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For my groups, the group skill check has been very helpful on that front. Pair that with the fact that many monsters don't have good perception (although some keep pets with good perception), and you have a decent chance that a prepared party can manage surprise. I should add that there is a...

Sure. But it doesn't mean that nobody finds them interesting either. On the topic of your original post, about the five minute workday, that hasn't been the case in the games I've played so far. There have been some forays into the wild where, due to bad dice and some poor strategy, the PCs...

I'm preparing for a game tonight. My PCs seek the Hall of Bells so they can slay the mummy lord Queen Teera and end the curse upon them. They have a six hour trek through the tunnels to reach the Halls, then they must find and destroy her. First, the Queen has patrols led by shades who are...

I can say from alpha playtesting that this is definitely the case.

I'd like to chime in to say that I'm also finding this thread to be useful. Very good advice in here! My groups are too in love with the battlemat to seriously consider TotM, but we did try it out during the playtest and it worked out fairly well. We'll usually use it for a battle that's not...

You have a great point there. It also depends on the players at the table and the DM; if someone has an axe to grind, it can sink the boat. But if everyone is getting along well and having a great time, it can really show the rules in the best light. Whenever I'm introducing a new player to...

I playtested the whole way. I'm still playtesting. It's been a real blast. :)

5th Edition, more than 3rd or 4th, will rely upon the DM to apply common sense to things like this. I like that they aren't wasting the ink to spell out every corner case in the rules.

The strength fighter is at his best wielding a two-handed weapon. But in the interests of comparing them, we'll leave them each dealing a d8 with a shield in the off-hand. Better at strength checks. Perhaps not as critical as DEX saving throws, but knocking down obstacles can play a pretty...

It's easier than before to mitigate a low or average DEX with the use of heavy armor. Your 16 DEX fighter: AC 17 with light armor (studded leather, DEX, and shield) AC 18 with medium armor (scale mail, 2 from DEX, and shield) AC 18 with heavy armor (chain mail and shield) It really doesn't...

That's been my experience as well. We've had three PCs die in one of my games, and the other game has seen a TPK, a PC die outright, and we may be about to TPK a second time. Each of these was over ten or twelve sessions or so, mind you.

But note the racial restriction: kender only.

Majoru covered it quite well. The monsters in the final release will be much more polished and generally more dangerous. I'm involved with the alpha playtest, and the monsters I've been using are much more fun than the public playtest ones. :D

I think many third party companies are worried about a publicity backlash due to the nature of an evil campaign. Sure, we as gamers would 'get it', but I'm not sure the public at large, who seem to have an eye for anything controversial, would approve. On top of that, an evil campaign is much...

Oh boy, is it ever! Mind you, I'm glad to have seen (and played) the warlock. :D

You hit the nail on the head, I think. The interior art piece here just has nothing evocative about it... it feels much more cartoon-ish than I like out of my fantasy art. Then again, tastes vary. I've been pleased with almost every other piece so far.

I ran a 4 hour session at PAX 2012, with the very early playtest rules. We were using the Blingdenstone adventure. I added a short interlude at the beginning of things to let the PCs meet each other and get a sense of the situation before entering the ruin proper. Then my PCs tackled two full...

I think you mean GenCon 2013 and PAX East 2014? ;) It was also at PAX Prime 2013. I expect WotC will someday release it, similarly to how they released Vault of the Dracolich a while after the event. Keep an eye on the D&D Classics website and look for a pdf.

Great write-up, Rhenny! That sounds like an awesome session. I've had the chance to play around with the legendary black dragon Mearls gave us early in the playtest, and the legendary rules really make a big bad boss a true threat. I'm glad to see others putting it to good use!

On a related note, will anyone interested in 5th Edition wait for Christmas to buy it? ;)