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I always give monsters random HP in the range of their possible HP. I don't roll dice though, that takes too long, I just pick a random number off the top of my head for each monster. Outlier monsters get a special description: 'This orc looks a lot tougher than his fellows'; 'one particularly...

That puzzle is labelled 'easy' but I thought it was ridiculously hard. If put into the context that it's a clue for the players to know how many times to knock, it's easier but still very difficult. If the players are allowed multiple incorrect guesses they're more likely to get it just by...

I think the 4e monster manual has the best designed (crunch-wise especially) and best illustrated monsters. The only thing I didn't like about the og 4e MM was that the fluff was a little too limited in terms of putting the monsters into the context of the world; they made it a little difficult...

A smart DM is going to give 1st level characters plenty of chances to ambush monsters or pick them off 1 at a time, and a smart group of players are going to look for those opportunities and seize them. That's what 1st level play is all about imo. Players looking to be able to wade right into...

Agreed about the Vampire thing though I'd put it simply: normally a person bitten by a vampire dies from blood loss and doesn't come back as a vampire. However a person who willingly sacrifices himself to the vampire's will comes back as a vampire under their creator (who in turn achieves the...

I really like 'reduce maximum HP' for energy drain, I'm going with that for now on. Unfortunately it seems I've exped you too many times already though =[

My pleasure, I'm flattered! It's super simple really: For a basic physical attack (read: all attacks except those with specific noted exceptions) roll a 2d6 if the attack reduces the character to 0 or fewer HP. Also, all attacks that reduce a character to below 0 force the character to take a...

Here's an idea I've been experimenting with for different types of attacks (like ED) Instead of 0 HP being the death threshold, after which your character is likely to die, I could 0 HP as the serious injury threshold, after which your character is likely to suffer some kind of serious injury...

I've actually never had a TPK, nor have I literally had them come across two dozen water trolls wading down the river, that was a bit of hyperbole haha. To answer your question, the players do mind having their PCs killed but they are somewhat resigned to the likelihood of dying at this point...

I have the opposite problem with my players. They never ask how tough a monster is. Of course I'll describe, and try to warn them if they are in trouble, but they frankly don't care. Even after I've killed them a combined 40 odd times in this campaign, if they see a monster, they're going to...

Interesting list; it makes me reflect which is always a good thing. I'd like to hear some more comments/suggestions/opinions on each of these items. For example with regards to railroading, I'd add It's only railroading if the players are forced into doing something they don't want to do...

Well there is one indisputable factual statement you can make: In the 3.5 era and before, the overwhelming majority of D&D products sold/played were whatever the current edition of D&D was. The release of 4e was the first time in D&D history that a near 50/50 split occurred. Now the root...

I allow my players to take appraise checks on a monster to determine its relative strength compared to them. Players can also use appraise checks to figure out more specific stuff after watching the monster in action; for example they can figure out its BAB (compared to them, not just a number...

You can, on the beginning of the next round, which is after all just a few seconds of game time away. Or you can just run after him. But as for why you can't do that instantly? Because it would take you at least a few seconds to draw, knock, aim, and loose an arrow, and in those seconds he's...

I think a simultaneous turns system is the best 'simulationist' answer to this problem. Here's a system I've been experimenting with: a 3 phase turn system. Roll initiative as usual, but the assumption is that the entire 6 second battle round happens for all characters simultaneously...

It's very hard to say. Armour SHOULD be a powerful and important option. It should be one of the things that separates melee characters from casters. If mages can wear the same armour as fighters and it doesn't throw off the game balance, that tells me that armour is too weak in the system...

Agreed. I don't think it ought to slow down combat too much for the PC to say "I want to shoot my bow at that goblin before he gets away". To disallow that action based on the rules saying that interrupt actions are not allowed is dissociative and annoying. If you can't give a player an...

The Goblin cave is easily one of the hardest, considering that the first thing the goblins will do is call for hobgoblin reinforcements, half of which are likely to go around outside and block off the escape route. The goblins are also likely to bribe the ogre into action. The kobold cave...

Alright well if there truly is no way to interract with the monsters apart from hitting them with weapons and spells, that IS a design flaw and it seriously compromises a lot of the genius of the Caves of Chaos and the whole Keep on the Borderlands module. 3rd level PCs should be able to treat...

There's no doubt that a 1st level party with only their starting equipment should NOT be making a full-on frontal assault on any cave of the caves of chaos. If it were that easy, I'm sure the soldiers at the keep would have done it a long time ago. If it were me, I'd stake out the caves from a...