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It isn't healthy for the game to have newness be a goal for rules content. Whether it's a book per month, or a book every two years, eventually the game becomes bloated and new materials become harmful to the game. But, I will agree that the current library of content has room for expansion in...

My guess, and it's just a guess, is that there will still be novels, but they want them to be direct tie-ins with the story lines. I also suspect that they plan to do a non-Realms story line in the near future. This would let them drop, say, a Greyhawk story, adventurer's guide, and a tie-in...

A high level adventure arc for 15-20 would be welcomed, but it would definitely have to be structured differently. Far more freeform, with some more work on the DMs part to weave it into a story. But, the advantage is that it could be run after just about any other storyline.

I like this. It's a clear framework that can be used ad-hoc or built upon more formally. I would probably label the different states: new, worn, damaged, destroyed. A handful of things that can cause wear: Not paying lifestyle costs. Critical hits against armor (with some sort of save) Part...

One of the things in the late playtest packets were feats that provided the core elements of what would have been a prestige class in 3E. For example, the Arcane Archer feat. Some of these concepts are better handled as subclasses, but for others, I'd really like to see a number of feats that...

Ptolis sits on my shelf and mocks me from time to time.

Thank you. It took me forever to find the actual document trying to follow the links in the article, and then realizing that the link was in the image banner in one of them. If I'd known before that the image in the OP was the link, it would have helped. But really, the link should have been the...

I'm all for 3d6. The one thing I dislike about the d20 system is the d20. I mean, I love the die itself, but such a large linear curve feels too unpredictable. I much prefer a strong bell curve. I also like that 3d6 lines up with old-school ability score generation. But I agree that DCs and...

Conceptually, I like both the Monster Hunter and the Inquisitive, but the names don't work. Monster Hunter seems to generic, when it seems to be focused on the Van Helsing style monsters in specific. I don't have a better alternative, though. The Inquisitive, though, is clearly a detective...

For D&D, I really like 5E's magic system. But my favorite system overall is from Shadowrun. All spells are at will. When you cast a spell, you choose it's power level. The more powerful it is, the more damage you have to attempt to soak for casting it. I love it, but I don't think it works...

I enjoy these kinds of insights. Thanks for posting your thoughts.

A lot of dirt. It's a good idea to have a core concept that flavors your world. Know your pantheon and basic cosmology. Know who the major powers are in the area you're going to start play in. After that, though I'd start small. Detail a villiage, a nearby city, the country they're in, and...

I like it, and I'm all for the three item limit. But like anything, it's a dial. Make if five in your campaign, if you like. Or make it three, but increase it by one at levels 10 and 20.

I have little tolerance to people playing on their phones when I run a game. Generally, no electronic devices are allowed at the table. This obviously doesn't hold true for online games.

I played with someone once who used a different name with every PC, and all of them lies. We eventually settled on one to call her, but it still wasn't her name.

5E doesn't specifically allow for monster knowledge checks, so it's really up the DM to decide if that's a valid use for the knowledge skills. For players who aren't already familiar with all the monsters in the book, not having monster knowledge checks can make a monster more mysterious and...

In Third Edition, Prestige Classes ended up fulfilling multiple purposes, which is why there are such differing views of them. A lot of prestige classes simply provided more mechanical options. Subclasses and Feats can easily support most of these concepts. 5E has a rather robust framework for...

I think you mistake my interpretation. It's not about the number of books, but the breadth of the content. The Advanced Player's Guide is a hefty book and contains a wide variety of concepts. In my opinion, the new content complemented the core classes well. And the introduction of archetypes...

What someone considers bloat can vary quite dramatically. The Advanced Player's Guide is great, but I consider almost every Ultimate book to be bloat. (Ultimate equipment being an exception. Fantastic book.)

It certainly could. In a 1980's setting where computers are large and you use punch cards, I'd make it a tool proficiency. In a modern or cyberpunk setting, where computers are ubiquitous and you probably never even think about the device itself, I'd make it a skill. Or even both. A computer...