We're fine-tuning the crunch-vs-flavor mix, and we want to hear your reactions to the result.

On Athas, the folk who call themselves the genasi are a people apart, content to struggle in the swirling dust storms of the Silt Sea and to take no part in the despotic regimes of the Tyr Region. But change is in the air. For the first time in memory, the half-elementals are journeying from their hidden redoubts to explore the lands they abandoned ages ago.

Cycling initiative in the turn order does many things well. There are, however, a few exceptions. It's difficult to extricate yourself from a losing battle, for example, or to call for a parley with the enemy, or even to accept an enemy's surrender. These simple rules variants make it easier to resolve a fight with something other than total annihilation.

Stories persist of world-spanning orders of druids who stand fast against threats from beyond the world's bounds. Each is led by a Grand Druid who shapes the organization’s agenda. The Hierophants view the world from a unique perspective. To them, the spirit world is indistinguishable from the larger and vastly more powerful world of primal energy itself.

D&D's "Player-in-Chief" shares her observations and insights on the game we all love.