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Didn't mean to pick on you, Majoru. Just wanted to clarify a few of your points - we're mostly on the same page! You just prefer to have hard rules, and I'm more of a loosey-goosey GM. If I hide behind somewhere, and you know where I hid (but can't see me), I think the GM should let you...

Wait, you can't do 6-8 encounters outside of a dungeon? I've never had a problem with this. And it never feels like a "quota". I throw encounters at the players as they play. Not all are combat encounters. Nothing like that. In cross-country wilderness travel, I'll throw smaller numbers...

Another case of "different groups", I guess? Because my group does this all the time, and my players love it. We have 7 characters in the group, though (6 players, 1 NPC), so maybe that's a contributing factor. Around half the encounters I throw at PCs are "under budget", often consisting of...

Talking to a player today about our campaign session. He's always been the most mechanically-minded player in the group, and we were talking about how he's not really "getting" his bard's "schtick". So, we talk about some of the things his bard will soon be able to do (5th level is just around...

I feel the need to verify a few claims. Majoru is mostly right, though this "full cover" thing isn't exactly right. Basically, you can try to hide from someone when they can't see you. There is no "full cover" business. If it's pitch black, but you're in an open room, you can hide. If it's...

what about Tasloi? They were basically tree-goblins, and I always sort of saw them as monkey-like.

You know, my brother sometimes talks like this. He's an MMO player, and that sort of thinking is rewarded there. However, whenever he puts his thinking to use in our RPG games, it always falls flat. Not due to any effort on my part, but simply because the game itself doesn't really reward...

I love players like that! Always a lot of fun. While it's a bit off topic, when questions like that happen, I tend to just say "You know what? I don't know? What do YOU think?" Usually you'll get a bit of feedback, and you can work out an answer on the question. Though having to find an...

Oo! Here;s one I've been dying to throw at my players: * Three Wizards. Each sits on a tenser's floating disc atached to another wizard in the chain. Because of this, they all slowly circle each other. They have poles in one hand connected to one another, so they "move" by pushing off each...

If you're ever stumped, roll on the random trinket table for intelligent monster "bits". If the Players haven't memorized the table, and you act like it's a real valid magic item, your players will love the gear. And there are a bunch of "what's in my pocket?" tables on the internet kicking...

In my games, at the end of every adventure, there's a "night market" where the magic item smugglers hold an auction. I have a few items up for auction, and the PCs bid on what they want. Because there are other adventurers bidding, you can usually see the PCs lose a HUGE amount of money for...

Yeah, we've had a bit of spell research going on - basically, the PCs are trying to find a way to make a sentient magic pool transfer its soul into a mechanical ferret (long story). This will be a series of quest lines, of course, because it's D&D and that's how I like to run things. :) As...

Here's a good way to handle this. I've done it before in groups with a large level gap, and it should work VERY well in 5e, where the number gap is much narrower than previous editions. Basically, each 1st level starts with temp hp. I'd go with a number of temp HP equal to their constitution...

You know, I have to disagree here. I think you're taking one specific torch from one specific era, and saying "yeah, that's how they all were, and it was awful". Ancient peoples were pretty clever, and there was a specific need here for a torch. I'm not saying people took torches indoors all...

Regarding torch smoke: I think people are letting what they read get in the way of real-world experience. How much fumes does a torch emit? Having lit a few, they let out a small amount of smoke, but not a terrible amount - provided the torch is well made, and not some molotov cocktail type...

Ultimately, what this all comes down to is simple: Even in a game where multi-classing and dual-classing were CORE to the rules of the game, it seems a majority of people didn't use it, or didn't understand it. Nowadays, in a game where multi-classing is NOT core to the game, but an option...

I've been seeing similar in my own 5e game, although I DO allow them to buy magic items! These items are for sale in magic item auctions, and PCs put in bids for items. However, because it's an auction, they tend to bid on only one or two "good" items, and overbid to make sure they get it...

Personally, when converting old dungeon modules (and I just converted one last month, too!), I think the trick is to figure out what magic items the module NEEDS the PCs to have, and either give them that item, or find a workaround. Otherwise, just throw away all the treasure the module awards...

Must be a regional thing. I've been playing since 1989, and before 3e, levelling up took training and money. We're using that rule in 5e now, too, because it's a fun rule. In the last 1e game I played (it finished about three months ago), we had to train, spend money, and were punished if we...