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As follow up on the knack article, as part of the guide to disreality, here is a list of possible knacks. Sorry for the delay


Accounting
Figures and tables, calculations and concentration. Used to manage funds and goods.
Attributes: Constitution, Intelligence
Keywords: Mental and Tool or Location

Acting
All the world's a stage.  Used for anything from high class theater to harvest plays.
Attributes: Wisdom, Charisma
Keywords: Solo, Interpersonal, Artistic

Appraisal
How to determine the difference between a diamond and a bit of paste.
Attributes: Intelligence, Wisdom
Keywords: Mental and Tool or Complex: by topic
Synergy Bonus: +2 if trained in Perception or topic

Architecture
Building a better building.  Designing and planning construction.  Misc bonus for complexity.
Attributes: Intelligence,

(link to introduction & table of content)

(By Dragoncat)

There's been a lot of talk about skills related less to the day-to-day dungeon lifestyle, and more about Herculean labors like cleaning the stables and cooking tonight's dinner. Things that can't always be solved with a sword or a fireball, things that require....tact, a work ethic, common sense, or other things anathema towards people who beat up monsters and take their stuff.

The goals for the following are thus:

1. It's going to be modular. The 4th edition math is, a few errors aside, pretty good for keeping a combat rpg. The name of this game will be to allow you to have that precious Perform proficiency without requiring you to suck at all forms of battle in the process.
2. It's going to be general. There won't be specific rules for

(link to introduction & table of content)

(By Qube and others)

1 hit point can be ridiculously weak. An epic wizard having 12 wisdom using cloud of daggers, or a epic warlock with a +1 rod of reaving, kills lvl 26 minions without a second thought. Some people even have trouble even have objection to the fact that automatic damage always kills a minion. So, here are a few possible fixes. Obviously these fixes make minions stronger, and in some cases, they might be worth more experience then.
Below are a few rules I read about (these are some I recall, but I don't recall who made them up)

When making a variant rule, its worth noting that

• Powers with an effect that deals damage are designed to kill minions. When making a variant rule, these powers lose power.
• A 'hit' does not always do more

(link to introduction & table of content)

(by Wrecan - This article is a plug (original/updated:  part 1 & part 2 ). It is plugged here as part of the Guide To Disreality)

How to SARN-FU

I often see people ask whether it is possible to play 4e without a battlemat.  Most responses to this questions are to say it isn't possible.  Fourth Edition is very tactically oriented.  Many powers involve sliding, pushing, pulling, and shifting characters around the battlefield.  Combat is supposed to involve fields with unusual terrain to give an added dimension to combat.

Well, I'm here to tell you that it is possible to play 4e without a battlemat.  However, it requires four things:

First, you need a DM with a very good sense of spatial awareness.  Without a visual representation of the

(link to introduction & table of content)

(By Malkiri)

One of the 4e developers has mentioned the idea of a “classless” 4e, something they may have toyed with at one point. Well, in an effort to capture this idea, I’ve torn apart the classes, assigning each ability a point value. With this system a person can pick and choose their Health progression, their armor and weapon proficiencies, the number of skills they have, their defense bonus, implement proficiency, abilities, and any powers they want. In some instances, a character might end up being able to use more simple weapons than previously, but this would be the only difference if you were to build the original classes with this system.

1. Basics

Every player begins with 21 points to distribute on their character build. Every

(link to introduction & table of content)

Many people think that Weapon Expertise and Implement Expertise are a bad idea. WotC has made a mistake in their math (the attack of the PCs is too low at higher levels), and to fix that, the PCs need to sacrifice one of their feats (or more, if they use both weapon and implement – like the paladin). Since the PCs should not be punished for a fault of the designers, many people have invented a way around it …

Variant 1: The Free Feat

(by Qube)
Simple and easy: give the player the feat(s) for free. There is no need to punish PCs for game designers.

Variant 2: The Quest Reward

(by Qube)
As game master, you need to give the PCs a bonus … why not let them work for it? Using this variant, you as DM are in control of when they get the bonuses,