Search results

This makes sense. I've been considering it for a while, but so far resisted to avoid having to redo the layout of the book. Oh dear, that would get me into all kinds of trouble! :LOL: No, despite its roots, Xoth is an equal opportunities world! :) Those who have different/strong opinions on...

Yes, it's assumed you will use the class from Tasha's. But I'm not sure the Open Gaming License (OGL) allows me to mention the book by name, so leaving it out just in case.

There is a new update of the Player's Guide available (version 1.10). The changes in this version include: Added examples of ability score arrays. Noted that low Intelligence score reduces starting languages. Added (optional) "Deadly Critical" rule to replace Instant Death. Added exhaustion...

I'd like to thank you (and others who have contributed to the discussion) for your thoughtful input. Obviously I don't always agree or have the same vision for the supplement, but I do appreciate the feedback!

I think you are forgetting the difference between a book and a game. Of course the protagonists in books don't die from "a single well-placed hit" from a random mook. They generally don't die at all. Because if they did, the book would end there. Unless you have a large gallery of protagonists...

OK, so what you're presenting as a fact here is that it will "guarantee" lots of dead player characters. Care to calculate the actual probability of someone dying after: Getting hit with a crit Choosing NOT to use the other (optional) rule to sacrifice your weapon or shield to block the...

See my previous reply about "telling a story" vs "playing a game". If you simply decide, by GM fiat, that the PC gets smacked in the head and captured, "outside the combat mechanic", to "move the story along", then you might as well invite your friends over and read a Conan story aloud to them...

But I'm not "narrating a story", I'm refereeing a game. As the GM, I'd like to be surprised, too. Of course I want the system to randomly tell me what happens. There's a big difference between a book/movie and a game (even if the game is based on a certain type of books). Without randomness and...

All RPG publications contain rules that are (in practice) guidelines and suggestions, it's been that way since 1974. Every GM I've ever known or heard about has his own house rules and adjustments. You don't like something, you don't use it. I think it's perfectly fine to include one or more...

Fair enough, but these stories (and the Conan comics by Marvel, etc) are full of examples of the protagonist getting hit in the head by a sneaky thief or lucky guard, and then captured. You could say "he ran out of hit points", and yeah, he did, but it was due to a rare/double crit, and not slow...

To "simulate" the fact that even Conan can't wade into battle with a ton of mooks without there being a small chance he might get killed. Now, thankfully the bounded accuracy of 5E already mostly fixes this, so this suggested rule is just some icing on the cake. The "heroes" (if you can call...

I think the original idea is fine as it is (roll two crits, target goes to zero hp). As you have pointed out, there are already several options that can increase the crit range: The Fighter/Champion's Improved Critical The Rogue/Assassin's auto-crit against surprised targets The Conqueror's...

I agree with you that reducing hit points would extend the "sweet spot" level range. However, my stated goal from the beginning has been "to change as little as possible" so it still feels like D&D. And while I personally would be okay with it (as a player), I think that reducing Player...

No need for exceptions here. From the 5E core rules: "When an attacker reduces a creature to 0 hit points with a melee attack, the attacker can knock the creature out. The attacker can make this choice the instant the damage is dealt. The creature falls unconscious and is stable."

Note that there are already rules for this in the Player's Guide. The Sorcery chapter (pages 40-41) notes that life force that is restored via healing spells "must be transferred or taken from somewhere else, typically via sacrifice". The Cultist class (page 30) is built on this concept and has...

Here's a variant for your consideration: Deadly Critical: When you score a critical hit against an opponent, roll another d20. If you roll a natural 20 on this second roll, the opponent's hit point total is instantly reduced to zero. For player characters, this means they must start rolling...

I'm not saying the campaign should end at a certain level, I'm just saying the sweet spot is below level 10. Statistics (from D&D Beyond and elsewhere) show that most campaigns tend to end before getting into the really high levels anyway... possibly because high-level D&D (and Pathfinder!) is a...

It does what it says, nothing more: You gain +1 to attack rolls when flanking. It doesn't say "hit points", it says "Hit Dice" (aka what you call "healing surges", which is a 4E term I believe...). "A long rest restores all Hit Dice (not just half your Hit Dice as per the standard rules)."...

I'd say the sweet spot -- where the gameplay and Conan-style S&S fiction generally overlap -- are between levels 3-8 or so. Anything below and the PCs are too fragile, and anything above (say, around levels 10-11) it starts to get too "far out" to resemble the fiction. It helps if you restrict...

Agreed! :)