What works at your table?
After last's week post calculating the success odds for the Lucky feat, some folks who run the Lucky feat a little differently asked me to run the odds on that iteration. Since this homerule is popularly employed, including by D&D Lead Rules Designer Jeremy Crawford, we're running the odds and evaluating the comparison.
Analyzing the benefits of the various luck-driven abilities in 5th Edition D&D: Lucky feat, Diviner's Portent dice, and the Halfling Lucky racial feature. How do they stack up?
The Player's Handbook errata released in November 2018 patched a gap between RAW and RAI by inflicting the poisoned condition. We're exploring the impact and duration of the poison effect with an updated odds calculator.
D&D Creative Director Mike Mearls recently tweeted about revised Two-Weapon Fighting rules, including a poll about where its damage output should lie: Mechanics Any discussion regarding two-weapon fighting involves these mechanics: Two-Weapon Fighting bonus action Dual Wielder feat Two-Weapon Fighting style Let's explore these mechanics first to identify where we have wiggle room to improve … Continue reading Two-Weapon Fighting
D&D 5e is great because it allows you the flexibility to build on top of the system. Sometimes we rush to fill gaps that are empty for a reason. Designing good content requires knowing these pitfalls so you can navigate them. Character features mandating equipment are one such case. What can we learn from Mike Mearls about how to design them?
A "called shot" in Dungeons & Dragons is an attack that aims for a specific part of a target's body. While this mechanic has been removed from 5th Edition in the interest of greater simplicity, the system is fluid enough to layer on complexity where you want.
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.
Flesh to Stone is a 6th level transmutation spell that has new mechanics from prior editions. Instead of instantly petrifying the target in ye olde "save or die" fashion, the target is restrained on the first failed save, and only petrified if they lose a “best of 5” save mechanic. Let’s examine how often its successful.
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
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