Magic Reserves

Diving into Wizards of the Coast's latest Unearthed Arcana offering for a look at the Magic Reserves class feature and how you can turn your Barbarian into an infinite mana battery!

Speak Your Secrets

Metagaming is one issue we encounter in tabletop RPGs. Players have their characters act on player knowledge that their character does not possess. A DM's defense against this is to gently remind the player to act within the confines of character knowledge. This can lead to an overcorrection where every time a single PC finds out information, the other players ask "do you tell us that?" Any time a strange routine like this becomes habitual, we should streamline the process.

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.

271 Ways Contagion Got Nerfed

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.

The Agnostic Adventuring Day

We're going to make the adventuring day agnostic as to character class. That way, everyone's going to be on a level playing field, regardless of how many encounters you run. How do we do this with linear fighters and quadratic wizards? It's simple. We kill the short rest.

Contagion Spell Odds

Contagion is a necromancy spell that requires an attack roll and a "best of 5" save mechanic to inflict a disease. Is this a good spell? Check your odds against the whole gamut of monsters.

Dual Wielder vs. ASI

Since Two-Weapon Fighting (TWF) only allows you to make an off-hand attack if both the weapons you wield are light, many new players are tempted by the allure of upgrading that damage die with the Dual Wielder feat. Often an Ability Score Improvement (ASI) to your attack stat is the more effective and versatile choice. … Continue reading Dual Wielder vs. ASI →

The “Bag of Rats” Problem

The "Bag of Rats" Problem is an issue that arises with RPG mechanics that trigger upon a kill. While kill trigger abilities are intended to reward the character for disposing of a foe, they incentivize players to metagame by carrying around a lot of easily-squishable pocket-sized creatures. Explore the solutions and find out which are best.

Building a Homebrew Spellcaster

Homebrew Spellcaster Template Click the link for a spellcaster template prefilled with spell progression, spell known ranges, cantrip known ranges, ability score improvements, "dead levels" for new spell level access, and the full Class Features and Spellcasting text in fillable format. Click "Source" in the top-right to add your own info, then copy it to … Continue reading Building a Homebrew Spellcaster →