Author Archives: Law

On Inspiration

Left Oblique and I go back and forth a lot on what systems, players, DMs, and gaming in general are and should be. A lot of it comes down to simulationism versus narrativism, but it’s not always that clear-cut. One … Continue reading

Posted in Commentary, DMing | 3 Comments

Making Death Interesting

I’ve died six times. Given the amount of time I’ve been playing D&D, it’s a little surprising that I’ve only died six times. One was from a TPK during the first session of a campaign, and I decided that maybe … Continue reading

Posted in DMing, House Rules | Tagged , , , , | 6 Comments

Ultimate Campaign

Ultimate Campaign is a curious book. It almost doesn’t feel like a book at all, but rather a bunch of small books all put together with the only unifying theme being “these things are kind of neat, but fully optional”. … Continue reading

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On the Magic Item Compendium

Oh Lordy they’re doing it again.

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On Legendary Monsters

Vagrant Story is a video game from a million years ago, back when Square Enix was just Square. It details the adventures of a young man with ridiculous hair and 76% of a pair of pants as he explores the … Continue reading

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Underpowered: Healer

It’s been said that the most important resource in D&D is actions. This is mostly, but not entirely, true, and not just because this belief happened to pop up around the same time the 3.5E warlock was published and it … Continue reading

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On Downtime

It’s not often that I have the opportunity to defend something in 5E, but the downtime system merits special attention. It’s the first mechanic I’ve seen where the startlingly supportive comments are approaching or beyond 50% dissent. This surprises me. … Continue reading

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Campaign Writeup: The Eight Arms and the Empire of Sin

The Eight Arms and the Empire of Sin is the fourth campaign to end in the Eight Arms universe. After their escapades in dwarven lands left the Eight Arms persona non grata, the crafting team is sent to the Wild … Continue reading

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Published Adventures

My opinion on published campaign settings is documented and correct (because it’s my blog and I can say things like that). But published settings go hand-in-hand with something that I’ve never discussed: published adventures. Stargazer’s World talked about them recently, … Continue reading

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Designing Interesting Classes (or, Why Nobody Plays a Samurai)

As I look at races, classes, prestige classes, and other things (but mostly classes, since they’re the biggest deal) for Underpowered, I’ve found myself wondering more and more why I think these options need help. It’s true that I don’t … Continue reading

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