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So you're not just a grandfather of assassins, you're the dirty old grandfather of assassins. We always suspected... ;)

Rituals take two. I think there are three essential elements that a robust 5e ritual system needs. Effects that can scale from the small to the campaign-shaking. Casting a really big ritual can be an encounter, even an adventure, unto itself. I'd love rituals with brief trees for expanding...

In the lead up to the playtest we're thinking a lot about big mechanical and thematic elements. How classes work, what a theme contains, how skills and abilities tie into task resolution, what we love or hate about hit points, etc. That's all well and good, but I want to ask a more personal...

Inspired by the recent L&L article about wizards, as well as the associated thread, I've been wondering about the interaction between wizards, scrolls, and spellbooks, particularly as it involves learning new spells. Besides the mechanics of casting spells (whether prepared, from scrolls, or...

(Welcome to my 250th post!) I like it! When one considers multiple spells per stack it opens up a lot of room to explore. It could also mitigate some problems D&D-styled spells might have with stacks due to minimum levels above one, and sparsely spaced (or no) upgrades to higher levels...

I think the primary benefits are five-fold: It lets the caster make a consequential tradeoff between immediate powerful casting and long-term (especially >1 day) spell flexibility, and hopefully makes the entire spectrum in between viable. In particular, if one day a character chooses one...

I don't think it's quite as bad you suggest. In particular, half the stuff in the OP's table is analysis, not information a player needs to make a character. Unless I've missed something really big, the amount of stuff to track in my example is slightly higher than 3.5 below level 10, about...

Thanks for your comments, all. I've played with similar systems as well (the homebrew system I play in has a "summoning" check every time one casts a spell) but I have not played DCC. I didn't really make it clear in the OP, but I'm sharing a thought experiment I found really interesting, not...

TL;DR version: I propose a system with spell "stacks" composed of spell slots. Casting a spell of a given level expends both that slot and all slots of lower level in that stack. Each extended rest recovers a small number of slots, and when applied to a stack they are always added to the...

The prose style and the almost bullet-point style of 4e both have advantages, and I'd like to see each play to their strengths. The thing I like about the almost clinical 4e-style is that it is great for gaining an at-a-glance executive summary of what something is about. Both new and...

Recognizing "pillars" of the game can be a useful tool, but like all tools it can be abused. Here's how I think they should be approached. 1) As a descriptive model relating how the game is played to the "reality" of the game's world. 2) Like a basis vector in linear algebra. This means that...

Perhaps my reading is uncharitable, but I believe "good riddance" expressed contempt. Few things in game design merit such a response, and fewer still will be guided to anything constructive by its naked expression.

I, for one, cannot wait to move beyond wild speculation to active feedback on the material that actually exists. In a month the D&D community will have an opportunity to show its mettle in a way it has never had before. May we rise to the occasion with civility and thoughtfulness, most...

Well, I did not see that coming. Right now, the only conclusion I feel safe drawing is that the "market" regarding the direction of 5e will enter a period of increased volatility. Such periods are marked by increased opportunity and increased risk for all involved. I was glad to see Monte's...

I don't think there is a "should" when it comes to specific ways of handling death, especially its story impact, in D&D. We tell different tales in different settings, and despite many shared assumptions this one is so big that it deserves its own space in the game. The only should I see...

I haven't had a chance to read the original post thoroughly, but this strikes me as an odd premise. If all else is equal, the actual probability of hitting on an individual attack (e.g. 20, 50, or 80) doesn't change the probability of winning the fight at all if it is the same for both...

What would be new is if they weren't implemented poorly, or at least were better integrated into the other system assumptions. Thresholds, especially static thresholds, in past editions often meant a spell started out extremely powerful, and then became worthless. Sleep and the Power Word...

I also thought this was a really good Ro3, especially the directions for monsters. With respect to solo monsters, based on the ideas about minions the other week I think we can safely assume they're going for a pre-4e approach of not needing separate designations for creatures, while using all...

All jargon starts visible, and by familiarity becomes invisible. Good jargon usually aids that process by being terse (relative to the idea it represents) and feeling natural. (The exception for this measure of "good" is jargon designed, at least in part, to build up a group identity by being...

As I see it some way to approximate the challenge to the party is necessary, not for every DM or campaign, but for the overall health of the game. A seasoned DM can and will ignore as desired, as will many games that run in an "environment-first" mode, but a new DM has no idea where to start...