Author Archives: MssngrDeath

Alternate Hit Point Systems (or, Various Ways to Make Crits Stop Being Fun)

There’s a quiet assumption in 3rd Edition and its related systems that hit potions don’t actually keep track of damage. Getting cut by a sword is normally quite severe if not fatal, and gunshots and firealls aren’t any better. Rather, … Continue reading

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On the Premium Spell Compendium

I know it’s not really in keeping with the theme of the blog, but I have to point out how ridiculous that Wizards is putting previews of the Spell Compendium reprint on its website. When I visit the Wizards website, … Continue reading

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On the Speed of Experience

The more I read about 5th Edition, the less I like it. Luckily, the players who comment on official Wizards articles feel the opposite way, so at least we balance out. This time the issue is with the advancement discussed … Continue reading

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Underpowered: Samurai (3.5E)

The samurai has been ranked by very smart people as perhaps the least-powerful PC class in D&D 3.5. Apparently it’s on par with the expert, the adept, and other NPC classes. I think it’s common knowledge that non-spellcasting classes are … Continue reading

Posted in Gaming Systems, Underpowered | Tagged | 7 Comments

Players Making Failure Interesting

So we had a TPK on Saturday. The party came across the guardian to a gate we had to open. In the first round, the fighter won initiative, charged, and did 75 points of damage in one hit, dropping the … Continue reading

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On The Dungeon Master Experience

Chris Perkin’s penultimate article came down last week, which bothers me. As soon as I find an article on Wizard’s site that’s worth reading, it goes away. It’s like Leverage all over again. I was going to link to his … Continue reading

Posted in Commentary, DMing | 3 Comments

Arbitrary Attack Bonuses in 4E

Somebody asked about the correct values for the arbitrary attack bonus that accompanies racial attack powers, item powers, and so forth. I put this together to see exactly how they stack up: This chart assumes the following: A character gets … Continue reading

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Underpowered: Duergar (4E)

Generally I’m not the kind of person who ranks things by power level. I tend to leave that to the experts. But I do talk with people and I see a lot of gameplay. One of the big benefits of … Continue reading

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On the Story of 5th Edition

Two articles appeared on Wizard’s website this week, both part of ongoing series: This week’s Legends & Lore by Mike Mearls, and this week’s The Dungeon Master Experience by Chris Perkins. They offer very different sides of D&D, as Mearls … Continue reading

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Pre-Campaign Survey

I mentioned a campaign survey once that I used for my campaigns, but I never actually published it. You can find it here. The idea is that players fill out the survey by indicating where they want the campaign to … Continue reading

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