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Minion is a metagame concept, it's not an actual, quantifiable thing in the fictional world. It's like hp, AC, level, or a saving throw bonus. I just tell the players which enemies are minions.

Unfortunately there are no swarm-making guidelines in any of the books as far as I know, but then again, I don't think there are any comprehensive guides on creating enemy leaders or soldiers and so forth. Personally I've simply adapted existing swarms to suit my needs, or taken a trait or...

3.5 rules assumed the use of minis and a grid. Says right there in the rules. First page of PHB I think.

The simplest option would probably be to adapt Dark Sun's arcane defiling to encompass all the power sources you want, and to cause the damage to the caster only. Perhaps make it compulsory, and extend it to encounter powers (but with a lower benefit and reduced cost, maybe just a +2 bonus on...

Indeed. In fact, there are paragon level ogres in published 4e sources represented as minions, yet ogres also exist as heroic tier enemies classified as standard monsters. Another good example is the nalfeshnee demon; early epic standard monster, but also a late epic minion (as part of a demon...

Indeed. In fact, there are paragon level ogres in published 4e sources represented as minions, yet ogres also exist as heroic tier enemies classified as standard monsters. Another good example is the nalfeshnee demon; early epic standard monster, but also a late epic minion (as part of a demon...

I'd say it's a one time effect since it says "any ally". If it said "an ally", I'd rule that every ally could benefit from the power once.

For those that like the simplicity of levels 1 and 2 but dislike the lethality (some new players could be put off by a sudden death into the first session), there's an easy fix for the problem: at 1st level, characters add Constitution score to their hp total, not Con modifier. It's the way 4e...

Yeah, I think so. Sharn is really big, more like Sigil than your typical fantasy metropolis. Even though Waterdeep is the FR city, it's still more grounded and less bombastically fantastical than Sharn.

3rd ed Manual of the Planes says that travel between different Material Planes can be possible through the Plane of Shadow. The idea is that 3.x Greyhawk, Forgotten Realms, Eberron, Dragonlance, and others have their own cosmologies (the Wheel for Greyhawk, the Great Tree in FR, etc.), but the...

I believe the books are: Monster Manual 3 Monster Vault Monster Vault: Threats to Nentir Vale Dark Sun Creature Catalog Neverwinter Campaign Setting The Book of Vile Darkness The Shadowfell Madness at Gardmore Abbey HS1 and HS2 Halls of Undermountain Marauders of the Dune Sea Tomb of Horrors...

D&D has given higher-than-average Charisma to creatures like mind flayers, beholders, and gibbering mouthers. Charisma can mean different things, but personally I think of it as "presence". If a gibbering mouther is more charismatic than the average human, I honestly don't see why a Pathfinder...

There's a good amount of daily resource management in 4e too. Healing surges are a daily resource, and so are daily magic item powers. And obviously most classes get powerful daily abilities. It's definitely not all encounter-based.

Because that's how 4e does it.

Nah, Halruaans look more or less European, maybe more Mediterranean than Scandinavian. The people of Turmish are supposed to look sub-Saharan African (mahogany skin, flatter features, kinky hair texture). The cover of the 3.5 Complete Arcane book depicts a Turami wizard.

Ok, let’s consider a couple of examples. You have a 3rd-level party with the typical warrior, skill-user, arcane caster, and divine caster. They’re facing a social type skill challenge where the most relevant skills would be things like Bluff, Diplomacy, Perform, Sense Motive, and maybe some...

Isn't this only exacerbated in 3.5? If you don't put ranks in a skill, you're not getting any better. In 4e, you at least get half your level to the check, even if you lack a good ability modifier. In 3.5, if you lack the ranks, you're incompetent compared to someone with the ranks (especially...

There is, but it's pretty bare-bones. Incantations from Unearthed Arcana (and the SRD). They were a fairly obvious precursor to the 4e rituals, which evolved into the ritual spells of 5e.

Any spell that's an emanation is simple: If the point of origin is the caster, then the emanation continues to emanate from the caster's position for the duration of the spell. Ie., emanations centered on the caster move with the caster. Control Weather is not an emanation, thus the simplest...

I think you start running into problems the moment you try extrapolating a world out of D&D game rules. D&D has so many rules that are there just because it's a game, but also because it's sort of haphazardly trying to evoke a fantasy world. "Haphazardly" because once you look behind the...