Recent content by touc

The Atlantic posted a "gift link" on its discussion board on another forum so you could read the article for free. That might have helped foster discussion rather than encouraging people to comment off something they can't or haven't read. It's not long, and it is political (and that may or may...

I've been playing some version of D&D since the 80s, and I've always adhered to Moldvay's "no rule is inviolate" tagline to get through each edition change and keep certain parts of the game the way I like it. "No rule is inviolate, particularly if a new or altered rule will encourage...

I've run some 5E epic campaigns (levels 14+), and here's my take: Universal D&D monster manual bosses are underwhelming. I believe every single one needs "phases" of battle changes (e.g. at 75%, they shed any disabling spells, and something new happens like reinforcements or tapping into the...

Can you lose this combat (or is the loss just simply a more difficult encounter?)

I use the A5E version as I prefer the original design (no need for tents) before it became a force field.* I had an old D&D group once use it to cut through a wall of fire and pre-A5E it was the "lazy man's" method of finding a safe zone to rest in a mega-dungeon rather than strategizing (and...

I ran a fey-heavy Kingmaker (Paizo) campaign and had a ton of fun with it. Fey can be nasty and frivolous in the same minute as their reality is different from mortals. Here's what I had: Fey don't die. They might lose their body and have to assume something else that they don't like later down...

Article Argument: by taking only 1 level in wizard, you learn & cast every wizard spell, using scrolls to add spells. Answer: No. On p44 (PHB 2024), it specifically says you "prepare" spells as if you were a "single-class" wizard of that level. So, you'll be limited always to only preparing 1st...

I joined this conversation late, but I'm running a Pirate campaign using Pathfinder's Skull & Shackles pirate adventures as a framework, and my players just got their own ship after a mutiny: Skull & Shackles rocks for adventure ideas. Getting your own ship should be cool. You should want to...

Sounds like Pathfinder 2nd Edition's "three action" economy (with 1 reaction). It's more nuanced such as more attacks = decreased accuracy, and some powerful stuff takes two actions. Haven't tried it since D&D isn't designed that way and I'm not game designer savvy enough to merge systems, but...

It's wondrously simple. It removes the guess work. I'm brainstorming if this might work. Rather than the DM throwing needless encounters that don't make sense to get to 6-7 "combats" to drain resources in a day, or guessing what might drain resources, the party knows in advance they won't get...

Zardnaar, your keyboard exploded! Anecdotally, the last time I had a D&D player wizard was @5 years ago. The player, newish to D&D, came to me and wanted to play a "blaster caster." He envisioned rows of enemies melting before his character (and yeah, pretty all the "optimization" and "which...

I blame the CR system and module writing for the decline (as I've observed at my game table since 2014) in folks who play the wizard. In AD&D days, when battles could look like this: The wizard and their fireballs were a must. But the power curve looked like this. Skipping ahead, hit points...

I'm watching a Druid of the Sea in our current campaign (level 3). They're a bit squishy but Wrath is already solid (especially when we battle atop ships and it tosses foes over the side, terrain matters...) He uses his "familiar" ability to "Help" others get Advantage, which depending on the...