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I have no idea if that's true, but a similar narrative would explain why "urchins" are "wayfarers" now. That's another one that really annoys me, because "wayfarer" just means "someone who travels a lot, usually on foot." There is no connotation of growing up on the streets and learning to use...

What’s in a Name, Part I There are a few design decisions I need to finalize before I can say the text in my sourcebook is nearly finished. Several of those decisions involve names. As mentioned upthread, this book includes descriptions of over one-hundred cultures native to the Realms. For...

I'm guessing the Outer Planes were designed the same way as the Inner Planes: one "pure" plane for each alignment/element, plus one "mixed" plane on each border between "pure" planes. The mixed-alignment Outer Planes are the alignment equivalent of the para-elemental Inner Planes.

I must really be wasting time. I'm world building stuff and I'm not even running a game.

Wanderer and Vagabond would both have been better names for it. But I'm pretty sure the influencers called it Wayfarer, which doesn't make all that much sense.

I'll second that. To me, the map in the alchemical chart style nailed what I want out of the Great Wheel cosmology: a reality that evokes the occult phrase, "As above, so below." I don't want the Great Wheel to feel like a bunch of spaces on a game board or island resorts the PCs can add to...

You raise good points. I do think it would have been cleaner to just say rage last 10 minutes, then add a sentence saying something like, "Your rage ends early if you choose to end it (no action required) or if you gain the Incapacitated condition." But that's just a minor quibble.

Oops. Never mind.

Crawford said the word "aasimar," and I thought, "Cool. Now I know how it's officially pronounced." Then Crawford said the word "acolyte," and I thought, "Never mind. I know nothing."

I can see your side of the picture, and I don't necessarily disagree with all of your points. You're certainly presenting a reasonable explanation for what Intelligence means in D&D. At the same time, I can see other ways of interpreting Intelligence. Your argument seems to hinge on...

I should have used a better word than "lifestyle," but I couldn't think of a good real-word term for what D&D calls "origin." I meant "lifestyle" as a placeholder for whatever the non-fantasy equivalent of "origin" is, not the degree of physical or mental activity in one's life. Poor word choice...

I'm not saying this to dispute or detract from your well-reasoned post, but... I'd be totally onboard with a greatest hits Player's Handbook whose every illustration was a selectively-chosen 'bad ass sword and sorcery adventure' piece of artwork from a previous edition of the game. Just sayin.

Too late. Upthread, I've already broken down one of these backgrounds and used it to highlight something awful and negative to justify changing the way ability bonuses are assigned... And frankly, I don't regret saying it. I find it absolutely absurd that D&D continues to use mechanics which...

Wouldn't dwarves cooking and smithing be a perfect illustration for the new crafting rules? I mean, that's two different sets of artisan's tools being put to use in one scene.

I've heard a rumor that Rick Moranis once proposed a sequel called Spaceballs III: The Search for Spaceballs II.

On this point, we agree. I've had several friends and coworkers who've been unhoused for portions of their lives, and I suspect they wouldn't define themselves by that experience. However, if we're going to attach a game mechanic to the street urchin trope from literature so we can play it up...

You're right. Intelligence is knowledge. For example: knowing which gangs operate in a particular neighborhood; knowing where you can sleep in the park without being harassed by local law enforcement; knowing which commercial kitchens are willing to hand out leftovers; knowing which locals hire...

That's not a palatable justification for anything. It's promoting a narrative that the economically disadvantaged are incapable of learning from their life experiences. That's literally one step removed from saying, "Orcs are nomads with no formal schooling, so orcs can't be as smart as...

I just noticed something. Without custom backgrounds, the only two wilderness-themed background options in the Player's Handbook are Guide and (possibly) Hermit. Now I miss the nice, generic Outlander background, where you could have any of at least ten wilderness-themed backstories, only one of...

Sadly, this has happened twice in two days of video previews (once with ability scores and backgrounds, and now again with fighters and weapon mastery).