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I believe I read one novel in the early 90's set on Mystara and played the Hollow World video game on my Sega Genesis, but I really have no idea what the setting was like. How was it different from kind of a generic D&D setting? Ugh, yes, a thousand times this. I feel like they really ruined...

Two contradictory views that I have no problem holding simultaneously: 1) Every business, particularly every publicly held business is about growth. In the RPG market, growth means either a) re-directing dollars that used to be spent on other RPG products to your product or b) making new...

Can't really take too much credit for it- I think Keith Baker came up with the idea in an article on why he limited the subraces in Eberron. Anyhow, part of the problem is that Race in D&D has traditionally encompassed several different things- biology, culture, and background/occupation. Next...

It seems like that level of detail doesn't make a lot of sense when paired with the small number of skills that most characters are getting. Typically, skill designs are either 'few, but broad' or 'numerous, but specific'. If characters have 'few, but very specific' skills it seems like you...

I feel like Greyhawk is due for a revisit- as someone who started playing during 2nd ed, I have very little feel for what the setting is like or what is interesting about it. Dragonlance- not sure what the status of the IP is- I think WotC got it back after licensing it to Margaret Weis for a...

'Druid elf' sounds like a primitive tribe elf that has the Druid class. We don't need a subrace for each class role- that's what Classes are for. The Wood Elf from the playtest rules seems like a perfectly good Wood Elf, and similar enough to the earlier sources- live in the wild lands...

So after building a Halfling Necromancer as part of the D&D Next play test, I started thinking about evil Halflings in general, and how they might behave. This somehow turned into a decision to write a series of blog posts on 1) how normally 'good' PC races might end up as villains, and 2) how...

There are lots and lots of text management tools that could produce these sorts of highlights and diffs automatically one way or another. It would be helpful to see what is different- I'm already forgetting what the Packet 1 classes were like. Also (I suggested this in another thread) it...

I wouldn't draw too many conclusions about what individual Feat selection will look like based on the Specialties- the Specialties are meant as an all-or-nothing package with an associated progression, and reverse-engineering individual feats from them involves making some big assumptions...

In the RAW, no, you don't gain proficiency with short swords. Daggers and Quarterstaves are the only finesse weapons that Draconic Sorcerers get. Giving them a short sword provides two nice benefits for a Halfling- they can use their Dex instead of Str as their attack modifier, and the damage...

What are all these humanoids eating- particularly the ones that live underground? I can see niches for a few scattered tribes of orcs or goblins or whatever, but there are currently roughly four humanoid species vying for every acre of arable land in any D&D world that includes all of the races...

I built my first Nextie last night- a Human Warlock with social skill focus, mostly using the suggested backgrounds and specialties. I was mostly doing it as a way to test out the character creation rules. I wrote a rambling blog entry about my impression of the creation system here. My...

I tend to agree. The dual-souled physical transform thing could be one valid interpretation of what goes on with sorcerers, but I don't want it as default for all of them. Seems a little too much like a bad episode of Inuyasha. I wouldn't, for instance, want blanket lore that says "wizards...

There are definitely too many Lore skills in the current play test version. It looks like some of them could easily be combined to make the coverage more reasonable, in which case you wind up with a list about the size of the 3e/PF list. I actually kind of prefer the 4e style where if you know...

I think you need to keep in mind that this is the second play test. There is going to be a core spell casting mechanic, and it is going to be the 40 year old Vancian system. That's going to be the default for the core classes- Wizard and Cleric. We'll see a few limited scope alternate systems...

I'm not in love with the concept, though I like the idea of Sorcerer's getting something when their Willpower is exhausted so that they aren't totally helpless. It also reflects the fact that their spell lists are apparently getting whittled down quite a bit. I notice that mechanically there...

I think the Sorcerer is meant to be an example of how an alternate system can work- remember that the goal was to have players use the system that they liked, possibly side-by-side in the same game. Want both Vancian and Willpower magic? Allow both the Wizard and the Sorcerer, and fluff them...

I'm pretty sure both methods- packages and a la carte- will eventually be allowed in the core rules. Ways to control skill selection: Actually, it is always up to the DM to decide whether skills like Local Lore or Drapery Lore or whatever are actually useful. I would have no problem playing a...

I think this comic pretty much sums up the reason to prefer something like advantage/disadvantage to lots of little bonuses: Giant In the Playground Games

Given that the splinter faction is LG, they will be very receptive and interested in allegations of rule-breaking, or indications that there is an existing tradition or history that should resolve the issue. The Church of Pelor must have enemies- and those enemies might find a way to present...