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This is why you have a DM who knows what they're doing. This isn't Magic the Gathering or League of Legends or Professional Baseball. It's not a competitive game where the DM is looking to maximize the damage output of his creatures, knowing that the party will be insta-killed by the CR 12...

Well... meteor swarm is pretty iconic. And, arguably, it was underpowered in both 3e and 4e. In 3e, save-or-suck spells ruled the roost. And the less said about 4e's meteor swarm, the better. So, I'm glad it's back in force. My understanding is that 5e's rules for 9th level spells are...

Heh. I've got no problem with Epic-level characters doing Epic-level things, but the H-series modules actually trivialize these heroes of legend. There is nothing epic about walking into a random room which is titled Poisonous Gas, that has no flavor text and is described as a featureless room...

Yeah, there's some problems with Forest Oracle. Multiple "helpless maidens in dangers", erroneous stats, a bit of railroading, some unbalanced encounters, poor writing. However, there's a lot of useful stuff in there as well, for the age of the module. There are some interesting set pieces. Some...

My default is: consistent with the campaign theme, and with the rest of the party. This usually means default-level stat buy for my group. Occasionally, I'll run a campaign which is intentionally high-powered (usually up to +6 on the default stat buy), with the expectation that the challenge...

The Nine Hells in my game is very similar to the Nine Hells as they have changed (slightly) throughout the editions, from when I started DMing back in 1983. Moloch was replaced by Malagard was replaced by Glasya. Fierna showed up to spend some "quality" time with her dear old dad Belial. Bel...

I have a pretty massive plastic miniatures collection, so... no. I wouldn't be interested. If they were included in WotC products, I'd either ignore them or throw them away. The latter might seem like an extreme response, but I find that sort of thing annoying. In the 3e days, about a dozen...

Unless the TPK occurred near the start of a new campaign (e.g. within the first 3 levels), then it's time for a new campaign. Almost always the same world, but a different area and a different theme. Pirates campaign TPKed? Next is Ravenloft horror-themed. Then the next campaign is dwarves...

I wouldn't change it myself, but I don't see a huge problem in changing it to a bonus action... with some restrictions. Maybe it's incredibly quick to cast, but the effort from speaking one of the "Words of Creation" is so great that the caster cannot use another spell in the same round. This is...

The original D&D lightsaber was the wand of force, first introduced in the classic module WG4 - Forgotten Temple of Tharizdun. The wand of force had two modes; use a charge to create an effect similar to otiluke's resilient sphere (trap a creature in a force bubble), and a secondary effect where...

I'm pretty happy with what I've seen, although the CR 1/2 thug NPC is a nasty bit of work. Decent HP (30+) and multiattack. A 1st level party running into a pair of those guys might be in real trouble. I think the thug is the only creature that's really got a bit of side-eye from me around the...

Sort of. The monk doesn't take a 2nd Bonus Action. You only get one Bonus Action per turn. However, the Flurry of Blows allows you to attack twice (using unarmed) with your Bonus Action, rather than attacking only once (using unarmed) with your Bonus Action.

I don't like the gem dragons either... but I also don't like the catastrophic dragons. Call me an old-schooler, but I'd like to see the oriental dragons back. Pan Lung, Shen Lung, etc. These guys made a lot of appearances in the classic modules: Danger at Dunwater, Dwellers of the Forbidden...

I'm in the camp of those who are suggesting that negating a major balancing feature of a race with a pair of cheap goggles is a significant DM choice. I wouldn't allow it at my table, because I suspect my other players would consider it unfair. Here's what I'd personally do... 1) There is D&D...

Count me as another person who really enjoyed Mines of Phandelver. I've used various parts of it here and there, rather than run the whole thing end-to-end. It's nicely modular, a fairly gentle introduction to the new rules, great maps, feels very old-school, and the dungeons had multiple paths...

Regardless of quibbles over stat allocations or playstyle or the pro's and con's of barkskin, I think the main point I originally wanted to make is that I think the moon druid is fine - as along as it isn't taking away from other players' enjoyment of the game. If I had the same experience as...

At session end, except in exceptional circumstances (e.g. the party is in a tense double-session adventure with tight time-limits or a special story reason where they don't have an opportunity to rest and train). Our sessions tend towards the long side (5-6 hours, or longer), so we can usually...

Barkskin is a touch spell, on one willing creature. The rogue wants it (Leather armor + 16 Dex = 14 AC). The wizard wants it (No Armor + 12 Dex = 11 AC, or 14 AC with mage armor). Heck, at lower levels, I've seen fighters, rangers, monks and barbarians who would benefit from another +1 or +2 AC...

Wouldn't work at my table. Barkskin turns the target creature's skin to rough bark, giving AC not less than 16. Great news for the druid. She now has AC 16. It's a concentration spell. There is specific wording in the wild shape description that says that concentration spells are maintained...

I've DM'ed both, extensively, over the last few months. At least 40 hours play with each. In my experience, the "broken-ness" of the moon druid is overrated. I've seen two die already. Here are my observations: 1) The brown bear is the shape-of-choice for the moon druid at low levels...