Posts

Where she reinvents the wheel, yet again.

Beyond Hit Point Attrition: Reimagining D&D Combat D&D life (for me) began in 5e where the combat system devolved into a monotonous exchange of hit point attrition after a few levels. This repetitive cycle of attack and damage rolls lead to a lack of engagement and strategic depth. So the question is can 24-year-old me do better than 14-year-old me? (Nobody I know is allowed to answer that question) The Problem with Hit Point Attrition Hit point (HP) attrition is simple, but suffers from several drawbacks. It reduces combat to the side with the highest HP pool and damage output will prevail. This can lead to predictable outcomes and a lack of player agency, as characters are forced to rely on brute force rather than clever tactics or creative solutions. Moreover, HP attrition fails to capture the nuances of combat, where a single well-placed blow can have a far greater impact than a series of minor scratches. NB I has not been in combat excluding cats so this last point is assu...

The Ranger: Overrated and Underpowered - A Rant by a Bard

I love the idea of a stealthy wilderness scout-warrior so I have tried to play a Ranger for over a year. Unfortunately for me, the D&D ranger is the red-headed stepchild of the adventuring world, and I'm tired of pretending otherwise. After a year trying to play a ranger, I can confidently/ angrily say that the class is fundamentally flawed and overshadowed in almost every aspect by the rogue. The ranger's supposed strengths lie in its connection to nature, tracking abilities, and combat prowess. However, these features often fall flat in practice. The ranger's knowledge of the natural world rarely translates into meaningful advantages at my table, and their tracking skills are often situational at best. As for combat, the ranger simply cannot match the damage output or versatility of the other martial classes. In contrast, and much to my annoyance, the rogue excels in nearly every area where the ranger falters. Rogues are masters of stealth, deception, and cunning. The...