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I voted "2", vague understanding, but it's really more Not Applicable. Characters know things the players don't. What Players know in-game is P/C knowledge. IOW, what the player has learned about the game is much of what their character has learned. Is a character's bone density a character...

(that should have been -item- construction) Magic-User PCs are learning all about magic just as their players are learning the magic system. Just like every other class. The more we study and play any game the more we learn about them too. And no one should begin a game with no understanding...

I voted Researching Item Creation and Item Recipes/Schematics. They are the only 2 I think are necessary elements of Magic Item creation (though not sufficient). However anything else on the list can work too. Need a soul to create that intelligent weapon? Sure thing. Life drain yourself (XP...

Magical Effects! Not everything magical comes from an object. Creatures are magical. Creatures can create magic (spells). Places can be magical. A creature's construction can be magical too, but they are all part of the magic system. For me, magic systems are suggestions for the DM. So...

Homebrew is the default D&D setting. Published settings players might ask to be included in the game would be nice, but the amount of information that means including lately is definitely DM-unfriendly. I think the larger CS's built up over the last few decades would be of better service when...

Treasure Horde of 3rd, maybe 4th level or higher. The players have to navigate to these though and then determine what they have is magical. And even further learn through play what +1 means in the game system. So no at-will Detect Magic ability until very high level to allow this learning to occur.

He has some clever jokes and the whole article feels like he's trying to be amusing, but overall I found it bitter and that's not funny.

It's a game, so when the box says 2 hours to play that means not having lunch during, stopping for introductions to the family walking in, spill clean up, telling everyone about the film you just saw, and on and on. It does not mean 2 hours no matter what. It means the designers think this...

String Cheese - binds your foes in four days worth of conjured rations. :D

Here are some examples for getting XP by class. Not necessarily what I use, but class relevant for the four core at least. Some sources of XP overlap between all like rumors and overcoming monsters / threatening creatures in a dungeon / dangerous world. But I believe most should be noticeably...

For me, players gain XP for roleplaying, separate totals for each class. I think of gaining Experience Points like picking up treasure, moving location, or beating a monster. Players choose to do these things, they don't have to. XP is the score of the game for each player. It's a measure of...

I'd say dozens to a hundred hours for something like B2 to wipe out the threat at the caves. But that's only a focused adventure, not where they leave and come back to the area. Plus you have to account for the rules the DM is using. Some rulesets slow play down, some make it go faster. Not to...

Like any D&D game, the players are in charge. They tell you want they do, where they go, what they want. Like normal you respond to their attempts, but with younger kids you may want to ask them those self same questions if play goes off track too much. For example, kids can have a hard time...

2e or Player focusing every level works fine. I still like the original table for NPCs.

Yeah, I agree with EW. Typically a magical sword "+'s" altered a target's AC, while a magical chainmail "+'s" changed a To Hit die result. This widened the range of effectiveness players could explore within the d20 range, while leaving the average at a balanced 50% Since the linear d20 roll...

I suspect L&L may soon be over like the Wandering Monster column. Both have been successful and highly informative. And while not everything was overwhelmingly accepted, there was controversy, I think that points to being on the pulse of what is going on in the D&D community at the moment. I...

Ignoring the idea that rogues (thieves) are a combat-oriented class I disagree that Fighters were historically one of the simplest classes. They are actually the second most difficult class, the second most complex game for players to play of the four core classes. The difference is Wizards is...

My suggestion is to remove saving throws from the ability scores. The game doesn't have that many stats to follow. And Classes could have variance within them for saving throws. Not every cleric needs to be average against spells or poor versus dragon's breath. They are typically better at what...

Ernie Gygax has many excellent traps you might emulat-(steal!) in his Hobby Shop Dungeon. You can find pieces of that in Gygax Magazine #3 here. And in the preview copy of his Haunted Halls of the Beggar King here.

Condolences to all who knew him. He was one of my favorite artists for the game and has had a lasting impact.