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It's not "way" but messing with action economy is one of the last steps I would take when tweaking mechanics. The monk either needs an extra ki point or two or a 1/rest ability that refreshes ki: Refocus As a bonus action, you regain ki points equal to your Wisdom modifier. Once you use this...

I prefer it. I have no use for standard copy-paste/fantasy tropes anymore.

Nicely done. I love Spelljammer. It's been on my "bucket campaign list" for a long time. Not sure I would pull the rug out from under my players and send them into space (unlike Ravenloft hehe :devilish:) but I like the way you handled it. I would totally go the Star Wars route too where each...

Stop giving out loot. Problem solved.

This sounds very cool! I love Rappan Athuk. However, this strategy only goes so far. In many cases with published modules, you have to kill the bad guys, and a smaller group is going to drastically change the difficultly. A small group can quickly find themselves over their head unless the...

Embrace the 2-player group! Fewer players opens up a lot more opportunity for role-playing and investigation. Provide and encourage non-combat solutions to problems (like Stealth). A smaller group does put more responsibility on the DM. You can't just grab a module and go. You have to tailor...

Sounds like your game has more issues than whether or not knowledge skills can be used during combat. This sounds like a symptom.

There are definitely things that need fixing but this isn’t one of the reasons why.

Not sure I would say they are boring per se. They can be lackluster though. The thing happens or it didn't. I do like what PF 2E did with spells, at least in concept: degrees of success/failure. I like games that have that as a mechanic. It's tricky with d20 though because you essentially have...

Skill presentation can account for a lot. Listing some examples can simply be a case of “hey, here’s a bunch of stuff you can do with his skill” vs a list of very specific uses with corresponding DCs and situational modifiers. I liked that 4E expanded the use of each skill but it got too...

:rolleyes: Well it doesn't always work that way at the table. Providing more description or options is conducive to more ideas. Again, there's a reason why the Medicine skill has been brought up numerous times with people either a) questioning it's usefulness at all, or b) trying to expand...

Why not both? When a skill (like Medicine) is described with a single entry, it is deceiving. I really like what XGtE did for tools and what 4E did for skills (although like most things, 4E went too far). When you give players more options and details on what's possible, they are more inclined...

I highly recommend starting with The Lost Mines of Phandelver. It's one of the best 5E modules and a great way to get back into DMing. I'm a veteran DM and I loved running it for my group.

First off, the feat system in 5E needs to be completely overhauled. It was a nice experiment but it doesn't work. But that aside, while I'm usually a fan of a la carte customization, I still wouldn't go that route for races. Choosing the race for your character is a very iconic part of D&D...

Not that it has anything to do with this thread, but I don't understand what cleric is adding to this "combo".

Bard all the way. Multiclassing in 5E requires a massive sacrifice in ability, and its compounded for spellcasters. That said, a single level of cleric is really nice for bards, and can help with the "divine" aspect of your character. I do like the idea of Bard with the Noble background though...

Actually, gore is not one of the defining characteristics of the gothic horror genre. Gothic horror is about fear, terror, the unknown, implied evil, and atmosphere. Gothic horror is subtle; gore is not.

I know it's personal preference but I don't like subclass abilities that are granted more than 4 levels apart, especially when when of those abilities is a ribbon. Again, I use the rogue as the prime example: Thief and Assassin in essence get their "subclass-defining" abilities at level 3, then...

So I’m assuming that with this, you are simply granting all the initial subclass abilities at 1st level, correct? Might be a little more interesting to break them up, or even add an ability here and there. Another thing that bugs me about subclasses is that for some classes, the abilities are...

Although on second read, I would reduce the number of exhaustion levels for those potions since there are only 5 levels. Not sure the random roll is adding much gameplay either. Just have each potion remove 1 level of exhaustion as the quality of option improves: 1, 2, 3, 4 for Basic to Supreme.