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Ideas for D&DNext

(I want to preface this post with a note. This is my (AlioTheFool) wishlist for D&D Next. This is by no means a list of demands, nor does it necessarily reflect the views or desires of anyone else here at RPGMusings.) I’m now looking forward to the next iteration of D&D. The idea that Wizards [...]

Homebrew: Dragon Spirit Pact Hexblade

Dragon Spirit Pact is a reflavoring of the Infernal Pact for the Hexblade Warlock. This generally involves changing the power names and flavor text, but I made some slight mechanical changes to try and fit the flavor better. Since I’m attempting to emulate a metallic Spirit Wyrm (see below the cut), I generally changed powers [...]

Dazed and Confused

It has been a while since I’ve been able to play any D&D, but that hasn’t stopped me from thinking about it every day. Something that I’ve made a stink about in the past and which still tweaks my nerves is the subject of the conditions labeled “Dazed” and “Stunned.” I think I may have [...]

A Different Sort of Background Bonus

The background bonuses introduced in the PHB2 are one of the best things about what is arguably one of the best D&D4e books. I have always endorsed the idea that players should get some kind of reward, even if only a small one for having a character background. Even if a player doesn’t expand or [...]

Opportunity Actions: Put Down The Dice!

This past weekend, I ran Encounters at PAX East. I had the time of my life. It felt like DM Boot Camp, and, in a lot of ways, it truly was. I ran one group after another, watching different players create different group dynamics, frequently with the same group of characters. Seeing these different interpretations [...]

Digging into Dragon Age RPG

If you hadn’t heard about the Dragon Age RPG before, the last few weeks on Twitter probably made you aware of it. Many players and DMs, wanting a switch from D&D4e on either a permanent or  short term basis, have been giving it a try. And chances are that if you’ve been seeing the conversations [...]

Speeding up D&D 4E

Much digital ink has been spilled on the topic of speeding up combat in Dungeons & Dragons 4th Edition. I think at this point we can all at least agree that combat can grow a bit sluggish at times. The interesting thing is, and it’s something that some people have touched upon at various points in the 4E lifecycle already, that there seems to be a paradigm shift away from the simple “4E is slow because of combat”, and I think that’s a very good thing.

The “new” (and it’s not new, just only discussed by a select few in the past) idea is that the problem lies more in adventure design than combat sluggishness. @glimmthegnome on Twitter planted the seed of this idea for me a couple of weeks ago, @gamefiend pushed it along, and @neogrognard put it into words in his Save My Game column on the Wizards website last week.