Search results

I actually tell my players not to ask to make a check in D&D, because I might just let them succeed without it. "Asking to roll is asking to fail." I just find there aren't a lot of times when they are asking questions that would require an Investigation check to interpret, if Investigation...

You know with something like this, what's really interesting is the often unstated (or unexamined) motivations for how we each choose to interpret it. For me, for instance, what I care most about is trying to get a balance between skill usefulness. Since Perception is hugely useful for spotting...

Actually it was originally that way in the play test. At some point (seems after the play test in my memory) they switched it mostly into Perception, which I feel makes what's already the best skill in the game ridiculous. Like others have described, I prefer Perception for creatures in Stealth...

I go even further than others with the assumed value of coins. I treat 1 copper piece as the conceptual equivalent of $1 USD. That means a silver is $10, and a gold $100. This was not arbitrary. I looked at the price of real estate in the DMG. I looked at the price of lifestyle expenses and...

Mostly 3 for me. Some of the PCs are just sitting on their accumulating cash, while I'm constantly feeling low from luxury cosmetic expenditures. Well, that and wanting to scribe every spell from every captured spell book, and make scrolls for the rarely cast ones so I don't have to prepare...

@tomedunn , I could use some help with some of your calculations. After further analysis, I believe your method of calculating a monster's XP and then assigning it a CR based on that XP is what WotC actually uses. I think you've almost certainly basically cracked the code. On my list of...

I love Tiamat. There's another character that has gotten smacked around by editions like crazy.

I was actually considering doing something like that! Maybe say that the Zariel in Bel's backstory was "Zeryel" or something instead, and otherwise just keep the 5e lore. Ended up deciding it was more satisfying to do a bit more than that (kind of like how it looks like you did something...

Thanks all! Fun ideas! After thinking it all through and trying to grasp exactly what I did and didn't want, this is what I came up with: -The basic gist of the Zariel story (who she is, how she fell) is as 5e has it, but ... -It happened a very long time ago -Bel then displaced her as 1e and...

After 1e they decided to ditch Tiamat as the ruler of Avernus, and I kind of get the impression it was more of a retcon than a transition of power. Then you get Bel firmly established. 3e lore says he actually rebelled against and took the throne from Zariel, apparently in the distant past. 2e...

Sometimes I have them as allies...but I don't think they need to serve a game design purpose. Their role in world-building is sufficient explanation. As DM, knowing about them helps me understand how things work in the setting, in the same way knowing things about evil monsters that never end...

It looks like you can buy it on either Roll20 or Fantasy Grounds, for $14.99 USD at either place. So the cheapest current option I'm aware of is to make a free Roll20 account and buy it there. At one point it was free on Roll20, and at one point it was free on D&D Beyond, but apparently those...

I choose starting level for the specific campaign or theme adventure experience I'm going for. It could be anywhere from 1 to 20 with epic boons.

Yeah. 5e doesn't particularly give you any good reason to bother messing with the hassle of a mount. A meaningful travel speed boost makes intuitive sense and is desirable.

Interesting take. I've tended to merge some personality elements into alignment, specifically the L/C axis. For instance, I have a friend who exhibits typically Chaotic things. He dispositionally very much considers the needs of the individual in a group rather than the whole. For instance, he...

I know what you're talking about. I like to define selfish as seeking what you want at the expense of others. If it isn't at the expense of others (or is actually for their benefit also, and peehaps you know that...and the subtleties can just keep going). The funny thing is, while one of my...

I like alignment because: 1) It expresses the cosmological nature of the Planescape / Great Wheel cosmology which I love. 2) It is indispensable to me as a DM, and much easier to use than any alternative. 3) It feels very D&D-y, and I like my D&D to be very D&D-y, and my other role-playing...

A rare thread where people are talking about two adventures I've actually run :D (Lost Mine of Phandelver and Forge of Fury)

I'm a big fan of sandbox play, but I sometimes make pretty linear adventures. Usually they are one-shots, but the one I'm currently working on is being introduced into a long campaign. One thing I often do in such situations is straight up tell the players ahead of time that this one shot or...

I'm sure you're right. I was really only speaking in context of raw DPR, which isn't the full equation.