What sort of mechanical traits can a half-elf get if their elf half is Valenar?The Valenar are a culture as opposed to being biologically distinctive. So it would be story impact as opposed to mechanical. You might be able to convince a DM to let you take the Revenant Blade feat.
— Keith Baker (@HellcowKeith) August 1, 2018
Author: Zoltar
If aurochs is the singlular, what’s the plural?
@ChrisPerkinsDnD @DnDTweets If aurochs is the singlular, what's the plural? Aurochses?
— 🇨🇦 Rob Davis (@SwampRob) August 17, 2018
It’s a real (albeit extinct) animal. The plural is aurochs—same as the singular. #wotcstaff https://t.co/H3CnHWXtr9
— Christopher Perkins (@ChrisPerkinsDnD) August 17, 2018
What was the decision to not included an updated version of the Artificer and Mystic classes from UA in this book?
I don’t wanna be that guy but I’m generally curious about this:
What was the decision to not included an updated version of the Artificer and Mystic classes from UA in this book? I always remember Psionic and/or Artificers being a large part of Eberron so this was a big shock
The artificer will be added in time – this is why it lacks a POD version for now, so that we can update the digital file as feedback refines mechanics and we bring more classes on line
— Mike Mearls (@mikemearls) July 23, 2018
So artificer isn’t added yet? Not yet. Going through a round of edits before a Very Soon (not this month) UA.
— Mike Mearls (@mikemearls) July 23, 2018
Can Warforged druids take on beast form?
Can warforged druids take on beast form and if so is it warforged-lookingAs a Ravage fan *I* have always wanted warforged druids to become construct animals, but the official ruling is that they become flesh & blood animals. pic.twitter.com/G1RIOfwvp8
— Keith Baker (@HellcowKeith) July 27, 2018
“Met Morlian in the market today.”
1)
“Met Morlian in the market today. He’s CHANGED. Black robes, black eyeshadow, STARING eyes. He wouldn’t speak to me; just sneered and turned away. All grand flourishes and swirling robes.”
“Uh-huh.”#epic fantasy— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) July 7, 2018
2)
“And his belt was fairly BRISTLING with scepters made of glued-together bones, topped with squirrel skulls or some such.”
“Uh-huh.”
“Kalasper, how can you be so CALM? He was CREEPY; I’m worried!”#epic fantasy— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) July 7, 2018
3)
“Don’t be; there’s nothing you can do. He’s entering his dark lord phase. He’ll have a go at ruling—or remaking, or destroying—the world, with lots of cackling. Always a mistake, the cackling.”
“What?”#epic fantasy— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) July 7, 2018
4)
“Aye. It attracts the attention of adventurers. Some band of them will foil him and slay him messily, and that’ll be it. Unless he comes back as an undead mage and tries again, with better sound effects this time.”#epic fantasy— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) July 7, 2018
How much herb materials is needed to make a simple potion?
to, lets say, make a basic healing potion in the #forgottenrealms how much herb materials, lets say, in ounces or lbs. is needed to make a simple potion? have an idea if what is needed but you give solid information i can build from 😀 😛 i know different potions use different types of materials, but an estimate or something, it feels weird making something up 😛
— PastorGall (@PastorGall) August 8, 2018
i think i figured it out, looking at the Sages and Specialists Xanathar’s, 5e PHB, and 5e DMG books, ive discovered that the game does it backwards; pricing the potions first by rarity then a worked formula on crafting it using a type of reverse engineering 😛 thanks though heh The thing to remember is that some herbs you crush and powder, dry (mortar and pestle), so two big double handfuls of leaves goes down into shreds that don't even fill the palm of your hand, and other herbs you boil down (distill) to derive a tincture, and therefore you might…
— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) August 8, 2018
…need ten times as much, or even more, than the dry method. A FEW herbs are so puissant that trace amounts are all that's needed, but the majority, from green growing leaves, take a "goodly amount."
— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) August 8, 2018
How much data is lost/distorted in conversations? What spoken bandwidth can handle?
Can anyone recommend any books or articles that talk about the efficiency of spoken communication? Looking to deepen my understanding of how much data is lost/distorted in conversations, what spoken bandwidth can handle. Thanks!
— Mike Mearls (@mikemearls) August 3, 2018
My earlier tweet about language and spoken bandwidth is prompted by some thinking I have been doing about dungeon design. I'm using this image as an example. Let's assume the party is standing at point M with a torch. pic.twitter.com/85L1igYs3s
— Mike Mearls (@mikemearls) August 3, 2018
As a DM, you have to describe both the room and the hallways depicted. That includes the location of four doors and three corners. That's a fair amount of info to juggle. How much of that can the players actually process?
— Mike Mearls (@mikemearls) August 3, 2018
We don't often think about a dungeon as an information construct, but that's essentially what it is. A complex dungeon might be frustrating if only because it's a bear to process without drawing out the map as you go.
— Mike Mearls (@mikemearls) August 3, 2018
A simple, somewhat linear dungeon might deliver a smoother, faster experience, though clearly at the cost of player agency. OTOH, if you root agency in a more strategic level (which dungeon do you pick?) you can get around that.
— Mike Mearls (@mikemearls) August 3, 2018
Keep on the Borderlands does this well. The individual Caves of Chaos are kind of dull, but the point is not to make lots of small, interesting dungeons. The real payoff is the open-ended flexibility the adventure offers.
— Mike Mearls (@mikemearls) August 3, 2018
In general, my experience is that communication outside of combat is a bit easier to wrangle. The pace is more leisurely, and tension not as critical to build. However, I also find that outside of combat a detail lost on the players is lost for good, absent a DM reminder.
— Mike Mearls (@mikemearls) August 3, 2018
The approach I'm working on is to treat outside of combat actions as slower, leisurely combat. As a DM, I need to keep options top of mind. I'm leaning toward using more maps/props outside of fights, to help increase data bandwidth.
— Mike Mearls (@mikemearls) August 3, 2018
In 4e and 3e, we did poster maps of encounter areas. In 5e, we do posters of regions. They're aimed at the strategic, non-combat portion of play. This approach also flavored by rebuild of the Nentir Vale.
— Mike Mearls (@mikemearls) August 3, 2018
I want each region to be distinct, both in terms of geography and in narrative importance. Region X is home to villain Y and important to resolve threat Z. When the players are planning, they have a clear, distinct list of places to visit, and reasons to go to each.
— Mike Mearls (@mikemearls) August 3, 2018
Taking this back to the dungeon, consider thinking of a dungeon or similar space along the same lines. You need more flavor and markers to make choices distinct. Use sound and smell along with visuals to make each option different.
— Mike Mearls (@mikemearls) August 3, 2018
Keep information overload in mind. I suspect that more than three options makes things confusing, so consider keeping things simpler or use visual aids to manage non-combat action.
— Mike Mearls (@mikemearls) August 3, 2018
I'm interested in doing research on this – hence asking for sources – but I don't think it's a factor that tabletop designers have paid much mind to. Which is surprising, given how critical spoken communication is for TRPG play.
— Mike Mearls (@mikemearls) August 3, 2018
For myself, this leads to what be something of a funny reversal – minis and a grid for non-combat dungeon exploration, shifting to theater of the mind when a fight breaks out. It's not a place where I expected to end up, but I'm going to try it in my Friday campaign.
— Mike Mearls (@mikemearls) August 3, 2018
Call of Cthulhu has a long tradition of out of combat handouts, aids, etc. One of its many redeeming qualities!
— Mike Mearls (@mikemearls) August 3, 2018
PhD linguist here. Human languages optimize between efficiency and redundancy to avoid information loss. So language is about as efficient as humans can possibly handle while limiting loss or distortion. Could say more if I understood more what you wanted Specific thing – what's the rate of retention on information, and is their an ideal concept/minute spacing? I know of the idea that you can keep about 7 things in short term memory, wondering if their is more specific detail on ideal communication approaches for stickiness
— Mike Mearls (@mikemearls) August 3, 2018
Memory prof here, there are a few different things going on in your question. 1. How much stuff can we hold in our mind in the moment? 2. How much of that stuff do we hold onto over the long term (i.e.more than 2 min)? And 3. What makes some stuff better than other stuff? 1. The Magical Number 7, Plus or Minus 2 (actual name if the paper!) answers the first question. About 7 stuffs, but what you consider a stuff and what I consider a stuff is based on our experience. New terms will not be as easy as familiar terms. Context matters a lot.
— Dr. Althea Need Kaminske (@DrSilverFox) August 3, 2018
2. Spacing and repetition of concepts is key! Allowing some time to pass (~2 min) before repeating a concept makes us work just enough to remember it, that we remember it better in the future. 3. Stories and social motivation. We're bad with abstract ideas and lists. We're great with people and motivations. So 2 or 3 stuffs related to people and motivations might be better remembered than 1 stuff of list items. Not all stuffs are created equal.
— Dr. Althea Need Kaminske (@DrSilverFox) August 3, 2018
Awesome! Thanks!
— Mike Mearls (@mikemearls) August 3, 2018
Vaguely related, but is that a heroquest board? it's a piece pulled from the ancient Dungeon Geomorphs set
— Mike Mearls (@mikemearls) August 3, 2018
Can Warforged get exhaustion from other stuff like barbarian frenzy?
wayfinder’s guide states Warforged don’t get exhaustion from lack of rest. Does this refer to long travels or not “sleeping” enough? Can they get exhaustion from other stuff like barbarian frenzy? Warforged Resilience is intentionally specific: you don’t gain exhaustion *due to lack of rest*. You aren’t immune to exhaustion from other sources, including berserker rage. Warforged don’t need to rest unless they want the benefits of resting: healing, spell restoration, etc.
— Keith Baker (@HellcowKeith) August 13, 2018