If you support #OpenDnD so that third party publishers have a right to flourish with the OGL and create D&D products, and are choosing to boycott sales on @dms_guild to do that, you need to touch some grass.
Here's some things you should know.
First, a few facts:
1. DMsGuild is not owned or run by Hasbro
2. Wizards of the Coast gets 20% of the revenue off each sale at DMsGuild (not 50%)
3. OneBookShelf gets 30% of the revenue off each sale
4. The DMsGuild CCA locks your content there, you can't move content off it
Jul 29, 2022 • 34 tweets • 7 min read
We can argue back and forth all we want about whether CR in #dnd5e works but in the end it comes down to this:
Players and Monsters are asymmetrical
As such, there will never be a perfect metric of Encounter Balance. It'll always be horseshoes and hand grenades
So what to do?
As designers (of player options, monsters, adventures, etc.) we have a skeleton key:
Playtesting
Nothing will tell a better story than actually using the content as many times as possible and aggregating the results, turning dials, testing the results, and concluding.
Jul 28, 2022 • 5 tweets • 2 min read
While we're on the topic of #necrobiotics (if you haven't seen the spider tweet, go check it out)
Not only did we cover this for #dnd in Playing Dead with the Corpsecrafting invocations for the Warlock, I adapted an FR-specific Artificer called the Chardalynist for Necrobiotics!
The Reanimator reanimates dead creatures, turning them into a fully realized controllable pet for the Artificer!
By overriding the damage dealt on the statblocks with a standardized progression, using Arti-based HP/AC, and dropping Multiattack, any statblock works for PC use!
With the partnership between Roll20 and OneBookShelf and generalized shift towards VTT/online play focus in TTRPGs, how should small publishers approach it?
WotC currently subscribes to the "buy it thrice" model between Physical, Beyond, & VTT
🧵
From what I've gathered from speaking to customers and getting their general impressions of the R20/OBS partnership is that they expect they will buy a product once to get a PDF and—if available—integrated Roll20 Assets.
Should we, smaller publishers, be providing that?
Feb 6, 2022 • 4 tweets • 1 min read
I said to look for the QRT and here it is.
5e assumes no magic items. Some ability to overcome resistances as you go up in tier of play factors into CR, but it's *never* ignored.
When DM's say they can't challenge their players, does every martial have a magic weapon?
Because this is a significant factor in Creature CR. A Stone Golem drops from CR 10 (ish, see QRT'd thread) to around CR 8 when immunities are a non-factor.
This is especially problematic in AL, where players are flooded with magic items and the ability to curate what they have
Feb 6, 2022 • 21 tweets • 5 min read
I've been seeing this come across my timeline over and over the last few days with praises sung and while I agree so wholeheartedly with the message:
the DMG's monster creation instructions aren't nearly as bad as people think
They also aren't that far off from what WotC does.
The major fallacy in this article is the image of the Monster Statistics by Challenge Rating table.
That table exists for quick stats and falls under the "Creating Quick Monster Stats" header. It's used to ad hoc creatures at the table. (more on this later, stay with me)
Jun 30, 2020 • 22 tweets • 4 min read
This follow up is insulting, and lack lustre.
DISCLAIMER: I will be using "we" to refer to those like me, and "you" to refer to DMsGuild/OBS/WotC as an organization, not whichever individual reads this.
