DnDNext (5E) is something I find difficult to write about at the moment. When I read people talking about it I often get the feeling that they are treating this first stage of the public play test as a finished product and that they are wilfully ignoring anything that WotC says that indicates this is …
Category Archive: D&D Next
The Thieves Toolkit
In light of the D&D Next playtest thief/rogue being the only class capable of lockpicking, I thought it prudent to repost this look at lockpicks and the contents of a thieves toolkit. Thieves: “Can’t you guys keep them occupied in silence for 30 seconds, while I get this blasted door open?” In some ways, the …
Monster Block
When the Planescape Monster Manual supplement for 2E came out one of my favorite pictures was the Cat Lord. So for this discussion the Cat Lord is going to be my example. (It’s funny that I’ve looked at it for years and never noticed the shadow…) Planescape is an interesting setting; it and Dark Sun …
Trouble Choosing a Game
I’ve been thinking a lot recently about system complexity and player agency during a game as I have struggled to find a game I think both my daughters and I can enjoy fully as a game as well as an experience together. Player Agency When people talk about pre-4E fighters one of the things that …
Art: Epic Inspiration
Continuing with my discussion of art in DnD, this week I am taking a look at art for monsters and not just any old enemies but rather the sorts of epic threats that have been handled so poorly by DnD in the past (4E included). Epic Threats Epic threats need to be just that, epic. …
Tension To Die For
As you likely know Mike Mearl’s brought up the dreaded save or die mechanic on the Legends & Lore column this week. This article gives the thoughts of @paulbaalham and @obsidiancrane about this matter. Save or have no fun? The classic argument against save or die is that save or die effects are not fun. …
Art: Environment
Last week when I posted about art that I liked Rich Green asked about landscapes and it is a fair question that deserves a longer response. In visual media such as computer games and movies the environment is a critical element. For fantasy computer games and movies the environment needs to be designed from the …
More on Art
I recently ventured into the DnDNext area of the WotC community and there found a thread advocating essentially for more art by Wayne A Reynolds. Now I’m not an artist, but the truth is I don’t particularly like Mr Reynolds’ art style, the “dungeon punk” thing just doesn’t float my boat, and then there are …
Ability Scores & Setting
Ability Scores and Crunch Ability scores are a rather arbitrary way of establishing a range of bonus and penalty around a median set of values. Essentially they are a way of using 3d6 to establish a bell curve of ability from a certain negative value to a corresponding positive value. That derived value has been …
Race & Culture in Dungeons & Dragons 5e/Next
A few days ago, Monte Cook posted two short paragraphs and a poll to his page on the Wizards of the Coast community. Those few words stirred up a lot of conversation about race in Dungeons & Dragons in the comments and on Twitter over the weekend. For me (Draco), it brings up a long …