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Just so long as they aren't feeding it necks.

Heh. All fantasy animals are dogs until proven otherwise. Case in point.

Have you ever adopted an unusual pet? I’m not talking the standard “my ranger has a bear companion” stuff, but the full on “we were going to fight it, but decided to give it belly rubs instead.” Was it balanced? How did you keep it from eating the villagers when you went back to base? And if...

It mostly came up in my group with a magus. Dude's build turned on a 3rd level, and the other martials in the group felt overshadowed. It evened out a bit when the fighters and paladins got their second iterative attack at 6th, but there were a few sideways glances around the table from 3-5...

Fitting into a group dynamic can be hard work, but I happen to think it’s the mark of a good player. And that's doubly true when it comes to optimization. If you’re talented enough to optimize a build, you should also be self-aware enough to recognize when you’re outperforming the rest of the...

Of course we all have our preferred editions. But I think that the way we talk about them is important. Whenever we launch into the story of, “I play XYZ games because reasons,” we’re talking about what we prefer, not what is objectively best. It’s about finding the right game for the right...

It's the Scarecrow gas from Batman. It's the boggart from Harry Potter. It's Phantasmal Killer! And in between rolling Will disbelief and Fortitude partial, you've got to come up with your PC's deepest darkest fear. So in the interest of saving yourself from freezing up at the critical moment...

For my part, I tend to give more "ecology" information than stat block info. Of course, even if paraphrasing the Monster Manual entry can be fun and flavorful, I get the impression that players really want to know "how do we kill this thing?" They're somewhat less interested in mating habits and...

I'm having trouble finding the right balance with "recall lore" checks for monster identification. I'm talking those Arcana, Nature, and Religion checks made to identify critters. It seems like there's a narrow middle ground between "give them the stat block" and "mechanically useless flavor...

Have you ever encountered a “random effect” that completely hosed your character? What about a supposedly beneficial ability that outright ruined your build? (Comic for illustrative purposes.)

I dig that a lot actually. I feel like players usually want to roll their "best skill" from a pure numbers standpoint. This solution lets them get a bit of a mechanical boost while still describing the actual situation. For example, I like substituting Int (Intimidation) a lot more than...

I'm not sure what to call it, but I see this mess all the time. Is it OK if use Intimidate instead of Diplomacy? Can I use Acrobatics to initiate a grapple? I worship the god of magic. Can I roll Arcana instead of Religion? If I scavenge some vines, is it OK to roll Survival instead of tool...

That reduces my archetype choices though, right? :(

So uh... Barbarians. How do you keep them from exploding when they hit 0 hp and fall out of rage? I love the idea of the berserker who stays in the fight on willpower alone, but not at the cost of rolling up a new dude after my first unlucky combat. Is there some easy fix that I'm missing...

One interesting version of "codified RP restriction" lives over in the 3rd party Draconic Exemplar from Rite Publishing: https://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/3rd-party-classes/rite-publishing/draconic-exemplar/#Draconic_Essence Think something like that could work for paladin oaths?

My group is pretty late to the party, but we just finished a long-running Pathfinder game and are (finally) taking a look at 5e. As I contemplate a paladin PC, I'm curious about how to read the paladin oaths. Are they literally the 3.X code of conduct with a different name, or are they less...

YES! Brilliant solution. And thanks for paying attention to the restriction's I'm working with. :D

Let's say for the sake of argument that accidentally -- and completely through no fault of your own -- killed the the king's prized dire badger companion. What is the best way to make sure that the body (and the deed) remains undiscovered? All Cleric spells up to 4th level available. No arcane...

This is more or less what I'm worried about. With this kind of item, even a modicum of creative usage undoes the careful balancing act that is 5e. The notion of "just make the monsters stronger" doesn't really change that. In this specific case, maybe a cube that doesn't regain charges could...

I feel like the Deck is the One Ring of DMing. It wields a temptation too great and terrible to resist, even though you know it will only lead to ruin.