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I've long ago decided that "Thou Shalt Play Thine PC's Mental Attributes Appropriately" commandment is a can of worms best left closed. It leads to nothing but arguments about 95% of the time. The attributes might flavor the player's roleplaying, but shouldn't affect actual decision-making...

For some RPG players, the main appeal of the game is the "power trip". The ability to feel heroic and powerful for a short time. This requires certainty to be effective--any ambiguity or stress (from making decisions, having 'sub-par' stats or equipment, or being forced to use one's own...

You could model it along the lines of a poltergeist specter instead. No pesky horrifying visage or possession to worry about but with fun telekinesis (possibly with a bonus mage hand cantrip if he doesn't already have it). I'd allow him to toggle the invisible on/off and get rid of the sunlight...

Couldn't you do Armor Without The Armor? Light AP = AC 12 + Dex Medium AP = AC 14 + Dex (max 2) Heavy AP = AC 18 (No Dex) A PC can choose to calculate any option available to them or upgrade with the requisite feats. I'd just disregard disadvantage to stealth, cost and weight requirements and...

I don't think we ever played this way, even in 1e, but I've heard of tons of other groups do it. We haven't used xp in years and everyone sticks to the same level for convenience. To me, always starting at level 1 harkens back too much to the 'beating the dungeon' type of Old School play...

I finally got a chance to flip through a friend's copy of HotDQ and see what all the fuss was about. I like the cult raid setup, but I thought the action and events were far too scripted for my liking. The dragon encounter is not even close to combat as war. The setup mentions that the soldiers...

Roller coasters are railroads and everyone seems to have fun with them.

It's objectively worse in EVERY way. Bad. Bad. BadWrongFun. Kidding aside, falling damage (like all damage) is one of those cases in which real-world physics is far too complex to accurately (or even closely) model in any sort of easy-to-use/easy-to-remember game mechanic. The game goes with an...

For polymorphing, I'd place the form restriction at CR = spell level. If you cast polymorph using a 4th level slot you can choose up to a CR4 creature. If you use a 6th level slot you can choose a CR6 creature, etc. For broken spells, I'd add: Gate: Has troubling (and far-reaching) combat and...

I only have characters roll to break down a door in a combat or chase situation--essentially to do it in a few seconds or less. The same is true for a lot of 'demi-obstacles' such as to climb a tree or over a large boulder. I assume the PCs are able to negotiate these obstacles easily when not...

I'm tempted to have Indomitable on a short rest basis rather than a long rest basis. Either that or make it into an auto-succeed Legendary Resistance type of thing. I also wish they put action surges, second winds, battlemaster maneuvers, indomitable uses, etc. into a single pool of points so...

I had a whole 2E campaign where Charisma was the god stat. Having an awesome Strength or Dexterity couldn't begin to compare with ably hobnobbing with the movers and shakers of the world.

The mental attributes aspect of polymorph is problematic without guidance on how, or if, these low scores should affect role-playing. Valid interpretations make self or ally polymorphing range from highly effective to functionally worthless or even dangerous. I'd be tempted to say that mental...

I'm in agreement with the OP. It's not a time issue for me as much as an ease-of-use issue. It's too easy to miss checking the save modifier line if its appearance is occasional at best. I understand the need to streamline and save space but, at the same time, they felt the need to load...

I am very leery of the potential martial/caster gap in 5e. The gap looks like it will be much smaller than in 3e but it does look like it will be present. Spells are still required to bypass a lot of challenges, especially at high level. Martials just don't have enough utility. The limited...

It's so people don't have to plunk down $100 for all three books at once. It's so people can get content right now instead of waiting until all three books are done. And, yes, it's so the design team can focus on a single book at a time.

I've been thinking of 5e as 2e 2e. I don't see much of 4e in the rules. Maybe some concepts like non-clerical healing and at-will casting, but not much mechanical (AEDU structure, NADs, skill challenges, action points, [W] damage). Though some of the rules (such as combat and stealth) do follow...

I don't think I've ever experienced a TPK in 30 years of gaming, either as player or DM. I've had half or more of the party wipe lots of times but never everyone--mostly it's just one PC getting dropped by unlucky rolls or rank recklessness. My groups have had pretty lenient 'run-away' rules...

I voted for "both equally" since it's usually a hybrid process with me. The idea of playing a certain archetype might appeal to me (say a warrior), but I'm mostly motivated by WYA rather than WYCD. On a system level, I don't much care for WYA mechanics. On some level, I think adding mechanical...

No game system that ever did good business with their core books stopped with their core books. I hope 5E's expansion will be carefully considered and properly playtested before publication. If the idea is simple a slight variation on already existing material, it should be avoided (a noble...