We ran a fairly simple playtest yesterday, with some of the Appendix D classes so that we can try to iron out any kinks before the release of Red Book. The 1st-level party consisted of a barbarian, a cleric with the Fire and Forge Domains, an infernal pact warlock, and a Serpent Style monk. Only starting […]
Over five years ago I wrote a blog post, where I criticized how classes are designed in Dungeons & Dragons. It was mostly directed at 5th Edition, back when it was called Next, but I also included barbarians from some other editions just to compare them. Quick summary: the issues were that you don’t get […]
One of my criticisms about Next is the lack of being able to make meaningful decisions both when building a character and during level up, as most levels of most classes have predetermined class features. Sure at 2nd- or 3rd-level you get to pick a kind of theme (which you may not agree with), but this one choice predetermines everything else you get […]
The newly focused Legends & Lore debut topics include Weather & Warriors, with a few paragraphs at the end about rules complexity and future packet updates. If and how I use the weather can vary quite a bit from adventure to adventure. Usually it functions as window dressing, but sometimes I throw in rain or snow to […]
It looks like Legends & Lore is switching focus from the overall bigger picture to a weekly progress update, so we will see what that entails next week. Hopefully this includes flavor and crunch previews. While we did not get the exploration rules in the latest packet–which, I was not aware we were supposed to get–Mearls […]
Clarifications are all well and good, changes to spell durations perhaps less so, and conversion notes for a D&D Encounters adventure are nice if you happen to have it (though personally I feel that I put way more effort into my adventure conversion), but really the big thing about this playtest packet is the barbarian class. A reliance on […]
This is based on the 4th Edition barbarian in that it channels spirits, but because I do not like per-day resource management figured I would try something that I think makes a bit more sense; when you hit a barbarian, they get angrier and can hit you back a lot harder (which hopefully balances out […]
Blackdirge did a fine job in the past writing the only Chaos Scar adventures that I give two shits about, so I’m eager to see how he handles mechanics. The Ruthless Reach Barbarian presents an array of evocations that only work with reach weaponry (because, you know, they all have a Requirement line demanding as […]
A simple-but-effective human barbarian to compliment Greywulf’s character concept render. ====== Created Using Wizards of the Coast D&D Character Builder ======Human Barbarian, level 1Human, BarbarianFeral Might: Rageblood VigorBackground: Geography – Mountains (+2 to Athletics) FINAL ABILITY SCORESStr 18, Con 15, Dex 14, Int 8, Wis 10, Cha 11. STARTING ABILITY SCORESStr 16, Con 15, Dex […]
Jaroo belongs to the Ghost-Stalker clan, which relies on their limited invisibility to hunt and kill. Since gnomes get a Charisma bonus, I decided to go with the thaneblood class feature with the intention to later multiclass into shaman, bard, or perhaps sorcerer (to bank on the magical aptitude that the race possesses). To this […]
Points of Light 