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I'd rule a "strength-based bow" to have the normal stats of a long or short bow, but with the ability to add their strength modifier to the damage roll. Definitely don't let it apply to the attack roll.

I bought it and love it. I don't have any plans to use it as a campaign, however. It's more like a way to pad an existing campaign with a side-plot to break up the theme of your normal stuff a bit. Also, since we're talking about giants, it's a pretty easy story to adapt to higher levels by...

I've never had a hard time with the CR system in 5e. The problem is the expectation of 6-8 encounters per day (long rest). Otherwise, monsters with proper fighting tactics are going to be as tough as you let them, unless the party is willing and able to dump an entire day's worth of resources...

Yeah, 5e is much better in that regard. There's just a ton of players who haven't caught on, and keep trying to turn 5e into a crunchier system than it is.

I'm personally not a fan of class features that nullify major non-combat aspects of gameplay. It's like, why bother having rations and rules for thirst and starvation when a class or background can remove the challenge completely. A class ability that lets the entire party passively ignore...

Unfortunately, modern gaming -- especially MMO's -- have turned RPG's into an exercise of "dps/r charts" and group-think min/maxing. If something is 12% worse than something else, one of those things must be broken. The industry has always had these kinds of powergamers at the table, but now...

Eh, the introduction talks about this being the result of internal testing over the last year of public feedback and complaints. It's by no means a finished product, but it seems like that ability should have never made it this far in the testing... Yeah, there will be more changes, but the...

It also tells you how many of each favored enemy, and you'd be able to tell by separate groups. So if do this, the GM has to respond with something like 12 humanoids about 3 miles north of you, 4 humanoids about half a mile west of that group, 9 aberations are 20 feet to your left somewhere in...

The SCAG backgrounds make good additions for it. Beyond that, I'm not sure new ones are needed with everything that exists so far.

I'm not sure any amount of "beefing up" is going to make much of a difference if you've got an ancient red dragon in the group... I guess you could just replace the normal enemies with giants and the actual giants with titans?

Yeah, that's what I meant -- sorry. I just know there was some hints about major changes in the HotDQ campaign, with Lord Neverember working to rebuild the city. And with the lack of information in SCAG, I just figured they had something planned.

I was thinking along the lines of something more updated with the revised spellplague stuff.

My assumption was there are (or were) plans to introduce a larger sourcebook for Neverwinter. Even if there aren't, it just reinforces the complaint that the SCAG was more of a player's introduction rather than a GM setting guide. Could just be related to the Adventure League focus of 5e...

Pretty much all of that is accomplished through skill selection. A 1st level fighter with the Outlander background could have athletics, survival, animal handling, and perception for skills. Animal handling could be used to train a companion, and just let the character control the pet's...

It still sounds like you're taking away something from the class for fluff reasons, but aren't giving anything meaningful back for mechanical balance. For the first 2 levels, the Cleric is going to be a crappy fighter with some situational channeling abilities. And even when they start...

What does his idea of a Ranger do that a warrior with a bow doesn't? I've personally played a "ranger" that was really just a Fighter (Champion) with the Archery combat style. He wore medium armor and had the medium armor feat (helped with stealth). Also had the Outlander background, which...

I think your classification of clerics as being "part weapons, part magic" doesn't really make much sense when your delaying the magic part until 3rd level. Even more strange is how you're removing access to healing in the very levels that it makes the most difference. If it fits your setting...

Thing is, I'm not really house ruling anything with my comment*. I'm using the Handle Animal skill pretty much as written, IMO. Mounted combat with a horse not trained for combat seems risky, so the check is required when attempting stuff. If the mount is trained for combat (war horse), no...

Yes, but they don't make for good player characters in most groups.

That sounds more like an Oathbreaker Paladin (DM's guide) to me. It's something specifically reserved for evil paladin types. I'd personally rule against a non-good paladin. Partly because I'm old-school, and partly because I'm highly suspicious of players who *want* to be evil characters...