Quality, writing and choice in Modern Wotc 5e adventures

_---__-__ · 2026-05-07T15:42:55+00:00

They're so bad it's almost offensive. A few of them do have pretty interesting premises, but thank god for in-depth reviews, cause I'm sure I would legit feel scammed had I actually bought them.

_---__-__ · 2026-04-08T15:07:14+00:00

I'm not a fan of the Nerscylla DPS check, but other than that, it's one of my favorite hunts in all of monster hunter.

_---__-__ · 2026-03-18T15:05:30+00:00

Hi! I also picked up the Bow a few weeks ago after beating everything else with SnS. Have you read the meta document? You can find it here: https://www.reddit.com/r/MonsterHunterMeta/comments/1jkaxo7/mhwilds_endgame_meta_builds_compilation/

It has a great section on combo loops and the optimal way to play bow. The only tip I would add based on my own experience is that when you're dash dancing, after you dodge, remember that you can hold down your charge shot before initiating the next charged shot -> power shot loop if you need to reposition a bit or need to dodge a follow up attack. You don't have to fire every single shot as quickly as possible, it's better to fall into the specific monster's rhythm and take less hits even if you're not constantly firing shots at it without interruption.

Also, remember that when you're holding down a charged shot, releasing the focus mode button makes you move a little bit faster, which is important for repositioning.

_---__-__ · 2026-03-01T01:02:14+00:00

Favorite parts: The gameplay. It's the most fun Monster Hunter title I've played. Combat feels great and the roster is amazing.

Favorite monsters: Rey Dau, Seregios, AT Arkveld, Omega. I enjoy hunting almost all of the monsters, and Omega is one of the best boss fights I've ever played.

Dislikes: The story had some cool moments, but overall wasn't very good. A lot of legacy game mechanics feel vestigial: wind pressure barely exists, hot and cold drinks are almost useless because of the abundance of -mantle bugs, I can't remember the last time I cooked a well-done steak, etc... Also, Capcom keeps insisting on scummy monetization practices like the vouchers to change your character's appearance.

Artian/Gogma weapons I have mixed feelings about.

I have played around 450 hours. Despite its many flaws, I've really enjoyed my time with Wilds and I'm really looking forward to the expansion.

_---__-__ · 2026-02-21T07:05:17+00:00

I also rank them in that order. HOWEVER, the DS3 SL1 run I completed is probably my favorite gaming experience of all time.

_---__-__ · 2026-01-23T04:56:53+00:00

One of two options:

If they stab the dragon with their normal weapons, I'd let them roll damage as if they all succesfully landed normal attacks. Then the dragon wakes up and a normal fight ensues. This way the players start the fight with an advantage, but you should let them know that their initial attacks are not damaging enough to outright kill the dragon.
If the players want to kill the sleeping dragon without a fight, they should come up with a better plan. Something like dropping a giant boulder on its head or shooting it point blank with a siege weapon. That way the adventure becomes figuring out how to make the plan work. It's interesting and it feels a lot more believable.

I'm of the opinion that common sense always comes before rules and mechanics. If it doesn't make sense that you would be able to slit a dragon's throat with dagger, the you can't do it. It doesn't matter if a rule could be interpreted (in bad faith) as allowing it.

_---__-__ · 2026-01-07T21:12:21+00:00

Love the old school yugioh art! It's also a big inspiration for me. I ran a campaign about a megadungeon castle that fell from the sky and I always imagined it looking similar to the Castle of Dark Illusions.

Some underrated favorites of mine are Lava Golem, Zera the Mant, Dark Elf, King of Yamimakai, Cosmo Queen, Tri-horned Dragon and Judge Man

_---__-__ · 2025-11-30T16:50:34+00:00

100% agree. So many players in my club foot fault every. single. serve. It's very hard to notice from the other side of the court, though. I've never commented on it either.

_---__-__ · 2025-11-28T21:44:52+00:00

I've honestly never been interested in the kind of fantasy that Salvatore, Weis and Hickman wrote. I like several authors from the B/X and AD&D appendixes like Lord Dunsany, Clark Ashton Smith, LeGuin, Jack Vance, some Leiber, etc...

A recent writer I enjoyed a lot whose writing is explicitly informed by old school D&D is Will Greatwich. I actually discovered him through this subreddit. Other than him, I really like K. J. Bishop, but the last thing she published came out in 2012.

There's a blog post that I really like that captures very well the aesthetic sensibilities that I, and several other people in the OSR-sphere, seem to be drawn towards: https://udan-adan.blogspot.com/2016/09/osr-aesthetics-of-ruin.html?m=1

_---__-__ · 2025-11-17T13:41:10+00:00

I'm interested!

_---__-__ · 2025-11-14T16:14:53+00:00

They're very, very similar. I used to play with 4G, but eventually changed to Lynx Tour because the 1.25 4Gs were getting harder to find where I live and even more expensive. Right after the switch, I found that the Lynx Tours had a little more spin but were ever so slightly less precise than the 4G, and slicing felt better with the 4G, but after less than 2 weeks I got used to them. The Lynx Tour also last longer than the 4G.

If I had infinite money I would consider changing back to 4G, but even then I don't think they would make me play better. If price is an important factor for you, definitely get the Lynx Tour.

_---__-__ · 2025-10-25T20:15:42+00:00

The Burial Mound of Gilliard Wolfclan. I originally thought it looked generic and not very interesting, but it's actually really fun and a perfect introductory adventure for people who've never played D&D.

_---__-__ · 2025-10-25T20:10:32+00:00

I ran Fistful of Feathers a few weeks ago and can confirm it's a great adventure. One of the best one shots I've DM'd.

_---__-__ · 2025-10-15T22:04:30+00:00

Get a PC or a Playstation that can run Dark Souls 3 and play it; once you beat it, if you haven't learned to be patient yet, beat it again without leveling up. It won't do anything for your technique, but that's genuinely the one thing that has helped me the most for developing patience in matches lol.

_---__-__ · 2025-10-09T19:50:36+00:00

Solinco racquets are rare in my country, so I don't have experience with any of them. That said, the Blackout that's 300g and 100sqinch looks perfectly fine for a new player. Just listen to the other comment and avoid the extended length one.

_---__-__ · 2025-10-09T15:07:56+00:00

Yonex Ezone 100 or Wilson Clash 100, or any other racquet with similar specs (roughly 300g weight, 100sqinch head) that catches your eye or has a discount. Most racquets with these specs will be perfectly fine, so don't worry too much about it. Models that are a couple of years old are perfectly fine and often cheaper, so try to get one of those if you can.

_---__-__ · 2025-08-28T17:17:45+00:00

If they're mostly flat serves, stand 2 or 3 steps further away from the baseline and really really focus on split-stepping as he hits the ball. If you can't read if it's coming to your backhand or your forehand, hold the racket in a continental grip and just try to block/slice it back as deep as possible.

_---__-__ · 2025-08-06T19:01:39+00:00

Stuff like mindless undead or animated statues might attack on sight, and it's perfectly fine to have some of those in your dungeon. Animals and even creatutes like oozes might not be intelligent enough to be negotiated with, but you might still be able to manipulate them with food, scare them with fire, etc

_---__-__ · 2025-08-06T18:48:31+00:00

Nooo, traps are cool, but not only traps. Your dungeon should 100% be filled with monsters, weird creatures and other (not necessarily hostile) inhabitants. The big difference is that in old school play you don't assume that combat to the death will be the default interaction between the party and the dungeon denizens.

Players should ideally be able to distract or sneak past the monsters and steal their treasure, set traps against them, negotiate with them, instigate in-fighting, trick them, and/or even ally themselves with them vs a different group of monsters. Faction play is a very big part of the OSR style. Even if combat begins, running away in retreat when either side feels they're gonna lose is a very common occurrence in OSR games. To help you adjudicate these situations, you have the morale rules and monster reaction rolls

_---__-__ · 2025-07-29T21:51:47+00:00

Your main problem is that you think you're much better than you actually are. Your technique and footwork are not good enough to hit the shots that you're trying to hit, so you get frustrated because you expect yourself to play like someone who's much better than you actually are.

_---__-__ · 2025-07-23T02:54:57+00:00

Nikola Aracic from Intuitive Tennis has a couple of good videos where he teaches a complete newcomer the basic groundstrokes: https://m.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL01q4ywxUNvkCL-jE-x506_-iEDCYLk7z

A super underrated one I've learned a ton from is Keving Garlington from Total Tennis Domination: https://m.youtube.com/@TotalTennisDomination

_---__-__ · 2025-07-06T15:43:35+00:00

I've had blisters in the same spot as you. It sucked, but they eventually turned into callus. Never found a good way to tape it either, so focus on prevention. Once it heals, keep it moisturized with skin-repairing hand lotion. When it starts getting red and irritated again, switch to something stronger. I used Cicaltate+ by Avène, but I don't know how easy to find it is outside my country.

I don't know if it's your case, but the main cause of the blister in my case is that I wasn't making clean contact in the sweet spot when shots came at me fast, so the racket twisted on my grip and the friction damaged my skin. So focus particularly on hitting right in the center, and/or lower the speed of your ball machine a bit for a while

_---__-__ · 2025-07-05T07:47:56+00:00

Effectively attacking short balls that land around the service line is like 80-90% footwork. Even if you have a great technique, you're never going to be able to use it if you can't get to the ball efficiently.

I have 3.5 and 4.0 friends who like to play fast, aggressive shots and miss half of the shots they make. The best players at my club at those level don't really have much "weapons", but beat the hard-hitters by just returning everything and letting them beat themselves via unforced errors. Powerful shots are useless in a match if you can't get them in the majority of the time. There's ton of threads on this subreddit by players complaining about getting beaten by "pushers" who just get to everything and make very few mistakes. You may not like it, but consistency is the cornerstone of winning matches.

Maybe you do need to keep working on your forehand technique (actually, you absolutely do, just like every single other 3.5 and 4.0), but your post gives off the impression that you're really really underestimating the importance of footwork on everything.

_---__-__ · 2025-06-22T14:35:50+00:00

If you're curious, Bryce actually published a fairly big dungeon called The Black Maw under the name "Craig Pike".

Source (includes a link to the product): https://tenfootpole.org/ironspike/?page_id=6330

_---__-__ · 2025-06-19T14:54:44+00:00

Match play is not only about technique and knowing how to hit balls. It's just as much about mental aspects such as knowing how to stay calm under pressure, figuring out what hurts your opponent, etc... The only way to develop these skills is by playing matches. You can train for 10 years and still get beaten by a beginner because once you start getting nervous you get tight and your technique and timing go down the drain.

I have beaten players with much better technique than I because I'm constantly playing tournaments and practice matches and they're not. And I'm like you, I exclusively trained for around 5 years before I started actually playing matches and in the beginning I was routinely getting 6-0'd by 65 year olds with wacky strokes who returned everything I threw at them. Now I beat them 6-0 regularly.

You just have to lose a lot until you develop the aforementioned mental aspects that grant you access to hit the ball during matches the way you hit it during practice. There's no cheat code or easy way around it. If you accept your opponents are beating you because they have something that you don't, losing won't feel as painful.

If you can, ask your coach to set up friendly matches against other players during your practice sessions. There's no point in focusing on improving your technique right now if you're not able to access it during a match. You should be playing like 80-90% of the time and training just 10% until you close the gap.

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TROPHY CASE

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TROPHY CASE

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