe they are allowed in Adventure's League, so that means they make up a large...

As we demonstrated in the other thread, TWF cannot compete with GWM and SS past tier 2 - it isn't even close. So no, not all tiers. IDS is even better with GWM: Weapon damage much much greater and "cleave" more than compensates for the second attack given by TWF. Now if Dual Wielder changed...

If you assume that every creature in the world only has 1 HP and the rest represent skill at blocking, parrying, dodging, feinting, etc. HP makes more sense. As a combat drags on and contestants become tired, they become less skill at the methods of avoiding or mitigating damage. The final...

I think it has more to do with the disconnect on how hit points are presented. I personally think of hit points more like combat exhaustion. Watching a boxing match where two boxers are barely able to lift their arms to punch at each other is a low hit point situation to me. The problem with...

Only in Tier 1 play and only with a build for that. After Tier 1 TWF loses its luster. Also, even with the Rogue build it is iffy due to the competition with other Bonus actions. Don't get me wrong, I like TWF, but it isn't the strongest option.

For a rogue perhaps, though as discussed a melee rogue is not going to be as effective as a ranged rogue. Once the paladin is out of smite then his TWF drops off completely since they don't have access to even the TWF Fighting style which is more critical for TWF than Dual Wield for damage output.

You don't need the dual wielder feat to dual wield. However, without the TWF-style and Dual Wield you are way behind the damage curve compared to ranged and two-handed -- and just barely above sword and board. So I guess it depends on what you mean by effective?

I think your luck drain is a good one. In general, try to balance combat advantages with combat disadvantages and RP advantages with RP disadvantages. It is one of my biggest beefs with Curse of Stradh. In the Amber Temple a character can accumulate a ton of combat powers at the expense of a...

No disagreement on this from me. Calvary charges with sabers were still present at the start of WWII. However, the primary weapon of engagement has been firearms since their widespread introduction, with melee weapons relegated to backup or specialized missions. Melee weapons fell out of...

Guns were not introduced to combat people in chainmail. The most common armor in the Renaissance was not chainmail but a breastplate. Peasant levies also don't wear armor; archers don't wear armor. Longbows and crossbows could penetrate armor as well. The need for a weapon to puncture armor was...

Except that everyone took invoker and because weaker sorcerers or they just stayed as generalists. What 5e needs is a generalist wizards archetype if anything.

So wouldn't that depend upon the king? A warrior king who got his power through conquest would be different than a king that inherited the crown and just partied. (Charlemagne vs Louie XVI). But how about the king's champion? Or the court wizard? What about other adventuring parties that...

What I find odd about this discussion is that it seems to discount magic and monster abilities. Both of these have a profound affect regarding range vs. melee. As a DM, I work to make sure that ranged attackers are not invincible by using flying creatures and spellcasters frequently enough...