Search results

I always liked the human baseline, and the +1 to everything never sat well with me. Nor does the lack of racial penalties. I mean, ultimately, what we have is the same thing, just with the baseline moved up by 1 point to make it appear more fair. It's just a comforting lie.

The core of any game is about decision making--responding to circumstances to accomplish objectives. In a role-playing game, objectives, situations, and responses are generated through classic narrative elements such as setting, plot, structure, and character attitudes and motivations...

It is very important that characters suck at some saves and be great at others. The primary goal of any RPG is to provide interesting choices to make. The GM presents a circumstance, and the players respond based on the information given and their own abilities. In D&D, where combat is a...

I like it quite a lot. It dramatically improves the XP and leveling interface in D&D. You only have to track your current level and the percentage to your next level. If you wanted, you could even have an XP bar on your character sheet that slowly fills up to 100%. What I'm not so keen on is...

A lot of people are saying that ranged should be slower than melee, but I think that the article gets this right. A melee attack is not the amount of time it takes to swing your weapon. It has always been described as a complex series of swings, thrusts, and parries attempting to land a hit...

A lot of people are saying that ranged should be slower than melee, but I think that the article gets this right. A melee attack is not the amount of time it takes to swing your weapon. It has always been described as a complex series of swings, thrusts, and parries attempting to land a hit...

Personally, I really hope that is is another special cover. I think that's an awesome way to handle the mechanical expansions and I love the general style. Also, because my special cover of Volo's Guide to Monsters will get lonely all by itself.

I am all for racial feats, so I'm keen on this. Also, Blink Elves are back! I assume this line: "These feats don’t assume that multiclassing is used in a campaign.", means that the two playtest documents were developed separately and haven't been checked for compatibility. Without feedback from...

Thus, in complete sentences: Present: "I smite you." Present Participle: "I am smiting you." Past: "I smote you." Past Participle: "You have been smitten."

I want a new Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting. I want to run adventures in the setting as it exists today. I have older books, and using them is frustrating to me because I don't know what is accurate anymore. Sure, it can decide what is and isn't true in my game. But I want the confidence that...

I like it a lot, though I need to be pedantic again. "Foil" has a explicit literary meaning that is not synonymous with "antagonist", which is what this document is talking about. A foil is a character who is quite similar to the protagonist so that the differences are put into stark contrast...

Whether you roll an attack versus a static defense, or roll a defense against a static attack, the result is essentially the same. Neither more complex than the other, and either would work just fine. But, the person who is rolling the die does have a greater sense of agency. So, the current...

Hit Points are, in fact, my least favorite part of D&D. But yes, the concepts are in conflict with each other. I also tend to play wizards, where picking the right spell for the situation is the norm.

In some games, sure. But not in D&D. Weapons are tools, and I prefer a game where a my character chooses the right weapon for the circumstances, as opposed to one where the choice of weapon is stylistic.

I want a fairly extensive weapons list, even if multiple weapons are essentially identical. But I'd also be perfectly okay with grouping variations under one entry. Give me half a dozen variations of a longsword, with all the names and cultural baggage, but list them under "longsword".

I like it. I'm glad to see the Far Realms references removed, and it seems to hold together pretty well (but only actual play will tell). A small quibble, but the Avatar subclass name doesn't seem right. An Avatar is supposed to represent something specific. The Avatar of a god, or force, or a...

It's not just a matter of declining sales leading to a new edition or half edition. They've done that several times, and it split the fanbase every time. Mearls has talked about this. The short term financial benefit of a new edition comes at the expense of the long term health of the game. So...

Eventually, any game will get stale and warty. Interest will decline as people move on to new things. I'd say ten or so years is the average lifespan of a well-regarded game. But, it may not require a new edition to reinvigorate 5E when that time comes. Just a change of setting, which alters...

They already did that. It's called the D&D Basic Rules: http://dnd.wizards.com/articles/features/basicrules

It's not that you need to use experience in your game, but that the encounter building guidelines use the XP of monsters to determine the overall challenge. In 5E, CR is a measure of threat, not challenge. Challenge is determined by the total experience of all monsters involved. If a monster's...