I haven't played Dungeons and Dragons in 28 years. Recently, I've been invited to play again. I have thoughts about the handbook. What's it like reading the Dungeons and Dragons player's handbook? Some sections are written like an instruction manual written by engineers who assume the reader has a certain level of background knowledge. It's difficult to read. From the perspective of a community college English instructor who taught students to write research papers, this the same problem as reading texts that are unfamiliar and written in a style that is specific to an academic discipline or industry that outsiders find difficult to comprehend. Students often struggle with reading journal articles and give up reading. They misunderstand the content, misrepresent the authors' ideas, and use information incorrectly or out of context. I wonder if this is the same for players and Dungeon Masters.
In the way the D&D handbooks are written, sometimes the rules and spells don't make sense to me. I think this is because the game is decades old and the manuals have been revised so many times by different people that they have lost perspective on making the rules clear to outsiders and newbies. Is it intentional? I don't know. (I suspect that might be a form of gatekeeping.) I do understand that some rules and spells are written vaguely so Dungeon Masters can apply their own interpretation during gameplay. This allows the game to be modified to the group's needs and preferences.
In my opinion, unclear rules are the result of word economy and trying write as concisely as possible. Book publishing is expensive for the parent company (Wizards of the Coast) and the cost of books for the gamers. If books are pricey, people won't buy them. However, in trying to reduce costs by using fewer words, context is lost in the effort to avoid wordiness. The player's handbook is free on the D&D Beyond website, along with information from other manuals. The handbooks could be improved by adding context and clear explanations. They need to use more words for us dummies.
When I get confused reading the D&D rules multiple times, I feel that old math anxiety take control of my brain. I can't think clearly and get frustrated. I feel stupid. It's like my brain is Teflon coated, and the words slide off. Then my brain shuts down. It feels like there's a wet towel or heavy blanket over my head. (Actually, that's a physical sensation of anxiety and depression.)
Thank goodness for the internet. I can research the rules. This information wasn't readily available online 30 years ago when I started gaming in college. Today, the message boards on D&D Beyond and fan-run webpages often are no better than the handbook. People write responses and regurgitate the rules in the exact same wording for confused gamers who ask questions.
However, some websites write articles explaining the rules more clearly, giving definitions and context, and providing examples of using the rules during gameplay. YouTube has many D&D video creators who explain the rules and demonstrate gameplay. I'm grateful to those writers and video creators who understand what their audience needs. Sometimes I save reader friendly versions of webpages as PDFs. Later I print them out and take notes in my own words. (Yes. I still print articles. My brain processes text better in print rather than electronic text.) Those are my thoughts about the D&D handbook.
Presenting my most ambitious completion so far – a new playable mechanic to add an extra dimension of fun to your games!
tl;dr
It's a lot like materia from Final Fantasy 7.
How It Works
You can get special weapons and armor that have slots carved in them wherein you can place magic stones called "Weave ore." Equipping ore to your items allows you to cast spells and enhances your abilities.
What is Weave ore?
You'll learn more about it when I publish my campaign (teaser!) but basically, some really smart wizards have figured out how to manifest solid chunks of the Weave. Each one is created with a specific purpose, from powering artifices to enhancing combat performance. This doc focuses on the combat ore.
How do you use it?
Step 1: get your hands on an item (i.e. a weapon or armor) with "ore slots." Step 2: Find some ore. Step 3: Strategize about the best way to equip the ore you have to your slotted item. Step 4: Spend a short rest equipping ore and attuning to your slotted item. Step 5: Smash badguys.
What's Inside
Lots! Expanded philosophy on the physics of the Weave, a detailed description of what ore is and how to use it, some important notes on slot configurations, advice on optimzing the way you equip ore to your items, oh! and 61 ore descriptions (read: "custom spells").
Been working on a system for conduction research and development in Dungeons & Dragons 5e. I like playing wizards and arcane engineers, and I’ve always wanted rules where performing research and building things feels like you’re actually doing something instead of just rolling on a single table or getting a set result after a certain amount of downtime.
Hopefully these rules will allow other players of other classes to get in on the action so it’s not just the wizard or artificer doing all of the bookworm stuff. What better way to get the other players involved by letting the ranger perform the Nature roll when dissecting a monster, the dwarf use his smith’s tools proficiency to examine a golem, the cleric to consult their holy texts and doctrines for anything they can learn about a plague of fiends and how they can combat them, or the rogue to point out the poisonous qualities of this new plant the party just found?
Here are some rules I’ve hashed out thus far, feedback and questions on my rationale are welcomed:
Research points are gained from observations in the field and dedicated research in the lab
Having the right facilities boosts the amount of research gained
Making observations requires Wisdom and Intelligence skill checks to yield research points, DC is equal to 10+CR of monster or the DC of the ability being observed.
Specific books, possibly found as treasure and quest rewards, can add bonuses to research and when using the library
Each attempt at observation and research yields a number of d10s, with each die representing a gain of research points equal to 1-10% of the XP value of the monster or group of monsters
New monster discovered: 2d10 or just a flat 10 RP
Observed behavior: 1d10 for peaceful behavior, 1d10 for combat behavior
Observed special ability: 1d10 for each ability displayed, limit to once per encounter per ability
Observed lair or habitat: 1d10 per inhabited location per week
Observed spoor: 1d4
Examination of corpse: 2d10 for a mostly intact corpse, 1d10 for a damage corpse, 1d4 for just chunky salsa or dust
RP gains doubled when conducted in a lab (thus, live specimens are the gift that keeps on giving)
RP gained from researching nonmonster items (minerals, magic items, ruins, etc) might be based on rough gp value or the XP value of the monster(s) guarding it
Conducting observations in the field require a field research kit, which costs 30 gp and weighs 6 lbs. Each observation or research attempt costs 25 gp in consumable supplies such as ink, paper, sample vials, gyrolocks, and replacement parts for delicate instruments. Kits can hold enough supplies for 10 uses before they must be refilled. Conducting research in a lab costs 50 gp per week of research, but you get several bonuses.
Lab research takes 1 week
Lab facilities require at least 1 charge per week. No skilled hirelings are required if a PC is conducting the research, but skilled hirelings can automate the process.
Mobile field labs allow for research in laboratory conditions on phenomena that can’t be easily moved. Costs 1,000 gp and takes up 1 ton of cargo space.
Designing a new item requires RP equal to the market price of the time in gp as well as an amount of gp in materials (probably a bit more than it would take to craft it as this is a prototype). Making a new spell is like designing a scroll of that spell.
Successful research and item/spell development yield XP for the party, maybe equal to the amount of RP or gp spent (one or the other per operation, not both)
I personally think it’s a little odd, there’s no game balancing or realism purposes a weapon like a halberd would have disadvantage on a prone opponent from 10 ft, and it only makes reach weapons less appealing.
