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A couple of (not mutually exclusive) suggestions: 1. Draw up a few powerful NPCs before the campaigns starts. These don't have to be fully fleshed-out or even fully-formed ideas, really. Just some vague ideas you have on paper (something as simple as: King Burdan; old warrior who carved out his...

Dogs' sense of smell is hard for us humans to really comprehend. They can detect and discriminate scents that humans can't even notice and ten times the potency. It would be quite easy for a dog to pick out a scent from an item and then follow the person's scent through a city. There are some...

If she's fighting 31 opponents. A reaction can only be used in response to someone else attacking you (or some other sort of action), so she could only react once per round and then only to make an opportunity attack or to parry. Parry is the only ability listed under her reaction section...

There was a 3e feat(?) that allowed archers to make an attack against an area and whatever was in that area had to make a Reflex save or take damage; the greater the number of archers the more the damage (and the higher the DC of the save?). It's certainly possible to home-brew something like...

One of the best uses I've found for spells that blind opponents is to pair them with a spell that also creates difficult or damaging terrain before enemies get to you. This requires two casters (since both spells require concentration) but if you can bottleneck opponents, then cast darkness and...

Whoops! I haven't finished my coffee yet.

The only thing I would add is that you should enjoy their failures also (and I think you alluded to this). I'm not talking PC death or TPK (though those can lead to epic RP moments), just that when the players fall flat on their faces is when they can really shine. Success isn't defined by how...

Hydra 14-2=12 (unoriginal and not nearly as terrifying as the mythic creature) Medusa 8 Mimic 5 Owlbear 12 Purple Worm 13 Remorhaz 6 Rust Monster 11+1=12 (original, weird, and a great way for the DM to erase some of his mistakes) [edited for a math error]

1. Acererak kidnaps a couple of babies (probably through the use of henchmen/servants), making sure one of them is somewhere near the PCs. 2. Acererak gets information to the PCs (maybe through a henchmen or by letting someone follow the kidnappers) that the baby (the only one the PCs know of)...

I was part of a 3.5e campaign that started at 4th level. I rolled up a half-orc barbarian with 1 level of sorcerer. None of the other players knew the barbarian could cast spells and he never gave any indication that he had any sort of magic ability (by the way, I had written up a long backstory...

Sorry to be the grumpy, old Fatbeard here, but most of my observations about the changes wrought by 3e are negative. Sure, 1st and 2nd edition were clunky and quirky, but I saw that as a feature not a bug. I can understand the appeal of a streamlined rule system (especially for new players)...

If the PCs killed a noble's child and the noble came after them, would you have the same concerns about being a jerk? Actions have consequences. In a magical world where people you murder might come back as vengeful undead or have high-level uncles who can use divination magic to find out what...

You're doing it right. The monster are basically doing an Australian Peel (technically an Australian Peel on a two-man front). The only issue might be if you don't allow the players the same opportunity if the tables are turned. If they are fighting a BBEG and want to use the same tactic, you...

2d4, then if you roll a pair of 4s you get to roll an additional d4. That should give you a bell curve with a high point at 5 and a 1 in 16 chance for each value from 9-12

The one thing about fire damage is that you don't even need to be a spell caster to use it. A few flasks of oil and a torch and you can set things ablaze. That's important for a low magic setting. The downside to fire damage is that it can get out of hand in certain places (urban areas and on...

Cast it on a familiar, then have the familiar use the help action to give your primary damage-dealer advantage on his attack rolls. Against a low-wisdom enemy (or several) it keeps the 1 hp familiar from being squished and it can do a whole lot more than a familiar normally does in combat.

Ability score limitations (usually raising to 20 through an ASI, but also certain legendary items or artifacts) refer to the ability before racial adjustments. So a half-orc can use ASIs to raise his Strength score to 20, or a tiefling can raise his Charisma score to 22.

The PHB weapon weights are supposed to include the weight of the scabbard and any other associated things. That makes it a little bit better for swords and such, but the weights are still off.

Quick thought: At the end of each day have the PCs make a Con save vs. exhaustion with their Str modifier added in also. Anyone who fails the save suffers one level of exhaustion for every 5 points they miss the save (DC is set by DM, depending on how hard the day was). Any character carrying a...

I've used all these and even once had characters level up during a big encounter when I had screwed up as DM and was going to TPK if I didn't throw them a bone. I think level 1 to level 2 should be a pretty easy jump, but after that characters need to train before they get the benefits of...