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Why? I run games in FR because it is a near-endless spring of ideas. Many brilliant designers, creators, novelists and worldbuilders have labored on FR, each adding a twist or bit, and now I'm spoiled not only for adventure ideas but by variations of the campaign setting. There's a kernel in...

Then we simply disagree. I think (and this perspective predates my GM-ing days) that the power asymmetry between GMs and players is built into the game. The GM does yield what one could feasibly call absolute power, and that power can only be curtailed by self-imposed temperance and good...

At my table, Warlocks should expect their patron to be relevant. When the campaign starts, the patron may be unaware or mostly uninterested, but that will change as the warlock’s power grows. I don’t really see the point of the warlock if the patron is not mentioned. It’s a roleplaying game...

I should preface this by saying that I am a DM 99% of the time. As a DM, I'm not a fan of many of the changes in the 2024 edition: I think it's a less thematic, blander game in many ways, with more bits to keep track of. I think this overall design philosophy started around 2020. I'm not sure...

1. Yes, ran it up to 9th level. 2. I didn’t, but this campaign started long before we had Bastion Rules. 3. I used neither. I used a much more narrative approach to kingdom building. I wouldn’t defend my approach—it’s wobbly—but it’s not time consuming at least. Happy to answer any other...

I don’t hate her, I just find her very boring! Which is a great crime all on its own when it comes to companions, I suppose. I mentioned those three simply because they had shown up in arguments on the page before. It wasn’t meant to single out those three specifically.

My interpretation from the article is that Trondo will be avoiding retcons by simply omitting parts of lore he does not care for. That’s the proverbial mullet of the title. So it’s essentially Schrodinger’s retcon: the Second Sundering won’t be mentioned, and the reader can decide if it happened...

There is also the wrinkle that dragon lore has evolved a lot since Sammaster last died, especially in Fizban’s, and now a lich obsessed with unlocking the power of dracoliches has much more to play with. Maybe he wants to weaponize Dragonsight. Maybe he wants to use the Echoes to reach further...

I think there is some merit to this theory, though I wouldn't categorize 5e's combat as eminently tactical. It's very... imprecise, in a way that Draw Steel, or PF2, or 4e, or a few other games have addressed. My impression (and I may be wrong) is that a significant contingent of D&D's player...

I understand this, which is why I said to ignore true resurrection. Nonetheless, you had mentioned in your comment that Sammaster had been dead dead for over 200 years, and I just wanted to correct that point. I only recognize one of those names, but nothing stops anyone from bringing them...

The SCAG reads like a desperate apology to older fans for the 4e timeskip. Every section presumes that you know the topic from 3e days, then just says “it’s back to that!”. It reads horribly either as a campaign setting guide, as a book to mine adventure hooks, or as an introduction to Faerûn...

I’ll be very happy with either. James Wyatt led Theros, Fizban’s, and Bigby’s, all among my favorite 5e books. I use them all the time and they present wonderful DM toolboxes. Jason Trondo led the Book of Many Things , and it was absolutely fantastic and an inspiring read. If I could pick...

According to the FR wiki, Sammaster’s phylactery was destroyed in 1373, 128 years before the new books. But it doesn’t matter, forget about true resurrection, there are countless other ways for the First Speaker to be back. Maybe someone cast wish. Maybe Sammaster had a contingency plan. Maybe...

I’m not assuming anything about the actual metaplot of the setting. There are countless ways WotC can explain any lore development they want, and I don’t see that as very important at all. Metaplot rarely, if ever, comes up in any relevant way at the table. Regardless of any metaplot, tying the...

I’m confused about some comments in the thread. No one has ever said there is a wrong way to play, nor that you cannot change things at will at your table. This is true not only of lore, but also of rules and anything else in the rulebooks—which has always been encouraged by everyone both in...

I'm somewhat surprised that there are people wondering how Sammaster returned. He's an archlich! Coming back is his deal! Look, I'm sympathetic to all the lore folk out there. I've spent some energy this week arguing on the Purple Dragon Knights thread that they should have respected that more...

I also haven’t finished the game mostly due to the companions. I don’t hate them, I just find them all very bland. They’re just sort of there. So I very much sympathize with your feelings. Nonetheless, I fully recognize that I am in the minority and that these characters are very popular...

I don’t care at all for Astarion (or Karlach, or Lae’zel), but I’d have to be blind and deaf to online chatter to think BG3 characters aren’t widely popular. Within that subcategory in which almost everyone is popular (except maybe Wyll?), Astarion is certainly in the top 3 in terms of...