Blog Posts

State of the DND game: Gamehole Con

Nov 10, 2017 by [ "James R. Miller" ]
Categories:
rpgs Tags: 5e chris-lindsay chris-perkins dnd gamehole-con mike-mearls

Nerds on Earth recorded the Gamehole Con 2017 panel featuring Mike Mearls, Chris Perkins, and Chris Lindsay, discussing the State of the Game. Click the above link to download the mp3 recording of the panel. It’s a little over 40MB. They talk about psionics a bunch and frankly, I’m not that well versed in the history of psionics in the editions, so I’m not going to write too much about it below.

Is Tim Beck actually at fault?

Nov 09, 2017 by [ "James R. Miller" ]
Categories:
football Tags: football longhorns

I found a link to some Tim Beck quotes in a Burnt Orange Nation comment thread1 that are worth reading. Here’s the doozy Tim Beck quote: “We were able to do the things we needed to do, but there was a lot that we had to do, you know?” Beck said. “There was just a lot of offense. It was hard. And there were a lot of reasons for it — could be recruiting, could be weather.

State of Longhorn Football: November 9, 2017

Nov 09, 2017 by [ "James R. Miller" ]
Categories:
football Tags: football longhorns

HornMafia at Barking Carnival pretty much laid out my thoughts on the state of Longhorn Football in a recent post. <!–more–> Here’s what stood out to me: <p id=“JbYL4u”> I have seen this season before. It was 2014 when Texas had a new coach, a supposed new culture, a stout defense and an offense that couldn’t move the ball enough to win many games, but the excuse was a poor offensive line and injuries at quarterback.

Concentration in 5E

Jan 01, 2017 by [ "James R. Miller" ]
Categories:
rpgs Tags: dnd 5e rules concentration

I’ve received several questions from my players about the concentration mechanic in 5E. It’s not so hard to understand. Read on for a quick explanation. Where are the rules? Pages 203–204 in the Player’s Handbook (“PHB”) Pages 79–80 in the Basic Rules version 0.3.4 Printer Friendly PDF (“BR”) found here Various spells that require concentration will have a “Concentration” indication in the spell’s Duration, frequently with the length of time The rules look identical to me between the PHB and the BR.

Update on the Blog

Feb 07, 2016 by [ "James R. Miller" ]
Categories:
announcements Tags:

Sorry I haven’t posted in awhile. I had some technical difficulties, and I spent most of my RPG writing time working on the SRD document that will be released shortly at our site.

Frostbite: 5E Cantrips

Jan 21, 2016 by [ "James R. Miller" ]
Categories:
rpgs Tags: dnd 5e cantrips spells

Frostbite is one of the cantrips in the Elemental Evil adventure path of 5E. Basically, it’s a save-or-take-damage spell with no attack roll. Read on for more. Source Page 18 Elemental Evil Players Companion Page 236 Princes of the Apocalypse Classes Druid Sorcerer Warlock Wizard Thoughts This cantrip is a save-or-take-damage spell with no attack roll. It further imposes a moderate control ability in that a failed save also causes the target to have disadvantage on the next weapon attack roll it makes.

Friends: 5E Cantrips

Jan 20, 2016 by [ "James R. Miller" ]
Categories:
rpgs Tags: dnd 5e cantrips spells

Friends is a fun little utility cantrip but it has limited uses based on a key drawback. Read on for more. Source Page 244 Player’s Handbook Classes Bard Sorcerer Warlock Wizard Thoughts Friends is an interesting little utility cantrip. In short, it allows you to concentrate for a minute to get advantage on all CHA checks directed at one creature of your choice that isn’t currently hostile to you. However, after the spell ends, the creature knows you were messing with it.

Firebolt: 5E Cantrips

Jan 19, 2016 by [ "James R. Miller" ]
Categories:
rpgs Tags: dnd 5e cantrips spells

Fire bolt is my go-to Wizard cantrip. Read on for why. Source Page 242 Player’s Handbook Page 90 Basic Rules v3.4 Classes that may use it Sorcerer Wizard Why is it good? It’s good because its base damage is 1d10 instead of 1d8 like Ray of Frost and the other damage cantrips that are 1d8 + something. Fire Bolt is 1d10 + nothing other than things might catch on fire. Many times, that extra 2 points of possible damage outweighs the extra effect tacked onto such spells like Ray of Frost.

Free Actions in 5E

Jan 18, 2016 by [ "James R. Miller" ]
Categories:
rpgs Tags: dnd 5e free-actions

Every DM has encountered this in a DND-inspired game: “I store my longbow and then draw my sword to attack in the same turn!” Can your players do that? Read on. Rules Source Page 190 Player’s Handbook under the ‘Other Activity on Your Turn’ heading Page 165 Player’s Handbook (implied rules due to dual wielder feat stating you need the feat to interact with the second weapon in a single round)

Mike Mearls AMA on Reddit

Jan 17, 2016 by [ "James R. Miller" ]
Categories:
rpgs Tags: dnd 5e mike-mearls

Please check out this link for an AMA on Reddit with Mike Mearls.

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