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It doesn't say that. The PCs perforce cannot declare their combat actions before initiative is rolled the first time, because initiative is rolled before combat is even chosen. I think what's confusing to people looking back is that it's long been the case in D&D that rolling initiative...

When I saw the initial release, I'll admit, I was happy in an abstract way that WotC was making so much of the game free, but I was also thinking, "Damn, if I knew it was going to be like that, I wouldn't have bought my digital copy of the DMG. I don't need Bastions that much, and I have plenty...

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the complete custom background rules in the DMG: 1: Choose Abilities Choose three abilities that seem appropriate for the background: Strength or Dexterity. These abilities are ideal for a background involving physical exertion. Constitution. This ability is...

Hey, hey! The Caller is back, baby! Okay, they call it “Party Leader,” and it’s only a suggestion for dealing with large groups, but I’ll take it.

KotB, in conception and as published, was not part of any existing setting, as it was intended, like Nentir Vale, to be slotted into the DM’s homebrew. To the point that it was added, long after release, to both Greyhawk and the Known World of the Expert Set, itself intended to be slotted into...

I, for one, greatly appreciated your cautious optimism! But...I understand.

The point of my original post is that I don't believe the custom background "rules" in the DMG are going to be much beyond, "You can let your players create their own background by choosing their ASI (one at +2 and one at+1 or three at +1), one Origin Feat, two Skills, one Tool, and 50 GP worth...

The only people talking about "toxic" DMs are you and Micah Sweet. Everyone else is talking about DMs doing regular DM things: if the Bastions are not singled-out as being controlled by players, than many (if not most) DMs will naturally see them as something they (the DMs) control, and with the...

So, when I read about ability score increases and feats being attached to Backgrounds in 2024, I was highly skeptical. One of the things I loved about Backgrounds in the 2014 rules was that they weren't mechanically relevant. Even their "ribbon" abilities were not made to interact with other...

Why not? It’s an optional player facing system. Once the DM makes the decision to use the system in their campaign, why do they need to be involved?

If Bastions were in the PHB, then we'd have people complaining about power creep, and about players expecting to be able to use them just because they are in the PHB, even if the DM doesn't want them in the campaign. They're an optional rule. Optional rules belong in the DMG.

Let's turn the heat down a bit. You don't have to be a jerk DM to look at stronghold rules and think about how you can use them as hooks to challenge players or to provide emotional reaction to story developments. Heck, we don't even have to go that far. In D&D, the DM is responsible for and has...

I seriously don't get the claims of the 2014 DMG being "badly organized." I can understand wanting a different organization, like the bottom-up one the 2024 DMG apparently has, but that doesn't make the 2014 DMG "badly" organized. It has a top-down organization. Chapter 1 is world building...

I know, that’s why we’ve been estimating based on Fritz’s experience and Mike Shea’s surveys (or rather, reports thereof). As Morrus has pointed out, the use of the word “fans” instead of players means they are likely counting more than just players. So that number is going to be higher. 1/5 of...

1 in 5 “fans”, but I’m talking actual players of the RPG.

I mean, online consumers skewing towards using online tools and FLGS consumers skewing towards not using them is pretty much what you’d expect. Split the difference (1/3) and you’re probably in the ballpark.

All due respect, Mike, you're just describing the 2014 release, and...uh...yeah, that all sounds about right. I've long thought (and said) that one of the underrated factors in 5e's success was the carefully built on-ramp. The curated release schedule, with adventures right off the bat, the...

Update: Opened a ticket on DND Beyond yesterday morning (Japan time). Yesterday evening I received an order confirmation from D&D Marketplace, with the same order number as before, but now with the outstanding amount for the physical book. This morning I received a notice from PayPal that I had...

Well, this certainly indicates delays in delivery! It is regrettable that this mix-up has happened. I don't know how much of it is a Wizards thing, and how much of it is a PayPal thing. It seems it would have been easier to process the whole payment at the time of the transaction. But, I can...

As someone affected by the cancellations, I can confirm that this is the case. My PayPal was charged at the time of order for the digital version, but was not charged for the physical book. WotC is not running off with people's money.