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I think any changes to ability scores bonuses will have to go hand-in-hand with how important the opposed roll becomes in the game. In fact, we don't know if the opposed roll will be like a classic opposed roll, or whether it will simply give a small modifier to the saving throw (although I...

I'm liking the basic idea of the skill system (sympathies for those that don't), but I think we're still lacking some key information. Bonuses to skills aren't necessarily numerical bonuses, although they can be. If I've read the transcript correctly, for example, double-training Stealth let a...

Most alignment restrictions seem doubly pointless to me. In games where the notion of Paladin as "good-hearted defender of the weak, etc." is taken with grave seriousness, an alignment restriction is unnecessary. In games where it isn't, the alignment restriction is either ignored (explicitly...

As I see it the goal of a theme is to grant a starting package that represents the core competencies of the theme, and then allow for further exploration. For becoming a vampire that might be a boost to Strength or Dexterity or Charisma (choose 1), plus a blood drain ability. Since themes are...

This is from the DDXP live chat. There we have it, the basic elements of a character, at least at low levels. I think going with themes is a strong choice, and I'm glad these will be baked in from the start. Finally D&D will have a mechanical way to express background, outside training, social...

Exactly. Just because DMs don't need permission to use rule 0 doesn't mean the books should avoid the occasional friendly reminder. For DMs that feel hesitant to remove parts of the game, a little explicit license can go a long way. After all, the purpose of a list of races/classes/whatever...

It sounds very promising. The number of spells that could be written once at low levels and scale (either automatically or by spending a minor character resource) to fit the spell slot they are put in is quite large. This would make spell descriptions a little longer, but spell lists much...

I think we'll find that most of the various "deal-breakers" will make it into the system, but that modularity will push the actual deal-breaking from the system level to the table level. For something like Vancian casting, for example, I think there will be plenty of people who will avoid...

Most of the changes sounded good to me. Especially 3e style multiclassing and no assumption of magic items (finally!). I'm a little ho-hum about static spells and trading spells, however. I much prefer spells to have a basic version with a small tree of upgrades. Maybe a caster that knows...

Too true, and I expect that a few will be cut for space reasons even after being condensed the way they want. Nevertheless, the answer was in response to this question. It's ambiguous whether the answer was intended to address the "early" part or not.

Well, maybe only 50% less speculation. :) This quote is from the DDXP seminar earlier today. As far as I know that's the most concrete info we've obtained for the expected expanse of PH content. Many classes were already known from explicit mention, of course. If that and Wikipedia can be...

Dungeons & Dragons Roleplaying Game Official Home Page - Article (D&D XP Seminar Chat Streams)

That could be pretty incredible.

I think whether addition or subtraction is better is a bit of a red herring. The lesson I take from programming is writing good interfaces is hard. (Having written some less-than-stunning interfaces in my time.) That's because interfaces mediate the interaction between modules, whether they...

I agree with EW, this doesn't seem like a problem with goblinoid levels per se. --- Increasing attacks and defenses is the crudest way to represent power in the game, and because the d20 itself never changes also the most problematic if relied upon too heavily (such as when the differences...

I'd prefer if the races only covered the most fundamental inherent attributes for that type of creature. Dwarves are stout and have darkvision, halflings are nimble and small, etc. Everything that could be chalked up to culture or other forms of nurture (including advancements of fundamental...

Plot-immunized rocket tag is my general preference. I really like the thematic separation of damage that matters (i.e. it directly contributes to death or disablement) from everything else. When they get mixed together I find it hard to interpret what is actually happening in anything but a...

I don't understand why the assassin couldn't do that. Is the paladin detecting evil 24/7? At least in 3.5 the spell requires concentration, so even as an at-will ability it's hardly an automatic assassin alarm. I certainly wouldn't want to design the spell in 5e so it functioned as one. I...

I like the standard, move, minor (SMM) system for the most part. I have been experimenting with removing the move action and making the action system one of simultaneous actions where the Standard and Minor actions represent the degree of attention required to pull something off (as opposed to...

A small change significantly reduces the Darth Sidious/Emperor Palpatine problem. Make Detect Evil only detect evil acts/thoughts/intentions that are currently occurring. The bad guy needs to be careful, the paladin still has a chance, and finally the public don't walk around holding big "this...