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  1. Distracted DM

    Level Up (A5E) Gaze of conviction

    Easier fix, sure. I can't say that I like it better personally (it's nerfing the maneuver in a different fashion), but at least it's something- and unlike saving throws that target INT (shudder), most creatures have at least 10ish wisdom so it's possible for them to save.
  2. Distracted DM

    D&D General D&D: Literally Don't Understand This

    That'd depend on the agreement between creator and company, but it'd be quite unusual. Commissioning a piece of art isn't like syndication on television- you pay the artist, the art is now yours to do with as you please (for the most part).
  3. Distracted DM

    Level Up (A5E) Gaze of conviction

    RAW, Gaze of Conviction has the archmage running at you with their dagger like a madman or uselessly trying to firebolt you at disadvantage as you stick a blade in their gut; the dragon won't use its breath even though it might roast you, it has to use its claw+claw+bite; the mind flayer won't...
  4. Distracted DM

    I don't get the arguments for bioessentialism

    Yup- people can change their minds! Or be inconsistent based on how they're feeling 😆 I'm no Tolkien, but a lot of my ttrpg setting isn't solidified until it becomes game-relevant. And even then, say I run two The Night Below campaigns... I might "curate" the events that show up as "historic"...
  5. Distracted DM

    I don't get the arguments for bioessentialism

    Hobbits are free from desires of wealth and ambition. Also, here are some greedy greedy hobbitses with the ambition to take over Frodo's home, desirous of wealth and status. 😆
  6. Distracted DM

    I don't get the arguments for bioessentialism

    I think in the end it depends on whether you consider "hobbits are free of the things that the ring preys on, that is its power of corruption" a trait of hobbits that makes them not as easily corruptible because, yeah, that's how the corrupting effects work. So... we might just be nitpicking...
  7. Distracted DM

    I don't get the arguments for bioessentialism

    Yeah iirc they had an effect, but they didn't work as Sauron wanted- they didn't become servants, they just became extra negative-dwarfy-traits of seclusion and greed.
  8. Distracted DM

    What videogames are you playing in 2025?

    Wrapping up playing The King is Watching (still playing it a bit though, it has a good loop). Just started the rpg SKALD: Against the Black Priory- I prefer Real Time With Pause games over turn-based, but SKALD is pretty dope so far. Mythos-inspired, pretty dark, but still adventurey.
  9. Distracted DM

    I don't get the arguments for bioessentialism

    I have to imagine that this isn't because of the players- it's because the GMs and game designers feel like there should be a difference. In my setting I run elves as quite "alien" to typical attitudes and expectations, there's a gap in understanding between elves and other folk- they're...
  10. Distracted DM

    D&D General Players Decide when to Level Up

    Not every table has a PC present and active if the player isn't able to attend that session; in fact, this hasn't been a thing in any game I've played except for very early-days, in 2e. I leave that option up to the player- and if they want to, they can ask another player to control said...
  11. Distracted DM

    D&D General Players Decide when to Level Up

    I do similar- I wonder if part of that's age, or (gaming) maturity, or shifting priorities.. or what. With certain games like West Marches, sure, each character tracks XP. But in a "standard" campaign where it's the same players and (mostly) PCs, you still get XP even if you missed a session-...
  12. Distracted DM

    D&D 3.x Mike Selinker about the release of 3.0 D&D

    We played the heck of out 3e, 3.5, and PF1e. I can probably recall which gaming store, at least, we were frequenting at the time... I consider 3e the first edition of "modern" DnD. I think Matt Colville said that we're in a post-3e era, something like that- after all, 3e is what set the ability...
  13. Distracted DM

    D&D General Players Decide when to Level Up

    This is (like so many things) going to be really table-dependent, but I'm really glad it works for some groups. Do you leave it entirely up to the players to manage how they'll decide? For example let's say you have three players: one player really wants to level as fast as possible, one...
  14. Distracted DM

    I don't get the arguments for bioessentialism

    Ah, here ya go, I'll screengrab it. But as someone else said, it's Burning Wheel and how they reinforce the narrative concepts of ancestries through mechanics. Spoilering in case you don't want to see the username or somesuch :)
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  16. Distracted DM

    I don't get the arguments for bioessentialism

    I think this post might've been largely missed- it's a good example of how a TTRPG could handle it differently than DnD:
  17. Distracted DM

    Cairn Second Edition Offers A Character Driven Dungeon Crawl

    I constantly deal with DnD feeling increasingly mechanical, and less fantastical. Things become more predictable, players focus on their character features more and are less interested in complex magic items, or unfamiliar new items, because they can't be predictably factored into their pre-made...
  18. Distracted DM

    D&D 5E (2024) Opinions on the Topaz Dragon Reverse Wings?

    My favorite gem dragon designs are MCDM's. I can respect someone thinking this is a good idea, but I do not personally care for it because it seems weird in a lazy way. Uninspired. I don't know a nice way of putting it ☹️
  19. Distracted DM

    Goodman Games: Our Efforts Have Been Mischaracterized

    Best I can find is your post here Missing and damaged items. on Adventures On the Purple Planet...and Beyond!
  20. Distracted DM

    D&D General Greyhawk fans - How to fit older modules with Age of Worms

    Oh yeah, we're in The Spire of Long Shadows now- probably playing on average 2 4-hr sessions/week. There were a couple medium-length sidequests in-between some parts, largely due to the players wanting specific items and the answer to that being "go quest for it." I can see why the campaign is...
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