What works at your table?
In Greek mythology, the Sirens sing a cursed melody. Orpheus guided the Argonauts past the Sirens by playing his lyre to drown their song. Odysseus plugged his crew's ears with wax and ordered himself bound to the mast of his ship while sailing past the Sirens. For adventuring parties who find themselves without a rockin' … Continue reading Items from Mythology: Wax Earplugs
I applaud the folks who have put together automatic character background generators. It's a programming feat at the intersection of smarts and mind-numbing labor. I have tinkered with a few of these github/google sheets generators with moral ambivalence (leaving the discussion of their legality aside), as the owner two copies of Xanathar's Guide to Everything … Continue reading Character Background Generators Miss the Point
I ran a survey asking Dungeons & Dragon's players to rank the feats of 5th Edition into tiers (broken, great, good, average, bad, junk). Check Out the Results! Observations Overall Balance The feats are generally well-balanced. Aside from three usual suspects, no other feat was voted broken. On the other end of the spectrum, only … Continue reading Feat Strength Tiers
When a DM decides to give their players a Level 1 Feat, it's likely to offset the mechanical allure of the Variant Human, and encourage a more diverse cast. Therefore, it's helpful to know what kind of sway Variant Human's mechanics provide before deciding to use such a rule. With over 400 survey responses, here's the … Continue reading Variant Human Feat Impact
Managing character death in Dungeons & Dragons presents different challenges at low and high levels. Success lies in balancing narrative ambitions with mechanical costs. Low Levels The Problem: at low levels, death feels mundane. A low-level character can easily fall to a critical hit or even just a strong roll by the DM. Scores of … Continue reading Dealing with Death
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