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I don't mind a minor level difference here and there, I'm more concerned if the players are roughly on the same power level. It's like those old "random PC's" pre-rolled in old school adventures- the ones with the good stats and gear (remember "Ogre the Fighter", armed with an 18/00 Strength...

I did get reminded the other day of Council of Wyrms, which has a similar scenario- you play as Wyrmling Dragons struggling to build a hoard and grow stronger, all while being told horror stories of "Dragonslayers", ie, humanoids from across the sea who were armed to the teeth with enough power...

It really, really depends. There are lots of ways to gain levels from magic items- the Deck of Many Things, The Book of Exalted Deeds, the Manual of Puissant Skill at Arms, etc. etc.. One of my earliest memories of AD&D was a discussion about whether or not the gems and money produced by a...

Ok, my experiment started with this session, where they found a "flawed" blue rhomboid Ioun Stone- it provides +2 Strength, but it can only be attuned to a few more times before it burns out and becomes a dull grey stone (thus reducing it's sale price). It got snapped up quickly despite it's...

Back in 3e, I tried to run a Savage Species game. The resulting characters were extremely lopsided, with massive strong points and weak points. This might sound balanced, but generally what happened in most encounters was that the character whose weak points were hit just imploded, and the...

Kirk in a serious relationship of course being highly amusing to long-time fans. As for Spock, he really was a sex symbol back during the ToS era, something a lot of modern fans might not know- the ladies found him very fascinating! And it's not like we haven't seen alternate relationships...

From the DMG: I've seen Girdles of Giant Strength go to secondary combatants in the past, and the boost was very welcome (a Cleric and a Thief, both in separate games). There was a 2e game where my friend Barb's Fighter died and was reincarnated as a Halfling, which she was fine with, but the...

I'm reminded of 1e Cavaliers, who, as I recall, not only must run up to the toughest enemy available, but think retreat is for cowards. Cavalier PC's didn't seem to last very long as a result. Not to mention low-level 1e Barbarians, who might attack a Cleric for offering a Cure Light Wounds...

I guess that universe didn't have a Bjo Trimble.

I always imagined the inspiration for the holodeck came later in the timeline, after TOS "Shore Leave", but I suppose it's not a particularly novel idea (I'm reminded of Niven's novel "Dream Park"). If the Federation had gone a different way with their technology, they'd probably have developed...

As it should be. The modules do give you some guidance for how to adjust, but they're based on things like "if you have more players/more experienced players", nothing concrete. DMing is more art than skill, granted, but I hate when advice is imprecise or murky, because I still make mistakes...

It's just unusual for him not to be on the bridge. Sure, even Spock has to sleep sometime, but I guess I just assumed that, due to his near omnipresence, his rotation coincides with most of the rest of the main cast we see on the bridge. I'm not sure how things like that work on real ships...

A holodeck episode before the holodeck was a thing! And of course it goes haywire, because that's what the holodeck does! The not-Star Trek parody was both hilarious and cringe-inducing. Nothing like holding up a mirror to the worst of ToS. I did not see the twist coming- even though there...

Ioun Stones might be better for most characters. Turning an 18 into a 20 would at least save you an ASI. Though it's amusing that they are both Very Rare and can be damaged or taken away and still require attunement. I think I'll introduce one to my current game soon to see how the players...

Actually, having seen a Fighter with a Cloak of Displacement in actual play- not so much. We were playing Storm King's Thunder. He had an AC of 19 thanks to plate and fighting style. When we went up against Fire Giants, he decided to wade into battle, thinking he was invincible. Fire Giants...

Though nothing stops someone from being a Dex based Fighter with a relatively low Strength using bows or rapiers and suddenly switching tactics if they did find gauntlets of ogre power.

AC pretty much caps out at 20 for monsters, right? My highest level character was an archer with a +1 bow, 20 dex, and fighting style for something like +12 to hit and on-demand advantage for at least one shot a turn, and that's without factoring in if I got a buff or Bardic inspiration or...

I don't know that I buy the limit is there for bounded accuracy. I mean magic weapons go from +1 to +3 (with the DMG mentioning higher bonuses are possible on artifacts if memory serves). The game designers have come out to say that accuracy isn't a factor when it comes to monster design...

I think I understand why 5e went back to the AD&D version of the stat boosting items, the Belts of Giant Strength in particular. Nostalgia, yes, but there's more to it. Players are often led down the path that says they must have the best build, the best bonuses, the best stats. If you play a...