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Darklone: It's Hunter's Mercy. It's stupid, and it's been grandfathered in by Player's Guide to Faerun.

PlaneSailing: True enough. And, if one were to go the Fist of Raziel route, I'd suggest frontloading the entire Spirited Charge combo: Thus: Fighter 1 / Paladin 5 / Fist of Raziel 10 Gives you Tower Shield proficiency, and the full Spirited Charge feat line at first level (third, you'd take...

Probably too little, too late, but: 1. Servant of the Heavens (BoED). Terrible feat, but you then meet all requirements for Fist of Raziel. Let the smiting begin at 7th level. Stand back and let the whoop through. 2. Ok, if no specific prestige classes are in play, Mounted Combat ain't bad...

After having done some pretty hard thinking about Fist of Raziel, I finally decided Templar was better. Don't get me wrong, Fist is a very cool class. I obsessed about it for a long time. BUT, I think Templar lets you do some very interesting things. Here's why: 1. True Believer > Servant of...

This is an interesting question. On the one hand, tropes are repetitive. On the other, they represent the form and function of the gameworld -- that is, the reason we keep coming back to play D&D is because it is structured enough that it allows us to be truly creative. Kind of like a sonnet...

Watch one of the early Firefly episodes (they're out on DvD now) -- I think it's called the Great Train Robbery. Westerns are focused on the train. A lot of the feeling of whistlestop westerns could do well for inspiration. very best, Carpe

Heh, thanks. :) Had to re-register my moniker, and I lost my lovely post-count in the changeover. But we all make sacrifices! Especially ones involving altars! best, Carpe

Law codes in D&D have been something I've been thinking about too much. There is a basic problem: Players know they can break the law and get away with it because of metagaming. If they are captured, it's game over. So they assume that even if they break the law, are captured, tried, and...

I should add: Those editions of Hellboy that deal with the Fair Folk give that kind of creepy "low-Fae" feel -- changeling children and the like. Good for starting plots in low-level adventures. Also, you can probably buy some of the "Changeling" books -- the old ones -- on the cheap...

:) I've been working on this sort of thing myself. It seems to be a very promising combination, especially if you can get yourself Ki weapons. So far the best I've been able to so is Monk 2 / Paladin 8 / Templar 10, with feats: Stunning Fist [Monk Feat: 1] / Power Attack [1] / True...

Legal systems are another interesting area. I've been trying to come up with a "metasystem" that permits GMs to create the simulation of full law codes in different areas without (obviously) writing them up. The DMG legal "metasystem" isn't bad: Pick a wierd law for each jurisdiction, to give...

I did a campaign along this theme a while back. I took out demons and archons, and put in the Unseelie and Seelie courts. Of course, either court was "mad, bad, and dangerous to know." Elves were just humans (no pointy ears) that had a significant concentration of Sidhe blood. Each had a...

I've been thinking recently about world design in terms of scarcity. This is one area that a GM influences greatly, but the rules have no particular take on. Scarcity has, I think, an immense impact on characters. Characters with access to customized equipment play a different game than...

Having played this out more completely, there's another hidden drawback to the quicken / extra turn / divine meta combo: With that many non-fighter selectable feats, you're going to backload the payoff in the character. If you go monk 1 / Pal 5 / Temp 8 you'll complete the payoff by 14th...

I was fiddling about with the idea of a "True Templar" -- that is, a mix of monk and paladin levels leading up to the Templar prestige class that would represent the mix of holy orders and fighting discipline that the warrior monks originally used. I noticed something odd, though, which I'm...

Mmph. I've lost a feat somewhere. I thought I remembered seeing a feat that let you deliver a stunning fist ability through a weapon. Bueller?

The rule, as stated by PC, above, is clear from 3.0. But have you noticed? They changed the wording in 3.5. The wording is now very ambiguous, whereas previously it was clear. Does anyone have an idea why? best, Carpe

Well, I'll make an obvious addition to the excellent responses above: Use recurring villains. Any villain that can't get away from a party deserves the beating he gets. Don't do it too much, and don't do it with every villain. But having a detailed arch-villain will (1) make the plot...

And the flowers are still standing I almost always gamemaster, so I have to say it gave me great pleasure to die for the first time as a player in, well, perhaps a decade weekend before last. I trust I did it well, I'm out of practice. The party was about half an inch from TPW. The Yuan-Ti...

I use artifacts more or less the way the core rules use them: to permit certain effects and functions to exist within the game world without necessarily allowing access to PCs. Thus, a Staff of the Magi may well be possible to create -- but you can bet the PCs don't know how to do it. I've...