My biggest gripe about 5E #DnD is that it often models specialization by trivializing the associated actions.

If you're interested in X, you design a character who's good at X. But the result isn't doing more X. It's that X becomes automatic and is no longer part of the game.
Take #TombOfAnnihilation, for example. A big chunk of the campaign is mounting a wilderness expedition into the heart of darkness!

If that's exciting for you, you'll pick a character class that can really contribute to that part of the campaign! Rangers and druids, for example.
ToA models the challenges of the expedition through travel speed, a Navigation check, and Dehydration.

A Ranger's Natural Explorer ability eliminates travel speed variation and auto-succeeds on the Navigation check.

The Druid has a 1st level spell to create water.
So if you make characters specialized in wilderness exploration, you take the entire structure presented FOR wilderness exploration and basically just throw it out.
It's as if the Fighter had an Auto-Win Fights ability at 1st level: You choose to be a Fighter because you're really interested in the combat portion of the game, but the mechanics instead just remove combat from the game.
5E does this a lot: It includes mechanics for a specific type of challenge (often in a vestigial form inherited from previous editions), but then simultaneously includes a low-level class ability, cantrip, or 1st level spell that renders it moot.
So rather than creating cool new gameplay, the game just sets up these boring, auto-play interactions.

GM: A thing happens.

Player: I hit the mechanical button that automatically solves it.

Why include these mechanics at all?

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More from @hexcrawl

19 Feb
There's definitely a place for "we're done with that now, here's a spell so you can stop thinking about it and focus on new stuff" abilities that create tiers of adventure.

But, of course, 5E isn't built for tiered adventures.
Let's start by looking at how this worked in previous editions.

thealexandrian.net/wordpress/7632…
The DMG talks about different "tiers" of adventure in which "their ability to change the world around them grows," but this is all window-dressing.

In terms of structure and mechanics, the tiers are basically defined entirely by which Monster Manual stat blocks you're fighting.
Read 11 tweets
16 Sep 20
Live-tweeting reactions to #IcewindDale: Rime of the Frostmaiden, but trying something different: I'll have one thread of stuff I didn't like (this one) and another thread of stuff I did (link below).
As with previous live-tweeting threads and Remixes, my emphasis here will not be "this bad, me hate"; expect critical thinking and in-depth discussions of scenario structures and best DM practices.
Read 37 tweets
16 Sep 20
Live-tweeting reactions to #IcewindDale: Rime of the Frostmaiden, but trying something different: I'll have one thread of stuff I liked (this one) and another thread of stuff I didn't (link below).
The Bad thread will inevitably be longer (because explaining a problem always takes more time than saying "this good, me like"), but I'm hoping this will do a better job of emphasizing all the cool stuff #IcewindDale has to offer.
Head over here for the critical stuff:

Read 19 tweets
19 Aug 20
Q: How do you run a reverse heist in an #RPG? Where the PCs are trying to guard a target against a crew of thieves or raiders? Image
First: Design the oppo. (The crew or shadowrunners or raiders or whatever.)
Second: Prep the stuff you'd prep for a normal heist. That includes blueprints & any defensive measures that exist before the PCs get involved.

thealexandrian.net/wordpress/4286…
Read 16 tweets
17 Aug 20
I hadn't, actually. Giving Xanathar's a proper cover-to-cover read is still buried on my To Do list.

But you've prompted me to do a very quick live-tweet response.
We're talking about traps in the context of this article for those coming here from a different angle.

thealexandrian.net/wordpress/4502…
This really emphasizes why I think 5E's passive Perception is dumb.

Step 1: Note passive Perception scores.
Step 2: Arbitrarily set a Perception DC.
Step 3: Compare your arbitrary Perception DC to the passive scores you already know.
Step 4: Why the fuck are you doing this? Image
Read 25 tweets
11 Jul 20
Nodes tend to be locations, characters, organizations, or events. I think of them as things that the PCs can go to and interact with.

(There are also proactive nodes which tend to do the opposite: They come to the PCs and interact with them.)
A revelation is any conclusion the PCs can make or need to make (supported by the Three Clue Rule).

A revelation CAN be a node (i.e., we need to go check out that location/character/organization/event), but it can also be stuff that isn't a node (i.e., the runes are Achaean).
In my more recent work I've started talking about clues & leads, where leads point you to places where you can continue investigating (i.e., new nodes) and clues point to other types of revelations (often the solution to the mystery, e.g. Bob's the killer).
Read 16 tweets

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