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Wow. We've been playing since the starter set came out and never noticed that. The one that we have to constantly look up is Concentration. It's a save, not a check. That makes a difference in so many ways, yet I still find myself saying "Make a Concentration check."

3E did indeed have the "Christmas tree" effect. The designers assumed certain amounts of magic in the game. The addition of feats allowing characters to create magic items, including the most important ones, ensured that many by-the-book campaigns had lots of magic items. That said, I agree with...

Not having used the system, I can't comment on how balanced it is, but I love the simplicity. My only concern is hit points. You're doubling the average HP, which include CON bonuses, which can lead to some huge HP totals. You might consider instead: Rare: Max HP Very Rare: x1.5 Max HP...

One idea I've had for a few years now, kind of a mix of Avatar and Well World: Modern day, our world. A buried city (Atlantis?) is discovered with advanced technology. Within the city are pods roughly the size of coffins. Someone placed in a chamber awakens to find him/herself in another...

Another vote for using LMoP. It's not perfect, but it's a very good adventure, and it allows you to start small, in a manageable area of the world. Also there are some old threads around here with suggestions on what to improve, such as the main villain. When my group finished LMoP, I simply...

Giving wizards 3 spells per wizard level vs. the standard 2 per wizard level is plenty. His spellbook will have an average of 6 spells for each spell level beyond 1st, which is what the two wizards in my current campaign average, even with finding spellbooks and scrolls. The biggest issue they...

Amulet of Precognition. A silver eye, on a thin silver chain. This amulet allows the wearer to see one second into the future. Once per long rest, the wearer can use it to gain advantage on a single Spell Attack Roll. Attunement required. Not overpowered, but useful when the wizard is using...

Agree with the comment about hypnotic pattern. As with any area effect spell, it can't be used in every fight and if the targets make their saves, they're unaffected. By the way, if the party are using this against fire cultists, some of whom have fire resistance, just have the cultists drop a...

One possibility is granting advantage on hide checks if the barbarian is not moving.

This is my concern. Say I’m picking up a washing machine to move it into the moving van. My first couple attempts fail because I don’t have leverage. Finally I figure out how to do it and succeed. Doing this in the middle of combat, when a million other things are going on? Yeah, I can see where...

Have them build the ultimate deathtrap dungeon/vault, put some nice treasure in it, then let word leak out. Sit back and watch all the adventurers try to steal your stuff (popcorn optional). Collect their stuff when they fail (as in, dead).

This happened just a couple weeks ago. The PCs were all 7th level except for a 4th level SorLock. The party are attacked in the Air Temple (PotA) and take several lightning bolts from the cultists, everyone making their saves. The SorLock was hit for about 12 points due to his save and throws up...

Ah, I see what you're saying and the letter of the rules support that interpretation. The guard gets a turn in the surprise round, before the rogue acts. The guard can't take any actions during that turn because he was surprised, but he did technically have a "turn". I expect I will continue to...

My understanding is that during the surprise round, the assassin's abilities would be unaffected by the initiative roll, because they are dependent on the target not having acted yet in combat. Since the guard is surprised, he doesn't get to act in the surprise round, so when the assassin acts...

As a GM, I tell my players something similar. If I want their characters to know certain general knowledge, I don't change things, including the names of creatures. A troll? It's vulnerable to fire. A "krollik" - maybe it is, maybe it isn't. Halflings? Small folk who like to eat a lot and are...

Since Uncanny Dodge obviously occurs after you know the attack roll was successful, but prior to rolling any damage, I suspect "hits you with an attack" is shorthand for "rolled successfully to hit you with an attack". If so, then the reaction would occur prior to the effects of Shocking Grasp...

Ah, gotcha. In fact, I rule it much like you suggest - the cover only applies if it's in the line of fire and is significant enough to matter. That said, I wouldn't argue if a GM ruled the cover rules always apply when firing into melee, given that the combat and movement rules are an...

Um, nerf? Seriously? First off, a +2 AC to the target is minimal. I've been using this rule since the game came out and it has limited impact, IME. Second, it's not a "ruling", it's the actual rules. See the section on cover, which was quoted earlier in this thread: A target with half cover...

Yeah, I had to read the monster write-up multiple times to be sure that was the intent. Teleporting does not replace movement, it replaces the action. As you say, teleporting is pretty useless in most situations. Oh well...

I use both. Shooting into melee adds a +2 cover bonus to the target's AC. And if the attacker rolls a natural "1", they hit their ally providing that cover. Note: I do this whether it affects the PCs or their opponents - the players love it when the bad guys hit their own. :)