Revising Lockpicking in D&D?

Revised lock-picking rules for D&D 5e. In an earlier post, I lamented how trivial picking a lock felt in a session. I've explored alternatives and rules; time to come up with a proposal. So here you are.

What’s the chance of success?

A large number of dice on an opened copy of the Players Handbook

Have you ever wondered just how quickly the chances of success add up if you can make a check repeatedly without consequence? This post looks at d20 checks, including with advantage or disadvantage, and how this changes if there is a chance of instant failure.

How long does it take to pick a lock?

How long does it take to pick a lock in #DnD? A review of the various editions, plus real life.

A Contract with a Devil

How do you persuade your players to enter a contract with a devil for their characters? How can a page of legalese make for a fun session? Here's how I managed, with inspiration from Devil's Advocate

Message – RPGaDAY 2025 Day 4 – update

In RPGaDay 2025 Day 4, I responded to "Message" by talking about how difficult it is to communicate long-distance without telephones. This is an update after a reader reminded me of sempahore and other signals at a distance.

Message – RPGaDAY 2025 Day 4

RPGaDAY 2025 day 4 has the prompt “message”. It’s easy to forget in these days of email, text, instant message, and social media, just how much effort it was to send a message in the mediaeval days which are the pattern for classic fantasy. So how can your characters and the people in their world send messages?

Tavern – RPGaDAY 2025 Day 3

#RPGaDAY2025 Day 3 - Tavern Starting an adventure in a tavern with a hooded stranger? How cliched! But that's not necessarily a bad thing. And don't forget how much your tavern can communicate.

Prompt – RPGaDAY 2025 Day 2

RPGaDAY2025 Day 2 has the prompt "prompt". I look at promtness in combat, and prompts to aid the players and GM in ensuring that responses are indeed prompt.

Patron – RPGaDAY2025 Day 1

RPGaDAY Day 1: Patron What is a patron? What is the relevance to a role-playing game? Meet my campaign patron, Omar.

RPGaDay 2025 launches tomorrow

RPGaDAY 2025 launches tomorrow, 1st August, and runs all month. Join in and follow along with the hashtag #RPGaDAY2025. Here are the prompts provided by @autokratik and @runeslinger