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I think styles that introduce large changes to campaigns like domain-building need to be optional, but to do them well the structure for using them in a campaign should be baked-in. Shortly after 5e was announced I suggested in similar threads that "campaign themes" analogous to character...

I definitely agree that magic shouldn't serve as an all-purpose replacement for any skill, possibly excepting the caster expending some pretty hefty character resources. A short term replacement that avoids becoming the obvious choice is also fine to me. Adding big numerical bonuses on checks...

Definitely a question worth asking. My inclination is to approach every situation and ask what tools a person with no magical ability might have at their disposal. That should almost always form the basis, and mundane improvement should show a clear sense of continuity (thematically and...

My homebrew uses the term "edge", and it grants the smallest possible numerical bonus, but also grants the player more latitude to "go beyond the rules" or use abilities that really only make sense in special circumstances. It's also not about description as such, but about leveraging...

If they succeed at decoupling character power from magic items and make a usable system to determine what an effective challenge for the party is based on the items they actually possess, then I don't see a mechanical need for a slot system beyond letting the DM exercise some judgement...

No worries, a small slip of the keyboard. ;) In basic 3.5 one starts dying whenever hit points drop below 0. That means to keep lethality identical one would always have to have the creature start dying when nonlethal damage exceeds current hp, because that is precisely when it has taken its...

These are good comments. I've not played Hero before (only browsed the books a bit) but I have played in other systems with dual-counting mechanics. I'm more favorable to your first suggestion, since identifying if at least one die shows its maximum value is extremely rapid. The maximum value...

I was just thinking that if one didn't like the maximum die roll bit, but did like its statistical predictability and the fact that it keeps wounds decoupled from the damage dice actually used, one could simply use the expectation value. In other words, every successful attack (or every...

In other fictional pursuits I think it is more common to talk about the willing suspension of disbelief. Verisimilitude isn't about being realistic, it is about creating a likeness (quite possibly to an objectively unreal thing!) that keeps us engaged in the game world. The engagement is the...

That looks accurate...and a better synopsis than the one I gave! :) I've dabbled in almost exactly the same way! Like you I had healing surges as wounds (for some wounds perhaps multiple surges) so that they were basically a very small pool of "real" hit points. I still allowed surges to...

The very necessary TL;DR version: - Split hit points into wound and vitality that do not have individually fixed maximums, but do have a fixed total. - Wound points effectively reduce maximum hp (until they are healed) - Vitality is everything else. - A creature falls unconscious when current...

He should be the best divine representative he can be, one who cultivates the abilities and methods favored by his deity in addition to the special favor that is divine casting. I would like the class features of the cleric to emphasize spellcasting, small spontaneous miracles, and otherwise...

I like it. I might go a little further and fluff the ranger as a martial character that can learn how to subtly inhabit and utilize resources closely associated with given environments. That would leave room open for other -lores, like urbanlore, underlore, or even the l-licious helllore. :)...

I see an explicit rule 0 as being the acknowledgment that all other rules are, at a deep level, imperfect but useful abstractions -- abstractions we hope are useful enough in the majority of cases to give a ballpark picture of the consistency of interaction and resolution. The reason to...

Thank you! My job is fairly mathematical (Mathematica is my daily "scratch paper" and I always have plenty of reference material near at hand) so for me these little analyses of mechanics are a bit of good fun, and help keep me sharp. I've been reading your posts with a lot of interest...

I don't care for hard caps for the same reasons as Crazy Jerome. I'd be perfectly fine without any ability score increases in 5e, but if they are there I think they should pretty much operate like point buy. That is, small ability scores need few points to raise, and larger ones require more...

First off, that was a great post and I think you might be onto something. I do have a quibble with what you wrote above, though. I know you read my earlier post about opposed checks, but for everyone else I want to clarify this aspect: In an opposed check, the further apart the attacker's...

That looks like a sober-minded assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of powers, and the challenges facing a skill system. If it had been a post on EN World, I'd have XPed it. I especially appreciated the part on psychological effects of powers. For some people giving a few specific...

That certainly could work as well. I see the healbot issue as one of supply and demand. One can carefully limit the supply (as you suggest) to prevent the healbot effect. This doesn't actually reduce demand, but it does make badgering the cleric for healing every round pointless. I, however...

I appreciate the play reports, it's good to hear impressions despite the NDA. I tend to agree, and think there can be an acceptable middle ground. For example, one could build a small value-added domain/sphere effect into spells, and just make sure the cleric has access to it under the right...