Cultured Language – a New Perspective

Characters lay on the charm while bartering for magic items with a green hag

Languages never seem to play much of a part in my D&D games. It's much easier to assume everyone speaks Common and get on with it. But how do you represent how well a character knows an area? Or how different cultures interact? Based on a proposal by Dave Clark @bedirthan, maybe we could replace "language" with "culture".

Revising lock-picking – an update

I have spent most of the year working on a new set of lock-picking mechanics, and I presented it to my players. This is how they reacted, and a couple of tweaks we have made as a result.

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.

One D&D Playtest 3 – The Cleric, and updated Ardling, Dragonborn and Goliath

This is one of my posts on the evolution of D&D. See here for other related posts. This is my next post in the series looking at the 10th Anniversary next edition of D&D, which Wizards are playtesting bit by bit. As before, you can sign up to the playtest via D&D Beyond and download … Continue reading One D&D Playtest 3 – The Cleric, and updated Ardling, Dragonborn and Goliath →

Skills: passive, active and proficient

In previous posts, I have looked at A history of skills in BECMI, looked at the different 5e skills in detail, and explored what skills can (and equally importantly can’t) do. I've looked at complex tasks and negotiations which require more than one skill check. I keep thinking I've discussed different types of skill check, but while … Continue reading Skills: passive, active and proficient →

When one action isn’t enough (part 2) – Negotiations

In the previous few posts, I looked at the history of Skills in BECMI, looked at the different 5e skills in detail, and explored what skills can (and equally importantly can't) do. The last post introduced more complex scenarios where one action isn't enough to resolve the situation, and considered a complex task: crossing a … Continue reading When one action isn’t enough (part 2) – Negotiations →

When one action isn’t enough (part 1) – Complex Tasks

What do you do when your D&D party come across a situation which is too complex to handle with a single action? Photo by Laura Ockel on Unsplash In the previous few posts, I looked at the history of Skills in BECMI, looked at the different 5e skills in detail, and explored what skills can … Continue reading When one action isn’t enough (part 1) – Complex Tasks →

Skills aren’t magic

Adventurers about to descend into the well in The Yawning Portal

"I'm going to chat up the barmaid. I roll Persuasion - look, it's a natural 20. I get her to come outside with me, and then I kill her and I get a free attack because she's surprised because I rolled that natural 20."Summary of incident at early session run by my son Sound familiar? … Continue reading Skills aren’t magic →