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RE: Fleeing in combat. This is really table-dependent. Even though 5e has chase rules, there's no clear line of demarcation between "you are in combat" and "you are now in a chase". Often, enemies are as fast (or faster) than player characters, and might have ranged attacks. They usually...

Oops, I didn't mean Glabrezu, I meant a Bone Devil, which has a much closer offensive capability (lower to hit, one more attack, potentially higher damage with the poison). Don't ask why I typed the wrong name, other than oldmanitis, I was looking at the Devil's stat block. But there is a...

Contradiction or no, that doesn't mean it's not something they've said about magic weapons. The way I understand it, the game's basic math doesn't require one to have a +1 sword at level x to determine if they can hit enemies. The quality of being able to bypass monster resistances in order to...

Well, when everyone else had a magic weapon and I didn't, yes, I certainly felt nerfed, lol. Most characters could get their first magic weapon in AL in the first 5 levels. In fact, I could have had one, but it turns out the Oathbow given out in the mod can't be a shortbow, which was less than...

This is what I was referring to with Xanathar's- sidebar on page 136: Note the use of the words "necessary" and "generous" depending on group composition.

I think it was like 7 or 8. Ironically, the very next session (Storm King's Thunder), I picked up the Opal of the Ild Rune, which allowed me to turn my old non-magic bow into one that did +1d6 fire damage (with archery fighting style and a 20 Dex, my bonus to hit was kind of ridiculous so I...

Of course, then there are those characters who, for whatever reason*, don't get access to magic weapons and have to run the gauntlet of lower CR foes with annoying resistances/immunities. *Be it lack of meaningful guidance on when/where/how to add magic weapons to the game or who insist that...

I always wondered why the 1e Thief doesn't get a chance to have "Keen Hearing". I suppose you could assume that's part and parcel of their ability at 1st level, though I suppose it begs the question of what happens if a character with Keen Hearing later dual-classes into a Thief. "Ask your...

In the old days, letting the party find higher level scrolls of spells to be used in case of emergencies was just something I did. I was pretty put out to find out how hard it is to use scrolls in 5e. So my current house rule is that you can use a scroll of any spell found on your spell list...

Well, making Int do more for the system is a worthy cause, I think. I mean even now, Rogues have Int save proficiency, which implies somebody thinks it should be an important ability score for the class, even if virtually nothing they do keys off of it. You could make it MAD (as Psions get...

You're probably right, but it's hard to predict these things. Columbo, if memory serves, got a major boost from "global situation" that left people scrambling to find new things to watch. And it's not like that suddenly got people jonesing to watch Banacek, McCloud, or McMillan and Wife, so...

It is unfortunately how consumers have been trained to think. "Oh hey, there's a new edition of this thing, we should play that." "Is it...better?" "Come on, it must be!" Now someone must like playing Chronicles of Darkness or Vampire 5th, but they can have my 20th anniversary (and OWOD)...

Which is what people say the original Thief was meant to be like, but somewhere along the line the rulebooks gave a very different impression, especially when different sub-systems for listening (1e DMG screen) and climbing (see the 2e Mountaineering NWP) are given.

Page 38 of the 2e PHB: Which isn't saying the exact same thing, I'll grant, but that's how the DM's I played under ruled it. /shrug

I mean, if you're an old hand, running the game your way is probably easier. But I think we have to look at what it means for a new DM when they encounter an element that runs contrary to what they have experienced. You may know perfectly how to employ Shadows, Wights, Rust Monsters...

I suppose that's a not unfair assessment, though I myself like a lot of new things as well. I dislike repackaging old things to make them "new" but I know it's unfortunately necessary to garner a new audience. OTOH, if the new update actually does something neat and interesting with the source...

You're correct, of course. Though somebody forgot to tell R.A. Salvatore about the change to monks in 2e, since he had a 1e Monk running around in the Cadderly books, lol.

Maybe, but when you look at how modern D&D is geared more towards players being able to take on challenges as they face them and less about picking and choosing your battles, I don't think it's any fault of players expecting to be able to take down things they fight as opposed to fleeing and...