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I never, ever want a practical skill to get subsumed into a Knowledge. Knowledge is theoretical; Knowledge (Nature) covers species categorization, general habits and notable abilities, and other academic information. Survival is a practical skill, one that applies techniques to withstand the...

First, thanks! I wish I could claim complete originality, but this change was inspired by some of the discussion surrounding the development of Iron Heroes 2nd Edition. As for Social versus Academics, I didn't want my party rogue to go from having Knowledge Local to suddenly having Knowledge...

They are. Looks like a hold-over from when there was a concentration skill. At a guess, one of the earlier versions of the rules added an ability score to the Concentration check. Absolutely. You can make anything Elite or Solo, even the PCs if you want to roll like that. (... Actually...

The list of Approved looks solid and likely won't cause any problems. Questionable Items: Combat Reactions are a versatile and interesting game mechanic. More interesting and active than Attacks of Opportunity; they require more work on the player's side, but that means your players a less...

Haven't sat down with it, but a cursory examination left me with the impression that it was "more of the same." Some neat ideas and options, but doesn't do a thing that I want.

Pathfinder got rid of Dead Levels? Huh, someone must not have told my copy. Barbarian: hasn't had any since 3.5, and they still got new tricks. Bard: 3 dead levels, which is a big improvement. But don't try to tell me they don't need goodies. Cleric: Exactly the same number of dead levels...

At a guess, it would be something like the following: Trailblazer was designed to address systemic issues. Extra attack rolls, with varying modifiers, consuming too much game time; the "10 minute adventuring day"; providing casters with "full adventuring day" options without giving them...

Sorry irdeggman, I've got to spread the love before I can share more with you. But thanks for nailing it all down.

This one: As I said earlier, yet another one of the dozens of "gotchas" in the d20 SRD. I actually used to think it was the other way, until I did the responsible thing and checked an additional 4 locations in the SRD (bringing the total to 6). I really, really wish the designers would have...

Not at all. Absolutely nothing you've cited counters the "No natural healing while dying" clause. In fact, it just highlights two kinds of damage that natural healing (and fast healing) do nothing about; another superfluous pair of sentences in the SRD. However, a) I don't care enough to...

What makes you say that? Fast Healing works just like natural healing, but faster. You can't naturally heal while dying, you have to stabilize, and then you have to have to recover from disabled (which uses the same 10% mechanic). So, you can't fast heal while dying, you have to stabilize...

Trailblazer has the only worthwhile Action Points in d20. And I hand out a lot of them as rewards during play, partly to encourage Awesome, and partly because my players run through them in a hurry (usually by the end of encounter 4). TB Action Points are very different from any other AP...

One idea I've been kicking around for the last few days is a Fighter feat to deal with Force effects. Something like: Spell Battler Requires: Greater Weapon Focus, Improved Sunder, Improved Critical Benefits: As a move action you can create an opening in Force effects, large enough to move...

That's ... simultaneously disgusting and awesome. Thanks for sharing.

It's been around since the begining of D&D 3.0, though it wasn't explicitly called anything. It showed up for a couple of different skill and ability checks. It's probably an older concept, but I've only been in the hobby for about 10 years, so I never messed with AD&D or its contemporaries.

When doing any conversion, always convert flavor text (and only flavor text). That said, sometimes you have to tweak a setting so that it's less stupid than as written. Examples include that setting with a planet with a core of liquid water.

Leave it with the players? Hand it over to the Crown? (Thrane's a great option for this, but any of the royals should be able to hold it for a while.) Just find a corner to stick it in until you're ready to do more plot-stuff with it. And if you can't find the corner then let the Players...

So why does their chosen method of plot-speed travel matter? Ignore FTL. Pull it out of the listings entirely. Space travel, in any form that shows up in a game or fictional source, is a plot device. It does not conform to any rules except those the plot requires. As a game designer, you...

It's a sub-optimal combo. Monk is interesting but weak; there's no synergy between it's various abilities. Worse, it requires a hefty investment to get anything out of it. Unless you're playing Gestalt, more than 2 levels of monk is a waste of time. I'd take a look at some of the Rogue build...

That's an ad-hoc experience question. My gut says "No. Learn to play, bitches." But my gut is full of hate and bile. (Hate is a tastey lunch.)