Proficiency Scaling

D&D's latest tech is proficiency scaling for class features. Let's dive into this new tech, see what the designers are saying about it, and figure out what we need to look out for in playtesting.

Expertise Skill Hack

5th Edition D&D has a skill problem. It lies in a feature called expertise, which allows you to add your proficiency bonus twice when using a skill. Let's see what problems this causes and I'll give you a simple hack to fix them!

Sandshifter (Sorcerer)

Elemental sorcerers seem such a natural fit. But for some reason, elemental always means fire. In order to break that trope, here's a sorcerer that draws their power from the Elemental Plane of Earth! Let's dig in...

Starting Gold Dice

Recalculating starting gold dice based on the standard equipment options for each class.

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.

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.

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 →