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The problem with the lack of a supernatural power source for Rogues and Fighters, in my experience is that their abilities barring explicit text saying otherwise in the rules are limited by the DM to be what they imagine a normal human being could do in the real world. If there is a mechanic...

Healing Word also solves a big problem. Namely, the "heal bot". Having a way for a character healing to not spend their entire action doing nothing but recover another player's HP makes playing a healing character less toxic. So long as their non-spell actions are somewhat fun, they can help...

No, that is completely not how it works? You are describing a system that isn't 5e and then pretending that is how 5e works then objecting that it isn't your system. And a CR 7 monster may have a defensive CR of 1 through 13 - their HP could vary over more than a factor of 2. A monsters...

No, that is a bad idea. A level X PC is designed for a single human being to spend a large percentage of their attention managing and controlling. A level X monster should not be designed for this. Attempts to make PCs simple enough that a DM would want to control 5 of them make PCs too...

I mean, I don't care? My goal is to make a monster such that 4 of them are a reasonable challenge for 4 level 1 PCs. They don't have to look like level 1 PCs particularly. The challenge at level 1 can even be easier than at later levels, so long as the difference isn't crazy. The HP of a...

So, a non-magical martial in 5e who can 1. Move so fast they teleport up to 500' as a bonus action 2. Can hit the ground producing a 50' area of effect. Creatures other than you in that area of effect take 10d8 damage and fall prone; they can make a strength saving throw to take half damage and...

So, calculate "monster threat volume". It is (damage done per round) times (damage it takes to defeat it). You can do it either ignoring accuracy/defence or factoring it in. In a 1:1 fight with only damage being done (no conditions), two monsters with the same threat volume do the same damage...

Are we assuming the universe has people who have properties like humans in real life? Batman being able to stab the feet of a speedster because "they must not be phased out". Speedsters, whose reaction time is such that they experience time 10000x slower than anyone else. Just, as it happens...

Reality is being warped for him. Constantly and continuously. Almost every action he does is not something a normal person could do without reality warping to make it possible. You can be fictional without that being the case. I mean, they could say "He isn't supernatural, he can just lift...

I mean, writing up a 4e style 5e monster building system isn't hard? Around level 1 it is tricky. But beyond that Defensive Level X base stats (X from 0 to 20) (X+1)*5 HP 12+X/3 AC Offensive Level X base stats (X from 0 to 20) (X+2)*3 damage if everything hits 14+X/2 attack attribute (14 to...

No? I mean plausible stories about skilled people are one thing. Someone who can beat superman tier foes because "prep" is supernatural. I mean, we could give martials that metacurrency to rewrite reality. Like, "make enemy monologue instead of axting" points. And "foe has weak spot right...

In terms of "a CR X monster is a reasonable fight for a level Y PC", it is closer to: CR 1/4: L1 CR 1/2: L2 CR 1: L3 CR 2: L4.5 CR 3: L6 CR 4: L8 CR 5: L11 CR 6: L13 CR 7: L15 CR 8: L17 CR 9: L19 4 CR1/4 monsters have a 400 XP budget. A party of 1 L 1 PCs has a deady budget of 400. 4 CR3...

I mean, Batman is supernatural. He bends reality all of the time to make his crazy plans work and survive. And he's supernaturally good at those. His detective skills are not just amazing, they are plot-backed. His piloting and driving skills are beyond what any mortal can do. Being a...

I mean, the homotopy group of D&D is Z+Z+ZxZ. No simply connected path can start and end in D&D and visit all of D&D. You need to go outside of D&D, or project it and form a cone, or something, if you want to visit it all in one path.

I think 50% and 10% are two good thresholds actually. Both are easy to calculate. A creature being at or under 10% is mostly a sign that they are on their last legs. Which matters dramatically and tactically; a foe at 10% you should probably just try to finish instead of trying to mitigate...

I've played with that idea. I named it "assumed competence". Namely, you are assumed to be competent at your attacks, so your modifier for your attacks doesn't depend on anything but your level. A few modifiers creep in to avoid having to do more work. And a power or two need tweaking. For...

If we want a simple spotted lion... We can return to Rend only. Pounce could be: "Move 20 feet in a strait line into an opponents space which is smaller than the Lion. That target must make a DC 17 strength save or fall prone. Then Rend." We can cut out Ferocious Bite and make Retributive...

I'd be tempted to make Rend be "2 Claw Attacks, and if both hit", and maybe reduce its range to 5' (as it is about "getting on top of the target"). That makes the grapple/restrain less likely, and ups the damage a bit. It is also a callback to previous versions of D&D where that was a common...

Gritty rests, and buff short rests a bit. You can bandage wounds (spend HD) over 10 minutes. A nights rest regains 1/2 of your HD amd a level of exhaustion. You can also burn HD to recover attribute damage etc. A long rest (a week in safety) regains spells and all HD. Maximize HP from HD...

I'd assume that making a teleportation circle consists of combining the sigils representing this location with the sigils representing the destination location in the locally drawn circle. The locally drawn circle, with its fixed sigils, becomes permanent if you cast teleportation circle...