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This is exactly why I would like to see the DDB data on how often each skill is actually rolled. Every campaign is its own context, but I would love to see the broad trends. Based on this thread, it seems pretty obvious that Perception is king of the skills, but I would love to see, for example...

That's a good point. Sadly, the system doesn't support such scenarios very well. The paladin probably took intelligence as a dump stat, so even without proficiency the wizard is likely as good or better at religious lore.

Based on my games and the various actual plays I watch: S-Tier. Investigation (finding and solving) Perception (noticing) A-Tier. Sleight of Hand (traps, locks, and occasionally even actual sleight of hand!) Stealth Insight (probably the most commonly rolled skill, but often not that...

We've been watching a lot of classic horror lately...and it is really dissapointing how few are on the four major streaming services that we have (D+, Prime, Netflix, HBO). Streaming just keeps getting worse - you are paying more for less. My spouse and I were musing the other day that our...

It looks really good - they've got the tone about right, IMO. I'm curious as to what they are doing with Yasha, given what an intermittent character she was in the first half of that campaign (of course, Pike was absent a lot from all of C1 and they still use her tons in LoVM).

That would be mostly the container, which is presumably pretty durable. We know the amount of the potion: one ounce. You aren’t drinking the potion and eating the container, just doing a shot. Not that i could care less about the realism argument. We follow the current rule (drinking a potion...

I teach literature. Here's a fun fact: dialogue can be expository.

Yes, and only if used in a non-sexual context (i.e. “f- you!”). I have starter set (digital version). It’s tamer than ST, for sure, which actually makes it feel a bit cringier.

I don’t get dungeon crawls, narratively, in the sense of characters taking long rests. Not unless the dungeon is truly vast, like the Underdark, but then it’s really the same as wilderness adventuring. But if it’s a contained environment a long rest isn’t possible because the inhabitants will...

I’m always skeptical of arguments that begin by handwaving inconvenient evidence. For example, and we see this a lot, that 5e is immensely popular despite being bad due to: Covid/Critical Role/Stranger Things/Luck/people not knowing any better/etc. Maybe it’s popular because most folks playing...

The plot of Interstellar annoys me, as well. Yes, it’s relevant to today in obvious ways, but it is also sentimental and dumb, offering no useful insights. But it’s almost worth it for the visuals alone. Nolan is an extremely skilled director, and does wonders with the right script. He’s hit...

I think I’m out. I’m struggling to get to the end of the episode and finding it very monotonous: one hushed conversation after another conveying a ton of information about stuff that I’m finding it hard to engage with. Plus, my spouse, who is generally benignly indifferent to me listening to CR...

Using DDB pretty much eliminates this problem. I just toggle on what I want available and toggle off the rest. Letting players use whatever 3PP they can find sounds like it could be a lot of work (not for most of my players because they could care less about the rules and just rely on me to know...

This is a film that I simultaneously look forward to and dread. It's gonna be a heavy one - it basically has to be.

I'm curious how you got from "I hate it" to "it really hasn't made a noticeable difference" to "has worked out well on the rare occasion it comes up." It felt like quite a journey!

I allowed healing potions for personal use as a bonus action long before 2024. My reasoning was that healing potions are weak and it's usually not a fun turn or particularly useful, so sacrificing the entire action for it was basically never worth it. Whereas a little top-off for a bonus action...

So much this. Though I would go further and say that not only is blame not constructive, it’s usually the opposite. The need to make complicated problems into moral or ideological conflicts with heroes we can praise and villains we can blame often prevents us from solving the problem itself.

I don't think you understand what people are describing as prep. I view my role as "playing the world." If I am ad-libbing, it really is the me, the DM, running the show, just in an impromptu way. The narrative belongs entirely to me. But when I prep a location so that I know what different...

It is not. Did you not read the rest of what I wrote? Because I don't see how you could read what I wrote about players making unexpected choices and needing to have contingencies prepared and get "linear." When I prep a ton of potential encounters and story hooks for a town, as I am doing right...

A few spellcasters get wish, at levels where a vanishly small percentage of games are played. Well, there is a small but vocal contigent on this forum who make that demand. A lot. Then there are a lot of folks who seem pretty satisfied with how martials play. From WotC's perspective, they...