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Backgrounds are narrative tools - with mechanics attached. And I understand your definition of realm, but it doesn't change the premise. Some spells or abilities don't work or make sense in "place x" is the same premise as some background features don't work or make sense in "place x." Same...

Correct. And that was my point to your original comment - they only work on a "realm" level. There are many things that work differently via plane. So why are we nitpicking a background feature that only works in a given area. To me, it houses the same premise.

I think the whole reason I like it is because he is not doing something magical. But the look in his eyes says he definitely could. ;) It's explicit versus implicit features in a piece of fantasy art that make me really like it. For me, I lean towards the implicit, although I am a sucker for...

I agree with your take. I am just adding that there are workarounds for these features. But in the end, it is DM discretion.

Ok. I guess. But the settings don't make that very clear since Eberron is filled with magic and FR is not. But you are discounting my other examples. Magic doesn't work the same in all planes. For example, spells that affect terrain might not be viable in Limbo. Spells that charm might not be...

To me, 5e nailed it the first time. I like this piece, although the glasses don't seem to fit, but overall very cool. But the original 5e wizard - perfection!

I just don't understand this thinking. A lot of the stuff in the PHB only works at the "realm" level. Does fireball work the same in the Elemental Plane of Water? Magic appears to work quite differently between Eberron and the Forgotten Realms. I mean, it is indicated all throughout the Eberron...

The extra work, while simple for some, might require more work for other DMs. If they have poured work into their setting, and it doesn't fit because it wasn't covered in session zero or because it was unforeseen, then it might require a lot of work. Different tables, different games.

It might be mechanically better, but flavor wise it is drab. That is why they wrote the backgrounds like they did.

That's hilarious. I was playing around and for some English teachers I know, I had it create various authors as D&D characters. Ayn Rand as a fanatical desert seer, Hemingway as an old drunken sailor, Poe as a necromancer, etc. It was pretty funny.

Although this does take the flavor out of the background features, maybe that is where the compromise is. A nice, tagged line that simply says: "Since the world of D&D is eclectic and broad and varied, these background features may not work in all situations. Therefore, the DM can instead...

Thanks for the clarification. I can see that point of view. It does seem to be a matter of preference. I have to disagree. These modules need to pander to both sides; people like you that can steal parts of it and people with limited experience that use it in full. Since it is useful in both...

But you used the word "suck." As in they are terrible. I used the word poorly written because the concepts and ideas behind the old adventures are less clear than the newer ones. For example, combat is much more dynamic in these newer adventures; environment, skill checks, and objectives are...

I think this is a one-sided view of these adventures. It frames these adventures from years and years of experience. It frames them from years and years of reading fantasy books/rulebooks/digesting fantasy movies/etc. It does nothing to frame these adventures as the same ones my friends and I...

To start, 4 out of 18 of the skills, approximately 22%, are there to help build suspense into social encounters. The DMG also offers advice and alternatives. With these two things, you should be able to create almost any suspenseful social encounter you want.

I'm with @Shardstone on this, it really is up to the DM. That said, as a player I have come across a few sessions where the book used the DMG advice and did not allow a rest. Either someone or some place was in danger, we were in danger of never being able to return through the portal, or the...

I honestly don't see how it can be improved, and I don't mean that from a ruleset standpoint. I mean, D&D tries to leave things open. There are skills that cover certain social encounters, but the DM can let the players act it out if need be. The DM can even take the middle ground and let the...

Rime and Candlekeep are not what I would consider old. Since Horde and Rise came out early, I guess you could consider them early 5e adventures. But I have to ask, what does the age of a 5e adventure have to do with whether it is "easy most of the time." They are all 5e adventures. I will...

For games I have never run, I like to use their setting. I assume that the rules the game designers chose, reflect the lore and world they want GMs to create. Even for D&D, in which I have created adventures and sandboxes, I still adhere to most of the already published lore. (I may tweak a...