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At least some of your concerns can be addressed within the rules. Shoving (PHB pp.195-6) can easily be re-fluffed as tripping, and there are optional rules for disarming (DMG p. 271).

You are in a literal sense, just as pushing a rock off a cliff onto an opponent or springing an ambush are both attacks. But in terms of the system, you’re casting a spell with a PC in its area of effect, not making an attack. If we assume the intent of the rules is for breath weapons to end...

As far as I can tell, the rules are quite clear - see PHB pp. 193-4, particularly this part: "If there's ever any question whether something you're doing counts as an attack, the rule is simple: if you're making an attack roll, you're making an attack."

There are two types of scrolls: spell scrolls (p.200) and scrolls of protection (p. 199). The rules for scrolls apply to both types, but spell scrolls have the added requirement that the spell must be on your class's spell list. So only casters can use spell scrolls, and only if the spell is on...

Because the component isn't given a price, it's assumed to be in a component pouch. If the character uses a spellcasting focus, they don't need to provide non-priced material components. So as far as the rules are concerned, players don't have to worry about the specific item. It's just for...

I think the RAW are ambiguous enough to make this a reasonable interpretation. In my view, armor, Mage Armor, and Draconic Resilience are each intended to set a base AC, whereas a shield (and spells like Shield) are intended to add to that base AC. I’m inclined to think that if Mage Armor or...

As far as I'm aware, a shield would stack with both.

For reference, this is discussed on p. 14 in the PHB: "Some spells and class features give you a different way to calculate your AC. If you have multiple features that give you different ways to calculate your AC, you choose which one to use." So a Sorcerer with Draconic Resilience would not...

Lirdolin over at Candlekeep came up with this timeline based on novels and sourcebooks.

Are there any advantages to doing it this way instead of running Dungeonscape in the browser?

I spoke too soon - just got a shipping notification.

Nothing so far. The release date is tomorrow, so I wouldn't call it late quite yet.

It might not be clear from that post alone, but I was asking specifically about the language in the context of treating certain phrases as terms of art. Can you "score a critical hit," in those words, and not hit? On a side note, the AD&D 1E rule seems pretty onerous, but fascinating.

Ahh, I suspected 3E worked like Pathfinder, but I wasn't certain. I should clarify a couple points about where I'm coming from, because there's a surprising amount of nuance going on here. First, I agree that the general rules suggest a distinction between an auto-hit and a critical. This seems...

While I'm hesitant about the argument from tradition, it's very interesting. My only other experience is 4E and PF, so I'm wondering: in any edition of D&D, has it been possible for an attack to "score a critical hit" and also not hit?

I think you've zeroed in on why I'm so stuck on the opposite side of the argument. To me, it's absurd that an attack could "score a critical hit" and also not hit - precisely because the word "hit" is used as it is. If the authors intended for a 19 not to constitute a hit, it could have been...

That is what I'm arguing, at least in the case of the Champion's Improved Critical. Sorry that wasn't clear. A Champion rolling 18 or 19 scores a critical hit. The text isn't specifying what the damage would be if they hit (ie., "If you roll a 19 and hit, you score a critical hit"). It's...

The question of whether or not a critical can ever occur without an automatic hit does remain open. However, in the case of the Champion's Improved Critical, there is absolutely no vagueness, ambiguity, or room for interpretation: "your weapon attacks score a critical hit on a roll of 19 or 20."...

I'm not sure I follow - the quoted text seems fairly explicit and unambiguous. Is there something I'm missing?

It's definitely a hit, at least for champion fighters. See PHB p. 72: "your weapon attacks score a critical hit on a roll of 19 or 20." It's phrased the same way on the following page.