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20+ years on Internet discussion tells me doing comparisons without the commonly used options simply doesn't happen, or at least doesn't move the needle. The fact that Monk might be balanced without SS/GWM in the equation is both true and irrelevant as a discussion topic.

Trying to control aggro in 5e, to somehow "tank" and absorb hits for the rest of the party, is definitely a fool's errand. (If you want to absorb damage for the party, play a twilight cleric.) Being extremely hard to hit and damage is not useless, though. Survivability is its own form of...

Considering there are virtually no aggro/control abilities available for any tanks in 5e, it's not a knock against the bladesinger to point out that they can't hold aggro. It's also possible for both of these things to be true: 1) The bladesinger would be stronger if they wizarded more and...

The specific "Roll 2 d20s simultaneously, and use the higher result" mechanic was an Avenger class feature in 4e. I can't say it was the first time that mechanic was ever used (it is a fairly simple mechanic that could pop up in a lot of places), but it's the first time I remember being used in...

Like a warlock? D&D "challenge" would absolutely work better if the warlock charge model was the standard.

To be fair, assuming it’s 250 mL is making a lot of assumptions. The potion bottle could be a lot of heavy, shatter resistant glass with relatively little volume. The liquid itself, which is magical, could be much higher density than the 1g/mL of water. If you want to make a bonus action...

I mean, you can pick nits around some of his prose, but the guy could simply flat out write some really epic scenes. Dumai's Wells is of course the most famous one, but the battle of the Stone of Tear and the blowing of the Horn are also pretty fantastic.

I've observed that same, not just in TTRPGs but in broader trends around the CRPG space. My gut feeling is that two trends pushed in that direction. 1) As the focus of the "gamist" portion became more about character building through leveling choices, and demonstrating the competency of a...

Exactly. The Forge and the OSR were both branches that were in direct repudiation of Hickman-style storytelling that dominated in the ‘90s.

I'm sure the situation was a lot more nuanced than that. :)

As soon as I feel like I'm playing a game, or reading a book, or watching a TV show simply because I've already started and I might as well finish; I stop. You should never worry about sunk costs with your hobbies and entertainment. If you don't want to do it, just stop doing it. It will...

Yep. The engine or game style I would want for a 1-2 shot, a game of a dozen sessions, a game of 60ish sessions, and a functionally unlimited one (at least 100+ sessions) would all be very different.

Yea, I’m moved away from that handwavey approach. “Class” is a transformation of the soul. The character is aware of it, and the supernatural abilities and resilience that classes give are known and understood throughout society. It’s not cultural or vocational in my D&D games anymore, it’s...

I would agree with this. I've long been strongly against the idea of class as "vocation" that thousands of NPCs within a setting just happen to share. I've since moved into using class as an explicit diegetic concept, and allowing it to be explored within the fiction has made me much happier...

The ideal usage of bless is to have a non-caster, or very limited caster, cast it to fill their otherwise unused concentration slot, AND to precast it just before the combat starts.

Exactly. Fireball is at its best in 5e in the low-mid Tier 2 range, when encountering CR1-2s as fodder in fights is still pretty common, and fireball has a decent chance at one-shotting several of them, or at least putting them into "next hit drops". The fact that it's non-concentration also...

That's crazy; next you'll be saying there are no black-and-white binary options and things just exist on gradients of gray. :)

Eh, as long as the XP flows, it sets my plots in motion.

They all pay me tribute as demanded. I am as a God-Emperor DM

Riffing on random things the players get interested in is like 80% of my gameplay.