I'm creating a new dwarf character for a future campaign and I want him to be old enough to have grown kids and young grandkids, but not too old. About human "retirement age". I've read dwarf are adults at 50 and old at 350. Would 180-190 be about older adult? Like 60 in human years? Or should I make him older?

Okay so I was thinking about a DND character that is good is an artificer/bard multi class but it would be better if it was using the class that I just started inventing

It's called rune caster and it works like the artificer class but instead of putting spells in an items it puts magic in a simbol and it is main intelligence and uses a 8d as it's health dice to roll for each level it gains and at level 2 it makes it so two the player can connect with a line two spells with a line. And this is called rune circuit but I am stuck at level three where I have already made a subclass where it can take the spells of casters, half casters, third casters, and druids if they are focusing the spell or ability near the player and he crates a circle with the spell inside of it and who Interacts with the circle in ways like hitting, stepping or hitting an object that was enchanted with the rune gats the effects like buffs and attacks but I can't find a name for it so could you help me find a name? And extra subclasses because this is all I have so far and I would like to have at least three subclasses

And no one of the subclasses can't be able to Interact with the circle at a distance because that will be a unlocked at like level 6 or something

Sort of a history of DND question I guess. I see folks talk about 5e, and I see folks talk about 3e and 3.5. Presumably there was a 4e, but like, I've never heard of anyone who plays it and it's basically never discussed. So what happened there?

Edit: holy crap, what have I woken up to?

Edit 2: ok the general sense I'm getting is that 1. 4e was VERY different feeling in a more video game/mmo esque style, 2. That maybe there's a case for it to be a fun game but maybe it's kind of a different thing than what folks think of as DND, 3. That it tried to fix caster-martial balance (how long has that been a problem for?) but perhaps didn't do a great job of that , 4. That wotc did some not so great stuff to the companies they worked with and there was behind the scenes issues, 5. The marketing alienated older fans.

It's also quite funny to me that the responses seem to be 50 percent saying why 4e was bad, 40 percent saying why it was actually good, and 10 percent memeing. 😂

Title says it all. How do you feel about the changes from 4th to 5th edition?

The 3.5 and 3rd edition players got their thread about it, we deserve one too, I think!

4e got a lot of hate when it launched, and even today people seem to either love it or hate it.

What are your thoughts on the changes?

Edit Will 4e players hate 5e as much as 3.5/3rd e players hated 4e?

Has anyone ever made a logo for the Nentir Vale/Nerath setting from 4e? It would be a neat graphic design exercise and help bring that unfairly maligned era and setting back into the stable of game worlds.

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To preface this: I'm a long time RPG player, with experience in several systems, including several dnd editions. I didn't think much of 4e until a group of friends suggested me to give it a shot (I played 2 sessions so far and loved both). And oh god it was the most awesome RPG experience I had to date, blowing 3.x and 5e out of the water. The clarity of rules, the simplicity of play, the fun abilities and class balance were all gorgeous. And there were none of the "it's a wargame, not an RPG" issues either - my first session began with 3 hours straight of roleplay and out of combat shenanigans before even reaching the first combat encounter.

So, I wish to ask, why is this gem of a system so unpopular and infamous?

I'm starting a D&D game soon. I want to impress my DM with some crazy combination of moves in combat. I'm playing a halfling rogue with the mystical trickster archetype. My character level is 5. What can I do to impress the master? The spells haven't been chosen yet. Feel free to suggest anything.

So often I see people casually throw D&D 4th edition under the bus. Just throwing disparaging remarks at the endotoxin casually for comedic effect.

Honestly, that’s totally fair, for those of us that experienced the 3.5-4 jump, 4th ed was such a massive departure it didn’t feel like D&D. But I do feel like I am in the minority of players who actually enjoyed their time with 4e, and grew to enjoy it for what it was. I think that constantly trashing on it means that new players join in on the hate without even trying it. I’m sure I’m not the only person who likes playing it, there’s still a community online at least.

So anyway, was 4th Edition that bad? If yes, why? If you enjoyed it, what is/was the appeal? Or maybe you overall didn’t like it, but can find some ideas in there that you liked.

Here are some of my thoughts:

1) WotC wasn’t trying to make it into an MMO it was definitely very “gamified” and people often accuse it of being MMO-like to capture the MMO crowd (which was huge at the time). While I agree 4th Ed is very structured and smooth like a video game, I actually think that this design choice was more closely linked to 3.5 than it initially seemed. Mid/Late 3.5 had classes that would end up functioning kinda like 4th edition.

2) it was balanced, and it was wonderfully strategic compared to any other era of the game, the in-game spread of power between classes was excellent. Every class having the same system for powers and ability’s meant they could be balanced against eachother. No longer did you have casters outpacing marital or solving whole scenarios with one poorly worded spell. I can definitely see how the class design was off-putting, but I have recently returned to it and really enjoy it. The combats were also very intricate yet still exciting with lots of action. Monsters were more than just piles of HP with maybe one schtick, fights were dynamic. The HP values were tottally fucked up- when I run 4E I literally nearly halve the values sometimes.

3) The fluff was so, so, tasty people always seem to complain that 4e didn’t let you roleplay. I think this is weird because it absolutely did, they just don’t provide as many rules for roleplay because the expectation is you don’t need those. The game fed you some excellent fluff, the class abilities made you feel like you were powerful and unique, the Paragon Path/Epic Destiny system had all sorts of crazy ideas. You wanna be a demigod? Fuck yeah. You wanna be a Warlock who’s patron is themselves in the future? Of course.

4)the tone was different for better and worse, 4E played like a cinematic, heroic fantasy world rather than a more gritty grounded one. On one hand, it lost of a lot of classic dnd pulp fantasy tropes, and I think that alienated a lot of players, and it certainly took me time to adjust. But again, returning to the system I find myself liking most of the weird and wild shit.

Tl;dr, 4E was a mess, but it was a beautiful mess people should open their minds to a bit.

EDIT I don’t want to start an edition war here, I enjoy every edition I have played it’s an overall fun game-no hate to anything

As stated in the title, we're looking for maps in order to run the D&D 4e adventure "The Slaying stone." We have fallen in love with the Nentir Vale points of light setting and want to play through it.

If anyone knows of a resource where maps can be found, DM advice on running these adventure for less then 5 people, or any other advice you can think of it would be much appreciated.

Much love to this fabulous community, and I look forward to your thoughts.

I was reading up on my race (Dragonborn) and came across the battleforged armor. And when I looked this up I only found one dnd wiki result that gave me a 4th edition version. This one appeared to have 6 levels: 5+, 10+, 15+, 20+, 25+ and 30+. Are these different armors or are does the armor just change when you level up? And I am playing 5th edition so I was wondering how you could potentially implement this into 5th edition? Then is the question, say I wanted to make it, how would I need to do that and what would I need to make it?

Hello all im currently making a character that has been torn out of time for my players to find in my current campaign. I feel like it would be really cool to have them blend some of the older editions of the game to make them feel especially "out of time" to my players.

The issue is ive only really ever interacted with 5th edition so finding resources for the older editions is proving to be difficult.

Any advice or links would be greatly appreciated!!!

I last really played during 2nd edition and the beginning of Dark Sun. Recently I was reading the 4th edition Psionic Power handbook. I did not get far, reading about the Ardent was really cool. Then I saw there were at will powers that could be boosted - the whole mechanics of it is still new to me. However, i'm curious about the balance it all brings.

Anyone actually play the classes and have insight on their balance?

Follow-up, just looking at Ardent, creating a streamlined version with only the powers presented seems feasible too. This reduces complexity, but the cost of how much ability? I need to read more, but if you have an experience based opinion please share.

It really doesn't matter what version I plan to play as I may never actually play again. I've done a few solo adventures for fun and turned it into mostly narrative based play. That may be why I like the Ardent so much, narratively rich and the at will powers really reflect what I'd like to see in immersive play.

i finally got the game working in web but it doesnt look right butler status rawptr/hexbound:html5 i had to use butler and port from odin to c https://rawptr.itch.io/hexbound

Anyone have the online downloads unlocked by the riddles around the "Rise of the Underdark" storyline in 2012? I haven't been able to find anything.

Most of the Big issues ive seen people have with 5e seem to have been addressed in 4e. I've just finished the Players hand book and im about to crack open the dmg, and from a 5e only dm of 5 years 4e looks so appealing. This is only my first look so im sure im reading with rose tinted glasses.

Martial Caster divide looks as if it is much more balanced than 5e given the power system is universal and everyone shares a progression table instead of individual class tables.

The power structure of at will, encounter, daily; along with short rests being 5 mins and rewarding not taking long rests via "Action Surge" for everyone using the milestone system.

The things im still not sold on however is the "magic item ladder" and "feat tax" as ive seen them be refered to. The magic items feel inferior to 5e's magic items. This due to 4e's reliance on magic items vs 5e's disregard for them. Still haven't found a better system to modify this with.

All in all this edition looks good and im not sure why it got such a bad rap compared to 5e (pre WOTC ruining their own good will with the community)

i bought a figure of freddy fazbear to play as him in dnd, but have some difficulties with creating the character, like the class and race, other stuff, so could anyone give some ideas🙏

Whenever I hear D&D talk its always either 5e or 3.5. Why doesn't anyone here talk about the 4e stuff?

Honest question cuz I'm relatively new to this

The Situation:
It’s our primary DM’s birthday! Every year I run a special game for him, but this year our group has grown to a massive 12-14 players. To accommodate everyone, we’re splitting into two tables: I am running a game upstairs, and my co-DM is running a game downstairs.
The Level: 8th Level (4th Edition D&D)
The Twist:
The birthday boy is our only "Floating PC." We want him to physically travel between the upstairs and downstairs tables throughout the night, playing in both games simultaneously.
The Challenge:
We need a narrative and mechanical "hook" to explain why he’s jumping back and forth. We don't want it to feel like a chore; we want him to be the VIP/Lynchpin—the only person capable of bridging the gap between the two floors.
What we’re looking for:
• A "High-Concept" Scenario: Why is he the only one who can cross the threshold?
• 4e Tactical Mechanics: How can his presence at one table provide "Auras" or "Buffs" to the other? Since 4e is so tactical, how do we handle his Initiative when he switches?
• Cross-Table Objectives: Ideas for puzzles or combat triggers where an action upstairs physically changes the map downstairs, requiring him to run and deliver the news (or the key).

Any ideas are much appreciated.

My character is Aelar Nailo, a Half-Mindflayer Sorlock heavily inspired by Scarlet Witch-style cosmic chaos magic.

Mechanically she started as:

• Fiend Warlock (Tome)
• Wild Magic Sorcerer

But after a massive series of Feywild/Dreaming events, betrayals, pacts, and reality-warping experiences, she transformed into a Celestial Warlock instead.

At this point she’s basically become:

• a cosmic witch,
• psychic horror entity,
• celestial spellcaster,
• emotionally unstable astral being,
• and semi-Fey nightmare creature all at once.

Her entire aesthetic is:
“a broken celestial trying to weaponize chaos itself.”

Her spell list/playstyle is heavily focused on:

• battlefield control,
• reaction denial,
• survivability,
• counter-magic,
• forced movement,
• psychological pressure,
• and making combat feel increasingly unstable.

Core spells include:

• Hunger of Hadar
• Slow
• Counterspell
• Blink
• Armor of Agathys
• Shield
• Absorb Elements
• Crown of Madness
• Guiding Bolt
• Eldritch Blast with push/pull invocations
• various psychic/cosmic flavored control spells

She fights alongside another PC named Naemira.

Naemira is far more aggressive/direct while Aelar manipulates the battlefield and controls the pace of combat.

But here’s where things become insane:

Naemira possesses an artifact-level axe capable of literally cutting through the fabric between realities.

Not metaphorically.

The weapon can ACTUALLY tear open dimensional fractures/rifts.

On top of that, the axe has a hidden divine mechanic:
there’s approximately a 20% chance during critical moments to trigger direct intervention from Hades himself…

but it fully depends on the dice.

So this encounter has the potential to escalate from:
“high-level wizard fight”
to
“reality-destroying cosmic disaster.”

Now for the actual problem:

Aelar and Naemira are about to confront a LEVEL 25 Fey Archmage inside the Dreaming/Feywild itself.

And this guy is not just “a powerful wizard.”

He’s essentially a reality-warping Fey entity:

• ancient,
• terrifyingly intelligent,
• theatrical,
• emotionally unstable,
• and deeply connected to the Dreaming.

I imagine him having:

• absurd Counterspell capabilities,
• legendary actions,
• illusion magic,
• battlefield manipulation,
• teleportation,
• high-level reality warping,
• possibly Wish/Time Stop/Maze/Forcecage,
• and environmental control over the Feywild itself.

The worst part is:
the battlefield will almost certainly favor HIM.

The encounter before reaching him is already designed to exhaust resources through:

• Fey creatures,
• psychic effects,
• magical distortions,
• dream logic,
• and environmental pressure.

Narratively, the fight is supposed to feel less like normal D&D combat and more like:
“two powerful but terrified protagonists attempting to kill a near-divine entity inside its own nightmare realm.”

The current battlefield concept includes:

• shifting terrain,
• floating platforms,
• magical darkness,
• living dream manifestations,
• reality fractures,
• portals,
• memory projections,
• and unstable Fey magic.

Current strategy ideas:

• open with Hunger of Hadar to deny line of sight and pressure concentration;
• follow with Slow;
• use Eldritch Blast push/pull to trap him inside hazardous zones;
• preserve Counterspell for truly catastrophic spells;
• force reactions and break action economy instead of trying to out-damage him.

But honestly?
The more I think about it, the more this feels impossible as a fair caster duel.

So I’m asking for literally ANY ideas:

• high-level tactics,
• anti-archmage strategies,
• Feywild survival ideas,
• reaction economy tricks,
• Counterspell war advice,
• creative spell interactions,
• psychological warfare,
• environmental exploitation,
• narrative tricks,
• “break the boss emotionally” strategies,
• anything.

Because right now this genuinely feels like a final boss fight against a godlike Fey nightmare 😭🔥

https://youtu.be/ysp1ldR8WTg

I created my first dnd story, hope you'll like it.

Somewhat new to DnD. Joined a group. Was part of it for five months. Was dropped the other day for being "inconsistent, flaky and unreliable." I had never missed a day up until that point and had let them know if I was going to be late (I never was. I'm too much of a neurotic to ever be late)

I was getting my car fixed and I said I may not be there. Someone else never even showed up or alerted that he wouldn't be there. I get a message saying I was voted off the island. I asked the other guy (because I knew he didn't go) and he said they said they missed him.

Is it normal for DnD players to make it their entire identity? I can't control that my car engine blew so I just "liked" the message and left the group and honestly, it left such a bad taste.

I thought I would make friends here, instead I just felt isolated and bullied (this last statement was from another female player. She rolled her eyes Everytime I spoke).