Author Archives: MssngrDeath

The Great Tower of Oldechi: Rody

By level 6 the players were starting to get into a groove, both in party style and in how they worked in the campaign. They’d paid their dues in the early levels, fought some goblins and hobgoblins and such, and … Continue reading

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The Great Tower of Oldechi: Alex

There’s a lot I’ve thought about saying about 5E, mostly about things I don’t want. Things like the focus on Faerun as the default setting. Or using published adventures as a major, if not primary, part of the release cycle. … Continue reading

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In Defense of the Indefensible

World Engineer has a post about the impending 5th Edition, and I find it hard to disagree with most of what he says. Fighting over editions is bad, there’s no need to convert people, and so on and so forth. … Continue reading

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Underpowered: Kenku

I’ve said before that the power level of racial powers can be ranked roughly like this: The dwarf Minor action encounter powers that attack enemies Immediate-speed powers Minor action encounter powers that affect enemies without an attack roll Minor action … Continue reading

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Puzzles (Part 3, The Handsome)

I used a lot of puzzles during the Great Tower of Oldechi. The tower was divided into seven sections, each with a different manager. Each manager built a section of floors on a certain theme, like the classical elements or … Continue reading

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I Further Podcast Magic Missile

I know I said my next post would be about reskinning puzzles, and it will be once I edit it. But a new set of Story Times with Blake and Highcove are out, this time discussing the blackjack and hookers* … Continue reading

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Puzzles (Part 2, The Good)

So rather than griping more about what puzzles don’t work in D&D, this time let’s go over making puzzles that do. Last time I outlined four points that I feel make puzzles worthwhile: Good puzzles challenge players, not characters. “Challenge … Continue reading

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Puzzles (Part 1, The Bad)

Puzzles have a long, fine tradition in tabletop gaming, right up there with arguing about grappling rules and casual racism. Whether in the form of a simple question or a campaign-spanning myth arc, puzzles have worked their way into the … Continue reading

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Law #5

It turns out that this is post #100. I didn’t realize this until I committed post #98, so I had to scramble a bit to not only come up with a topic worthy of a new significant digit but also … Continue reading

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Running What You Know (or, All That Data Entry Finally Pays off)

I’ve never been sailing. I’ve only been on a boat once, twice if you count those two-person ducky boats you can paddle around the harbor. I don’t know port from starboard, preferring to use the directions “that way” and “no, … Continue reading

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