dnd
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I originally intended to put out a single 2026 update near New Year’s, but as I started collecting my thoughts, it quickly became clear that it would turn into a very long post. More importantly, I wouldn’t really be able to do justice to some of the things I’m genuinely excited about without them getting
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Sometimes the dice are kind. Sometimes they are just wasteful. That is where Rolling Advantage comes in. If a player rolls with advantage and hits a natural 20 on the first die, they do not need the second roll. They have already struck gold. So instead of throwing that second die away, they can bank
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In my games, initiative is more than just a number. It’s a tone-setter. And sometimes, it deserves teeth. That’s why I use Critical Initiative. If a player rolls a natural 20 on initiative, they gain advantage on their first action in combat. If they roll a natural 1, they suffer disadvantage instead. Simple. Clean. No
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If you’ve watched Acquisitions Inc. or followed Chris Perkins’ games, you’ve probably seen the Perkin’s Crit in action. It’s not official rules, but it should be. Here’s how it works. When you land a critical hit, you deal maximum damage for your weapon’s base dice, then roll those same dice and add the result. So
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Just completed another character sheet creation for one of the players of my End of the Institute campaign. This player is playing a Scholarly Elocutionist Who Solves Mysteries and has taken a position as Artifact Handler. Artifacts being potentially dangerous require special care and so below are the Position Perks I have created for this
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During Session Zero, our group began character creation. One of our players was trying to choose a focus and was having difficulty as the provided ones did not fully suit their character vision. As they describe their character concept, the joke was made “If only there was a ‘Cut a Bitch’ focus.” This led to
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It’s always bothered me a bit how Armor Class (AC) is handled in 5e. It does a lot of heavy lifting just to boil down to a simple yes or no: hit or miss, all or nothing. By the rules as written, AC is a combination of your armor, your Dexterity modifier, and sometimes other
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One of the best Session Zero experiences I’ve had is now complete. We met some new folks, introduced the setting and playstyle, and kicked off character creation. Two of the eight players couldn’t make it due to family obligations, but we’ll be scheduling one-on-one catch-up sessions soon. The group responded really well to the MESH
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If you’ve found your way here, you might be thinking: “There’s nothing here.” And you’d be right. I’m starting at square one, setting up this platform, learning the tools, and figuring things out in my spare time. But content is coming. My plan is to start slow: share pieces of whatever project I’m working on,
Mason Beck Fiction 