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Agreed, but by the rules vhumans get to pick a feat; even though it's called Magic Initiate, that isn't necessarily equivalent to an apprenticeship annd it's probably simpler to think of it as a spontaneously manifested ability like a psionic wild talent (or the X Men analogy mentioned above)...

Actually I had been thinking of a follow-up post along these exact lines: "what does an effective prison look like in a D&D world?" :) I remember there was an old Dragon magazine article on rethinking fortifications for the Blood War, with flying, teleporting opponents. Or the prison in The...

I agree, but I'm essentially asking the opposite question: "what would society look like if these assumptions are true?" rather than "how do the assumptions need to be changed to result in this society?". Absolutely. As I mentioned in the original post I'm interested in the implications of the...

I see your point, but I'm not sure it would look anything like our history, though. To be honest, if most of the population had access to Eldritch Blast, I'm not sure we'd have ever learnt to smelt metal. I think we'd be looking at a global-scale version of the Dutch Disease...

Very true. I am looking for a transformational level of change, though (I did wonder about asking about a world where *everyone* has levels, too). Your point reminded me of a very relevant discussion on RPG.SE...

Just to get things rolling, I'd expect most butchers, fishermen and fishmongers to have (or know someone with) access to Shape Water via Magic Initiate for the refrigeration potential. And hey, add Prestidigitation and you can create 625 cubic foot of fat-free sorbet a minute!

Something that's bothered me for a while is that societies in most D&D settings don't really reflect the natural laws that govern their reality. I'm not entirely sure what happens in a world where people can recover from most wounds in a day and Raise Dead is a thing, but I'm pretty sure it's...

I'm AFB at the moment but from what I remember, as written the rules are incredibly forgiving (hold breath for minutes x Con modifier, min 1 minute). Since this threatened to make a water weird encounter incredibly lame (they basucally attack by drowning), I houseruled that this was without...

'The Screwfly Solution' could actually make a great campaign with these elves as antagonists.

It doesn't work for every colour/metal, but it just occurred to me that tarnished silver is black, and tarnished copper, green...

For the campaign I DM, we aim to play once a fortnight and it goes ahead as long as four players can make it - we explicitly discussed this and agreed on a minimum turnout in session zero. Missing players' characters either fade into the background or explicitly go on downtime activities...

In the campaign I DM, I'm gradually introducing information about potion ingredients (potion of giant strength is made using powdered giant tooth, healing = troll blood or giant bee honey, etc) via an NPC who offers bounties for certain ingredients. The PCs can then get a better idea of a...

Last session my (expertise-in-Arcana) character asked to identify a potion. DM: "Why don't you try a sip?" Me: "OK". DM: "You die. No save." ...

Exactly. AFB at the moment but they're definitely in MM or VgtM. At least one type can disguise as a humanoid too, if I remember correctly.

How close to the Alien xenomorph do you want it to be? I could try homebrewing something if you give me a target CR.

What CR? I'd second grell but chuul could also work. Another alternative would be to go The Thing instead and use doppelgangers (maybe add the Greater Doppelganger ability to absorb memories after eating a victim's brain) and/or mimics. I'd also agree that devils or demons would work very well...

Hey, natural 1 sometimes mean you trip and fall prone. I've used that. :)

Unfortunately that sounds too much like Ready Player One to me...

I could see a (heavily edited) OotS-like plotline working. I think it gets the ratio of character development (despite massive cliches), lampshading of obvious fantasy tropes and dramatic plot twists about right.

I am unreasonably excited about the new edition, but haven't laid my hands on a copy yet. My 5e group won't know what hit 'em...