Owlbears are right at home as a Wild Shape option, due to their historical theme and their statistical similarity to beasts with matching CR.
Tag: 3e
“Typical” Alignment
First glimpses of D&D's Wild Beyond the Witchlight offer 5th Edition's latest attempt to grapple with applying alignment to monsters: "typical" alignment.
Heward’s Handy Haversack
Unpacking D&D's magical backpack.
Design Tips: Trap Features
We used to build characters a different way. Back in 3.x, the splat got so numerous that you were practically forced to "work backwards from 20." In other words, you would build your ultimate character concept and work backwards to see what you needed to take at each level. For example, failure to properly plan … Continue reading Design Tips: Trap Features
Martial Adept vs. Magic Initiate
We're comparing the Martial Adept feat and the Magic Initiate feat. While the effect of linear fighters vs. quadratic wizards most often manifests in class design (mostly due to spell access), there’s an interesting reflection of this design in the 5e feats, which we expect to be balanced against each other.
Grappling with Grappling
Grappling is a D&D mechanic that has evolved from many maligned paragraphs of text to a simple skill contest. Let's look at where the current iteration stands, and what can be done to improve grappling in your D&D game.
Vorpal Sword Mechanics
A Vorpal Sword is a slashing weapon that decapitates on a critical hit. Even experienced Dungeon Masters are wary of allowing a Vorpal Swords in their game--probably because they have heads. Since Vorpal Swords are some of the most fun you can have with your scabbard on, let's figure out how to make them work. … Continue reading Vorpal Sword Mechanics