Recent content by Willie the Duck

I'd like to re-request that the psionics discussion find a thread of its own. If we're at the point of arguing that some appendices but not others -- in a book printed decades before the <TTRPG-gaming-fandom-jargon meaning of the> word core was coined -- are or are not 'core,' we are far too...

Feats: If you want to not just be a smite machine and use your spell slots for actual spells (presumably more than a few with concentration) then warcaster and resilient:con are fine choices. Combat feats like Crusher/Slasher/Piercer, Elven Accuracy, Shield Master, or Polearm Master are good...

I suspect it makes it more clearly an example, rather than FR with D&D2014 seeming more like an implied default. For that purpose, I think it works really well. Many previous-edition-but-not-AD&D D&Ders have heard of Greyhawk, but quite possibly don't really know much about it (excepting maybe...

Welcome. It really depends on what you are trying to do with your sorcadin. Are they Vengeance is a perfectly good choice. Good channels and spells that generally work well without needing to tailor yourself or the group to a specific situation (misty step, in particular, is good all around for...

We've already been over how that isn't what happened:

Fundamentally (IMO), what you need to do is be able to challenge each character's ability to contribute, not be able to take them out*. So the question becomes 'what does the paladin actually do?' From what we've heard, it sounds like the answer is 'survive really well, and grapple fairly well.'...

That is a reasonable position to take, support, and argue for, but hardly a universally agreed-upon truism (and the 'objectively' adjective certainly is up for debate). I'm sure every course on analysis and critique has days dedicated to the subject alone (along with defined jargon and...

There is always that risk. Players* tend to want to turn any in-game resource into a component of the primary game loop of interest. However, almost as compelling a tendency as that seems to be a desire to find efficiencies. Making the GP <--> maGicP exchange rate inefficient somehow** is...

You can also just make exchange between the two inefficient. Players are a lot less likely to spend plot funds on character build funds activities if they only get 3:4 value for doing so.

So, once again, we have a tempest in a teapot. First and foremost, I just don't see this as some major event in the first place, regardless of the appropriateness of the action. This is a series of plastic trinkets that didn't exist* a few days ago and, barring us or someone we know actually...

I think it is worthwhile to remember that the heyday of composite bows* were a decidedly different gameplay loop. All warrior-types needed as much Str and as much Dex as they could get*, everyone made do with what they had**, and pretty much everyone used both bow and sword. Just adding...

Within the context of 5e, I would just make them have roughly the same stats as the existing bows, just with Str as the governing attribute. Str builds don't (necessarily) need to be better archers than Dex builds, they just need a ranged option that facilitates multiattack (without feats) and...

I agree with the statements of others similar to 'if a group can't handle a little break, it isn't that cohesive to begin with.' However, social momentum is a thing, and if you take more than a few weeks off, people do find other things to do (and might not come back). As a suggestion in that...

I think you could have avoided a lot of this by titling your thread "Would it be beneficial for D&D 'influencers' to actively acknowledge other games?" or "I wish D&D 'influencers' acknowledged other games more frequently." Framing the discussion in terms of need-tos/shoulds naturally leans the...

Mind you, the existence of the wargames (and Braunsteins, FKS, etc.) that inspired D&D in the first place suggests that people find tracking funds and properties and the like can be a form of entertainment. However, knowing that most D&D players (particularly after a certain point) weren't...