Search results

Personally, I hope that 5e/D&D doesn't go in this direction - I'd be happy to leave feat chains to the Pathfinders. 5e occupies a nice middle zone of character build complexity between TSR/OSR type games and Pathfinder 2e etc. that it actually doesn't have much competition for, and I think it'd...

Great stuff, I also took some inspiration from that temple for a recent D&D temple, but would have used this interpretation had I seen it! Forests of pillars in general are underrated as a gameplay element. Lot's of places to take cover, to hide, to disrupt formations, to hide secret compartments...

Yep your right I'm mixing up the various R spells (same in 5e).

I'm not close to level 15, but my game has definitely improved with generally lowered hp and increased damage to most non-boss/miniboss type monsters. Like close to half hp, double damage for mooks (often through additional multiattack, and either choosing hp at the lower end of the possible...

In terms of an explicitly written constitution that guided design or something, I have no idea. I guess I'm more interested in the design "philosophy" that is implied by the rules and mechanics - i.e. what might they say about how the designers imagined things playing out at the table, about the...

Yeah, a lot of costs/risks have been removed from spells - e.g. lots of spells (haste, wish, restoration, gate, etc.) age the caster in 1e, I suppose also implying a system shock check. Raise Dead lowers Constitution etc. It is always nice when you see a 5e spell that still has a hint of...

Yes! One of my very rough metrics for myself as a DM is something like "number of deranged schemes/out-of-the-box creative solutions/completely hopeless situations that get reverse-unoed" by players per session. Magic items (and the systems that support them) that encourage this, either in the...

I mainly skipped 3e and 4e for lack of familiarity. So I'm basically interpolating a story from 1e (and presumably 2e) to 5e to 5.5e. The closest I have to experience in either 3e/4e is adapting a Pathfinder 1e adventure to Pathfinder 2e. If some one can fill in the design evolution gaps here...

Seems like a very useful distinction in terms of goals. I do wonder what mechanics scaffold this mode of combat best? For combat as war, I'd suppose the scaffolds would be robust resource management systems to connect the strategic intimately with the tactical; morale and other "wargamey" tools...

Yeah, it's interesting to think about the relationship of ttrpg design with video games over time. There are some substitutes like you mentioned, some of the crunchiest aspects being easier on computers (maybe computer strategy games captured some of the market for the more wargamey/domain play...

I have a theory that you can learn a lot about a fantasy TTRPG’s design philosophy by looking at its magic items. Further, you can especially learn a lot about changes in design philosophy by looking at different takes on the “same”* magic item in different editions of a game. There are iconic...