Flanking Damage

What if flanking did extra damage instead of causing advantage? Methods, pitfalls, and an exercise in implementation.

“Too Much Gold”

So, it happened. The party has slain the dragon. Its hoard is theirs for the taking. Now what?

Mercer’s Exandria Unlimited Character Taps New Best Spellcaster Race

What's going on with Matt Mercer's sorcerer build? Some crazy good tech! Here's how it works.

Changing Spell Damage Type

Players piloting spellcasters often want to swap out damage types for thematic or mechanical reasons. They might think that a fireball is cooler as an ice explosion. Or, they might want to swap a lightning bolt to fire to keep a troll from regenerating. How can we implement this mechanic in an exciting way for 5e?

Identifying Magic Items

Add intrigue and interaction to magic items with these identification rules.

Design Dials

Dial your D&D designs up to 11 by focusing on the elements that bring your intended fantasy to life.

mXc Traps

5 traps inspired by Most Extreme Elimination Challenge (mXC) a/k/a Takeshi's Castle.

The Problems with Race Leveling

D&D's 5th Edition race design is trending in a direction with narrative and mechanical issues.

What Am I Counterspelling?

Counterspell is a spell you cast as a reaction to stop another spell: Xanathar's Guide to Everything (XGE) introduced an optional rule for identifying a spell. It also costs a reaction: This creates a tension between identifying a spell and deciding to counter it. You can only spend your reaction on one. The grand implication … Continue reading What Am I Counterspelling? →

Cutting Words

Trimming a bad mechanic from 5e to improve the flow of combat and eliminate adversarial DMing posture.