There are two statblocks in the Monster Manual that have grievous errors and require correction. One of them is so surprisingly that most people are shocked to learn it, the other is a choice that unnecessarily detracts from the fun. Cats have darkvision. How on earth did they miss this? Real world cats have theContinue reading “Two Mistakes in the Monster Manual”
Tag Archives: 5e
Where are the Non-Combat Mechanics?
In the Dungeon Master’s Guide. Chapter 8, “Running the Game,” specifically pages 242–245. Done. … Why are you still here? Okay, okay. A common-enough critique of D&D 5e is that it focuses most of its rules on Combat. Even if we assume this is true of the Player’s Handbook (which is actually questionable—in the PHB,Continue reading “Where are the Non-Combat Mechanics?”
Magic Item: Seethe
Cursed items are fun! For me, anyway. Seethe Weapon (greatsword), rare (requires attunement) This dark, jagged blade almost seems knapped from obsidian. A faint wisp of shadow trails from the blade. You gain a +1 bonus to attack and damage rolls made with this magic weapon. When you hit a creature with an attack, itContinue reading “Magic Item: Seethe”
Magic Item: Lionheart Blade
Image by Chris Devers on Flickr. The Lionheart Blade is mostly an uncommon item with a bit of lore that amused me. I did put it into a game—and will again—but I don’t think the PCs or players ever actually found out the story of it. So here, internet strangers, one for you to enjoy.Continue reading “Magic Item: Lionheart Blade”
PC Features “à la classe”
One house rule that I’ve offered to players in the past, and definitely will again, is a more flexible approach to subclassing, inspired by Pathfinder 2e’s “class feats.” So I thought I would give it a cheeky name: à la classe. A character à la classe is not limited by a single subclass, but canContinue reading “PC Features “à la classe””
Magic Item: Circlet of Grounding
I thought I’d start sharing some of the magic items that I make up, because I love doing it. And some of them have themes or lore that I build them around that doesn’t affect anything so I think it’s OK if a player reads this. One that I particularly liked is the circlet ofContinue reading “Magic Item: Circlet of Grounding”
House rules I’d like to try
Previously I wrote about some of the house rules I’ve implemented. Here’s a handful of things I would like to try! All of this is, of course, stolen, so I’ve tried to provide some kind of credit where I could. Sometimes it’s a citation of credit. Alternative initiative systems So, I don’t feel like initiativeContinue reading “House rules I’d like to try”
System Mastery and System Completeness
One subset of the folks I play with regularly is excited about trying new things, and this started when we decided to try Pathfinder 2nd edition. I never played D&D 3.5e, or PF1e, so it was new to me—it’s also a different fork of history, since Pathfinder branched from D&D after 3.5e. Now it’s evolvedContinue reading “System Mastery and System Completeness”
My Version of 5e
My friend Saterade said something interesting the other day: that every DM running 5e really needs to take the game as a template and turn it into their own system. Just like every Forgotten Realms or Eberron out there is its own distinct version of a universe, our house or table rules, our homebrews, theContinue reading “My Version of 5e”
Bounded XP?
As a general rule, I don’t like XP, and have moved to using milestones in 5e games. There are a bunch of reasons: It strongly encourages combat solutions to encounters. Managing missing players is harder. It’s a pain to keep track of, especially for non-combat encounters, where it feels especially arbitrary. Being 7 XP fromContinue reading “Bounded XP?”
James DM 