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I'm wondering how people are finding the options for random character traits in the PHB. I have never been a huge fan of random character creation elements. I came to the hobby as D&D was transitioning from 1E to 2E and as far back as I can remember, I hated having to rely on random dice rolls...

I was surprised by that too. The old school method was to cast animal friendship and run it as an NPC creature. You can use assume a basic level of master-companion control and require Wis (Animal Handling) checks for challenging actions. Also, use speak with animals and beast sense when...

You guys are tapping in to my big concern with using a mount, particularly as levels go up: If the mount doesn't increase it's HD/HP, it becomes fodder for the enemy if the rider can't somehow protect it from attacks.

Great interview!

So my current Playtest character is an elven warbringer cleric who has the knight background. I get a lance, which the Equipment section states can only be used if mounted, and I get a light warhorse with a saddle and bridle, but no barding. I assume it has the stats for the generic horse in...

My problem with Vancian magic is that it mechanically imposes a narrative element in the setting instead of being able to mechanically model multiple narratives about the nature of magic. Whatever the history or role of combat, skulduggery, or thievery plays in a campaign setting, the mechanics...

I think they were on the right track with Channel Divinity, particularly if you look at the way 4e granted different uses of it depending on the character's deity. Admittedly the way it was implemented in the last play test was pretty dull, which might be why the dropped it. I think if they...

I like the idea in the other healing thread of your deity or domain dictating what you have to do to heal. A war deity only lets you heal if you smite an enemy, a fire deity requires you burn an offering, a deity of wine requires you to take a swig, etc.

Part of the "spell nerf" in the new packet is due to the fact that in DDN, there are no additional spell slots for high abilities. It didn't stand out so much in the earlier packets because you got more than one spell per level anyway. Now it's a glaring difference from pre 4e iterations. I...

"Legends often speak of Balduran's Butter Knife. The hero would allow no other utensil to touch his condiments. It is believed that his mother gave the ornate butter knife to him as an eighteenth birthday gift." I never figured out that this item had any real powers, but it was my favorite item...

Has anyone else noticed that we've gone from skills being optional so that you could get an old school OD&D feel without them, to now breaking the game if you leave them out? What is the rogue, as currently presented, without skills? I'm not saying that the rogue should not have a design that...

It seems like they are trying to ensure that Two Weapon Fighting has pros and cons compared to just using a single weapon that in the big picture make either choice valid and a matter of character style and preference. It seems like we go back and forth between two atttacks at some sort of...

Disciplined is a trait and requires no action to use. The creature gets to attack and then merely grants advantage to an adjacent ally of its choice provided that ally is also disciplined. So if two hobgoblins stand side by side, they grant each other advantage. If there is a rank of...

So far, I like what I am seeing. My only complaints: 1) No archery or ranged weapon specialty any more, and no ranged rogue scheme to make up for it. Now my buddy is going to have to rethink his sniper rogue. 2) Clerics cannot use quarerstaffs. But the Staff of Striking still lists cleric...

I think the article mentioned rogues being able to add their expertise dice to skill checks.

I think that's totally Old School (and totally cool). Somewhere along the way, D&D has evolved to codify things that used to happen organically. The only thing that linked the different adventures in a lot of old school campaigns were the involvement of the same PCs, particularly if the DM...

I found the laptop too distracting at the table and quickly went back to printing things out on paper. However, I have found more recently that I like having my books on my iPad for reference and limiting the printed material to character sheets, maps, and a sheet with the monsters I'll be...

Half-Orc Adventures vs. Barkeepers. I would hate half-orcs too if their main purpose in life was to enter my place of business for the sole reason of picking fights with my customers and breaking furniture.

Actually, I don't think you halve the expertise dice from Deadly Strike either. I read this to mean that you resolve the attack's damage (including adjusting for ability modifiers and halving for dual weild or rapid shot) then roll the expertise dice and add the result. In the case of a...

Jeff Carlsen Props for articulating something I've never liked about action points but at times struggled to put into words. They blurred the line between metagame and in-game resource. I can envision what an abstract resource like hit points or spell slots represent in the game world, but...