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This. Given his experience, would it be fair for him to give reviews and opinions on 5e if the book he skipped was the Player's Handbook? Clearly he's gamed a long time, so if the defense is he doesn't need to read the DMG, then clearly he doesn't need to have read the Player's Handbook...

Yes, but if you're going to talk on a system, shouldn't you have at least read 1/3 of the system books? Would you trust someone reviewing the Star Wars original trilogy, only to find out they didn't even watch Empire Strikes Back? They're not really reviewing the whole system, or series...

Greyhawk maps will always be my favorite. I think it's nostalgia, which to quote Judge John Hodgman, is our most toxic impulse.

I agree with your point about newer players and evolving views, but there is a very large amount of content creators that players and viewers take as the final word on the subject, to the point that their insight on DPR and theorycrafting your character is considered the be-all end-all. To...

I think there's a difference in the fact a lot of these creators have made videos, and profits, saying 'WotC failed to address this, and so here's what I eventually had to do' to then, some years later, say 'Wow, it was there the entire time'

But, then you'd have gamers up in arms (no pun intended) that this is making light of people being shot. It wouldn't particularly bother me, and I happen to know a gamer who did 8 years for committing manslaughter on her gamer husband with a deer rifle.

With the text, my feeling is this is a 'represent using a weapon you're not proficient in'. There's an assumption that because he's a dwarf, he must be a martial class and also proficient with a firearm. It's a static picture. It's not like you can see or tell that that gun is going flying...

If I recall right, his sleep and charm actually came from the Staff of Magius that he used since the get-go

I don't recall where I saw it, but I saw an amazing idea for this: You can trade gold for xp. HOWEVER, you can't buy things that will be materially useful for adventuring. You have to waste the money on ale and whores - and if you think back, that's generally why a lot of old characters like...

They did address that in the amount of time that it takes to make - again they point out it's another good use for Bastion rules - but I believe it was James who said it's measured in person-hours, so two workers cuts it in half the time, four quarters it.

That's the problem. That's entirely a DM decision. RAW, especially to get higher level items, it cost a metric boatload of XP. Who cares about gold cost - that's easy to make back up - but once you have a PC in a 2-player and a DM game start falling that far behind, it was my best hope to...

I played a magic item cleric who basically armed the other party member (an astral deva from Savage Species). The downside to 3.x crafting is the sheer amount of personal XP you had to spend to make items for people. They weren't using milestone levelling, where hypothetically I could craft...

What the Bastion system reminds me of is the video game State of Decay 2. There are certain bases you can take over on the map for your community - some are small, some medium or large. Inside each base, let's say Rusty Rosey's, a rundown gas station/biker kitchen, there are small slots and...

I'm reminded of a 3.x character I made just because. A dwarf sorceror. Yes, he had an 18 Con, and max CHA (16?) He was a sorceror but he thought he served the great Rat spirit and he was a Rat shaman (stolen from Shadowrun). They find some treasure, including a 500gp tapestry. Ho hum for...

Totally agree with the sentiment about the Golf Bag of Doom, with the weapons. That's why I like that, in 7th Sea second edition, its your weapon skill that determines damage, not the weapon. A maxed out weapon dagger skill means you do more damage than a greataxe does.

Now, there are also some systems like 1e Legend of the Five Rings where hitting is semi-easy if you're skilled enough. Semi-easy, until you realize there's also a gambling mechanic - you can voluntarily raise your target number to do extra effects, like extra dice in damage. Some fighting...

My dude. I already - to correctly use the word 'literally' - posted the LITERAL text from the 2024 PHB page 5. The first sentence LITERALLY says "This is the 2024 version of the fifth edition Player's Handbook." That is - again, to use your term, - literally saying it is Fifth edition, a new...

I feel this is hair-splitting - can't give permission versus informing it's possible. A DM always decides everything. That's self-evident. In the case of half-elves, but more specifically half-orcs, there was a large assumption about their birth status - I'm pretty sure if you go back, even...

Great article, as usual. I think this is a good design question, along the lines for sports of "Offense sells tickets; defense wins championships." I do think that, often, it seems people don't think about the mechanical advantages that sheer numbers bring. We laugh in Return of the Jedi...

I felt like it was also geared towards players who want to create stories, but also geared towards characters who want to have a research library and a poison garden to provide resources for their PCs, so it's never butting heads with the DM about 'Well, where are you going to get astral...