Designer Diary #3: Correcting the Mistakes of the Past
Posted 3rd February 2010 at 01:09 AM by L5R Design Diaries
Updated 3rd February 2010 at 01:19 AM by L5R Design Diaries
Updated 3rd February 2010 at 01:19 AM by L5R Design Diaries
Legend of the Five Rings Roleplaying Game, 4th Edition
Designer Diary #3: Correcting the Mistakes of the Past
Designer Diary #3: Correcting the Mistakes of the Past
http://www.enworld.org/newsimages/Crime_and_Punishment.jpg
Hello everyone! My name is Brian Yoon and I’ve written for the Legend of the Five Rings Roleplaying Game since 2003. It’s been a pleasure being a part of the team for so long. When Shawn asked me to join the Fourth Edition Design Team, I leapt at the chance to help shape the future of the game I cherish. We had the opportunity to press on for new ideas and updates to old, familiar mechanics. The fact that we managed to change so much while preserving the feel and theme of the First Edition of the game is astounding. I am very proud to have been a part of this exhilarating experience.I saw the advent of Fourth Edition as a wonderful opportunity to start anew. I had been a part of Third Edition and Third Edition Revised from the beginning. As the years passed, I became painfully aware of the rougher patches of the system. I love the game but it definitely has its issues. I could see so many ways to improve the player experience. So we addressed the problematic portions and replaced them with pure awesome. This Designer Diary will illustrate some of what we’ve changed.
I want to note straight off the bat that this analysis is not directed toward any New Players of the L5R RPG. The laundry list of troubling features may paint the previous editions of the game in a rather unflattering light. I assure you that those games are perfectly playable and rather enjoyable despite the list below. Most of these nitpicks are minor and do not break the game as a whole. In fact, many of these problems only affect those to whom balance between schools is a priority. My enthusiasm for Fourth Edition should not deter anyone from trying out the previous versions!
The first issue has its roots in the very first book of L5R RPG. This problem is an abrupt jump in character power, representing a mathematical headache. In previous editions, all bushi schools and hybrid schools that train fighting of any sort perpetrated this dilemma. Each School had three or five School Techniques to diversify one character from that School from a character of another Clan. All bushi Schools devoted an entire Technique to this phrase: ‘you may make an additional attack per round.’
The second attack was the best ability any School could give a character, without question. It has a larger impact than any other Technique. The ability is simple: a character with the Technique could swing twice where earlier he would have swung once. The character instantly doubles his damage production as soon as he gets his second attack. Such a dramatic increase is unappealing from both the player and designer viewpoints. Power level of schools invariably falls upon when the character earns his second attack (in fact, the Mirumoto Bushi School’s greatest claim to fame is that a Mirumoto gains the second attack an entire Technique earlier than any other school!). It also makes my teeth hurt as a designer to have all the attention go to such a simple Technique when the rest of the School is filled with fun, innovative abilities. The second attack in one round should not disappear – after all, L5R RPG is a deadly samurai game, where one could die in an instant. However, the current method was too much.
The fix comes as a series of tiny changes, and some of you may have spotted the first in the second Designer Diary. The aforementioned Technique has its text altered to “you may make attacks as a Simple Action instead of a Complex Action.” During a Combat Round, a character may make two Simple Actions or one Complex Action. This change means that the second attack is no longer absolute. If a player decides to make two attacks, he must devote all of his actions for the round to attacking. The Technique offers flexibility in combat over a pure damage boost. He can choose to use a Technique and attack, move and attack, or a myriad of other options. The second portion of the fix lies in design. Most bushi Schools gain this Technique as the third ability, with some receiving it as the fourth. The Mirumoto Bushi and the Tsuruchi Archer no longer have a head start, as they receive it as the third Technique as well. Finally, the character is no longer likely to cripple an opponent within a round of actions because of the disappearance of many static bonuses and an overall increase in health.
The next problem arose as the game grew older and increased its line of books. Each new book contained new options for character customization, including new skills, spells, and Schools. Every new edition updated all of the previous schools to the new rule set and created more. This escalated until the end of Third Edition Revised, where each Clan had access to dozens of different Schools. Many of these Schools were unnecessary and completely niche. With Fourth Edition, we demolished all Schools and rebuilt them from the ground up. From the beginning, we decided to avoid School bloat and only create ones we deem necessary. We determined how many Schools each Clan should have and swore to adhere strictly to the list.The rest of the article focuses on fixing the mistakes of L5R RPG Third Edition and Third Edition Revised. The last edition of the game fixed many of the issues of Second Edition and gave every class new, fun options.
Unfortunately the game overwhelmed the player with dozens of small abilities. Each bushi Technique in Third Edition had at least two effects. With five Techniques per School, each character ended up with at least two different static bonuses and four abilities. Keeping track of the different aspects available– kata, static bonuses, Free Raises, abilities, Paths, and Advantages – became a chore. The game was too complex for its own good.
The solution was simple: we removed everything that was superfluous. We excised redundant Advantages and Disadvantages without mercy. We removed static bonuses and Free Raises from the School Techniques, leaving only one effect or two small effects. Of course, this doesn’t mean we left devastated remnants of Schools in our wake. We gave each School unique and fun abilities that corresponded with the School’s theme. (We’ll go into how we redesigned those schools when the time is right - around the eighth Designer Diary.)
This answer neatly resolved another problem of Third Edition: power creep. The static bonuses and Free Raises of School Techniques made each character more powerful than ever before. Even Rank One bushi were able to hit difficult TNs without trouble, especially in combat. The static bonuses allowed the PC to Raise with impunity, raise his damage roll, and cripple his opponent in one blow. Combat devolved entirely into initiative. When we removed the static bonuses and Free Raises, we lowered character power level so that factors other than speed could once more gain importance in combat.
http://www.enworld.org/newsimages/Raises.jpg
Fourth Edition rulebook contains many secondary systems that give options for character creation to diversify characters. While we redesigned them all for the Fourth Edition paradigm, we gave particular attention to Kata and Paths.Kata were the bushi equivalent of spells and kiho – a method of making bushi characters unique. Two bushi from the same School could have vastly different abilities through Advantages, Skills, and especially Kata. Unfortunately, the execution was too complicated and most characters never used them. A bushi needed to practice every morning for an hour to ready a kata’s use later on during the day. He could only use it for a few minutes, unless he spent double the time readying the kata. Compounding this problem was the fact that the abilities themselves were often too complex. In Fourth Edition, Kata lose much of their intricacies. The new kata are static bonuses that benefit the character while it is active. The kata have standardized methods of activation, require no preparation, and could possibly even see play!
Paths were single School Techniques interjected within normal School Techniques to help create a unique character. Some allowed a character to progress from one School to another by adding an interim Technique to bridge them together. One could make a spectacular, unique character by taking a Path. However, Paths had several flaws in Third Edition that needed to be addressed. Taking a Path delayed the normal progression of School Techniques by one and allowed players to change the intended power level of the Technique. For example, a character learning the Bitter Lies Swordsman Path needed to have Bayushi Bushi Rank One Technique. Once he had enough Insight to level up, he could choose to enter the Bitter Lies Path. The character could not learn the Bayushi Bushi Rank Two Technique until he reached Insight Rank Three. This became a problem especially when combined with a problems addressed earlier in the article. Paths were never worth the effort if they would delay a character’s progress to his second attack.
Several other problems, including interaction of shugenja Paths, made change necessary. Paths in Fourth Edition replace the Technique in the normal progression of the character’s School instead of delaying it. Each School Technique will always be taken at the proper Insight Rank, preserving school balance. Taking a Path is now a crucial decision to make – as a Mirumoto bushi player, do I take the martial path or the path of the duel? Taking one would permanently remove the other option. I hope you will enjoy the new Paths in Fourth Edition and the interesting characters you can create!
Of course, not all the changes were made to accommodate mechanics. Setting necessitated many of our improvements. One such problem was the declawing of the Shadowlands. In the First Edition of the game, succumbing to the Shadowlands Taint was a guaranteed way to earn an ignoble fate. There were few ways of removing it from a character and all of them involved death. As the years went on, better options began to multiply. Third Edition is the egregious offender, with many non-fatal methods of bypassing the effects of the Shadowlands Taint. The Shadowlands is the reflection of the Realm of Evil and was created as an unstoppable, scary force. Third Edition regrettably did not reflect that vision. Fourth Edition returns the demonic realm to its rightful place at the top of the List of Danger with powerful maho and the unforgiving Shadowlands Taint.Finally, previous editions of L5R RPG were tightly entwined with a constantly evolving world. The L5R Story Team crafts a cohesive tale of heroism and dastardly villains that is set to run its course during one arc of the card game (roughly two and a half years). The interactive story arcs often contain dynamic events that affect all of Rokugan. While this is exciting for the CCG players who are able to affect the direction of the story with tournament results, official canon could negate the story of the individual Game Master’s campaign. Those GMs could find themselves in a pickle if a crucial NPC in their campaign dies in the official story.
The continuing storyline also proved to be a bigger headache for players with each new edition of the RPG. The setting of First Edition describes the Emerald Empire two years before the Scorpion Clan Coup. Second Edition pushes the story forward to the Scorpion Clan Coup, altering details about the setting. While most players adjusted well to the change, those with Scorpion Clan samurai PCs had to figure out exactly how their character fit in when officially their entire Clan was banished. Third Edition changed the setting further by pushing it forward forty years! Players often deviated from the official timeline in their games, but they were forced to make minor adjustments to schools and paths to make the flavor mesh. Shawn addressed these issues before in previous Diaries because they are at the heart of the changes behind the game. As for exactly how the game deals with the ongoing story – well, you’ll find out in the next installment, folks, when we delve deeper into the Fourth Edition’s Timeline Neutrality and Clan Themes.
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Comments
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I have torn feelings regarding the designer journal #3. First off I want to start with what stood out for me as a good change for the new edition. This would be the subtle reworking of the second attack and the toning down of free raises. (Don’t get too exited, there are some real game tarnishing whoppers here.)
Simply put, the second attack was making and breaking the game. More often than not, I would look at clans/schools and judge their power level by the second attack or the free raises that were provided. Some schools such as the Shosuro Shinobi would not get a second attack until rank 4, which was devastating to the school; though it still remains one of my favorite schools. (I’m waiting for you guys to say “oh we took the Shosuro Shinobi out but (trust us) it’s a good thing”)
Buy switching the two attacks into simple actions; you have made surviving an angry dragon far more possible. I also feel that the toning down of free raises will help out with some of the schools that took way to much advantage of them.
I do have slight issues with this statement though… “Unfortunately the game overwhelmed the player with dozens of small abilities. Each bushi Technique in Third Edition had at least two effects. With five Techniques per School, each character ended up with at least two different static bonuses and four abilities. Keeping track of the different aspects available– kata, static bonuses, Free Raises, abilities, Paths, and Advantages – became a chore. The game was too complex for its own good…
I’m sorry but I feel like I am almost being talked down to here a bit. There really was nothing complicated about L5R, nor did I personally know or have heard of anyone having issues with “bookkeeping” in L5R. Try playing Hero (any addition), GURPS, or even Mage: TA. The only way L5R would get any simpler is if it came with paint by numbers coloring books and a box of glitter.
Did you guys ever think that the rules were for the most part FINE but the formatting of the powers were off? Why would you have more than one power jammed into a single paragraph without separating them into bullets? It makes no sense. So rather than doing a reformatting to it in the Revised book, you guys blame the rules.
Now, This is one of the MAJOR issues that I have with 4th edition and for some reason, it REALLY bothers me. Realizing that more hit points would completely DESTROY the spirit of L5R and there is NO way that people who have actually played the game and are working on it would do this. Not to Legend of the Five Rings. NO way. So I took to the AEG posting boards and this is what I found…
“The lethality of the system is completely customizable. We have a sidebar discussing the multiplier to use with your Earth Ring for Wound Ranks. If you go with the default of x2, a character can take one, maybe two hits before being hurt badly. If you scale up to x5, you get vastly greater mileage. I don't remember the specific number of hits in between, but an early playtest assignment was to determine exactly how many hits, on average, you can take before going down at each of the intervals: x2, x,3, x4, and x5.”
This is where I slap my head with such force that I almost fall out of my chair and make a “Doh” sound. I know that you guys are trying to make a Generic game and you for some very ODD reason; you feel that L5R needs to become Oriental Adventures (d20) but this is absurd. If space is sooo tight in the book, why would you remove important things like Heritage tables, Dojos, and Vassals etc, and add in unnecessary garbage as that. If a group wants to add hit points to their characters, they can, they don’t need rules on how to do it. The x2 earth ring was there for a reason. It was designed to create the feel for the game. Adding in alternate rules such as what Shawn posted is mindboggling. How did the phone call go on this one!? You know what...I don’t even want to know. It’s simply a Horrible idea.
In my experience in dealing with gaming companies, there is always a sense of both “daddy knows best” and “The Emperor’s new clothes” that emanates from them. I know you guys don’t appreciate people like me, the people who aren’t telling you everything you do is perfect; but don’t think for a second that I am a minority nor should you think that what I’m saying has no merit. I’m smart enough to know when I’m hearing bad ideas and frankly, things are not looking good.
Getting rid of the connection to the CCG and its relationship to the RPG is almost sacrileges and frankly I feel that says a lot when you have to keep convincing people that it’s a good decision and it still feels flat. Based on what I’ve heard so far about 4th edition, I’m not impressed in the slightest. I feel that the disrespect to CCG/RPG and its community is shameful and the almost blatant push for a more “Rollplaying” game is sad. As more designer diaries come out, I’m sure that there will be things that I like and things that I don’t like. However, I don’t look forward to more disappointment.
The Ninja
Your Book Buying DemographicPosted 12th February 2010 at 03:26 AM by The Ninja
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Perhaps I have misunderstood, but you're trying to present as new and revolutionary the idea that you may either attack twice, or attack-and-do-something-else?
Not only is this not new at all, it is not a very good idea. D&D 3E (and various other games similar to its action structure; such as WFRP2) tried that, and it lead to stagnate inflexible combats.
It is much better to design a game with the expectation you will always want to make that extra attack, and thus hand out some goodies (movement; stunts; whathaveyou) for free, in addition, as extras.
Don't make the player choose between the optimal attack routine on one hand and various extras (like movement that spruces up the action) on the other.
A good game gives both, and still remains balanced.Posted 14th February 2010 at 11:27 PM by CapnZapp - "There really was nothing complicated about L5R, nor did I personally know or have heard of anyone having issues with “bookkeeping” in L5R. Try playing Hero (any addition), GURPS, or even Mage: TA. The only way L5R would get any simpler is if it came with paint by numbers coloring books and a box of glitter. "
Ok, now you can say you have heard of people who have had issues with L5R book-keeping. We ended up building spreadsheets to keep track of the Matsu's ever increasing bonuses from prolonged combat, as well as doing TN calculations given the insane number of raises provided for a number of other schools. The game is still fun, but it isn't a combat simulation, and keeping track of all the myriad variables (once you option in a lot of things) can become difficult.
If 4E gets rid of static bonuses, and ditches most of the free raises, that will make rolling SO much faster. How many dice? TN? Raises? Ok... roll.
"...why would you remove important things like Heritage tables, Dojos, and Vassals etc, and add in unnecessary garbage as that. If a group wants to add hit points to their characters, they can, they don’t need rules on how to do it. The x2 earth ring was there for a reason. It was designed to create the feel for the game. Adding in alternate rules such as what Shawn posted is mindboggling. How did the phone call go on this one!? You know what...I don’t even want to know. It’s simply a Horrible idea. " -The Ninja
Umm.. I disagree. A lot... Giving players a design eye's view on how changing the multiplier will affect their game is awesome. You don't have to go to all the trouble of trying and testing anymore, you can just alter a multiplier, and know with a fair degree of surety what it will do to your game. That's a good thing.
It is all part of the approach mentioned earlier, which is 'This is the tasty core, but here are some extra bits that you might consider for YOUR game' If people want to use L5R and play high adventure style games, a X5 multiplier is a quick and easy way to do that.
"In my experience in dealing with gaming companies, there is always a sense of both “daddy knows best” and “The Emperor’s new clothes” that emanates from them. I know you guys don’t appreciate people like me, the people who aren’t telling you everything you do is perfect; but don’t think for a second that I am a minority nor should you think that what I’m saying has no merit. I’m smart enough to know when I’m hearing bad ideas and frankly, things are not looking good." - The Ninja
Every version is a step towards 'the perfect game'. Now I know there will always be nay-sayers, and there will always be criticism, because you can't please all of the people all of the time.
This is where my bias becomes apparent. I'm one of the lucky few who have seen what 4E is ACTUALLY like, and it is a vast improvement on 1E, 2E and 3E.
Gameplay is faster, cleaner, more focussed on the story that is being told, rather than book-keeping, and combat is FAR more flexible than it was in 3E.
"Getting rid of the connection to the CCG and its relationship to the RPG is almost sacrileges and frankly I feel that says a lot when you have to keep convincing people that it’s a good decision and it still feels flat." - The Ninja
Woah!! Hold up with the hasty condemnations for a bit... The relationship is still there! The CCG still defines the running 'official' storyline, and will impact later releases appropriately. All that is being separated are the mechanics from the story, so your GM isn't locked into the current story arc by the books and narrative run by the Story Team and CCG. The Story is still there, Rokugan is still living and breathing, but the tools are now present so you can tell a story ANYWHERE in the timeline, without locking you down to a particular era with core rules.
" Based on what I’ve heard so far about 4th edition, I’m not impressed in the slightest. I feel that the disrespect to CCG/RPG and its community is shameful and the almost blatant push for a more “Rollplaying” game is sad." - The Ninja
I think you'll be pleasantly surprised... 4E moves away from the 'rollplaying' of 3E, and tries (fairly successfully IMHO) to capture the purity present in 1E.
Before you condemn further, I'd suggest hitting the L5R forums and check out the design notes and a few more of the threads.
Alderac Entertainment Group View forum - L5R RPG 4th Edition
"Perhaps I have misunderstood, but you're trying to present as new and revolutionary the idea that you may either attack twice, or attack-and-do-something-else?
Not only is this not new at all, it is not a very good idea. D&D 3E (and various other games similar to its action structure; such as WFRP2) tried that, and it lead to stagnate inflexible combats." - CapnZapp
The difficulty in D&D 3E was that the options aren't as good as the second attack. Shadowrun provides a perfect example of where you don't ALWAYS want to use your perfect attack routine. A fast moving archer is MUCH more dangerous than a stationary one that just takes 2 shots, because they are always at range, for example... There are also other options that exist outside of the simple/complex choice.
Because it is a switch from 'complex' to 'simple' it grants MORE tactical flexibility, not just additional damage outlay.
I can say with some authority that the player who just goes for both attacks all the time can (and will) be out maneuvered by more astute adversaries.
"Don't make the player choose between the optimal attack routine on one hand and various extras (like movement that spruces up the action) on the other.
A good game gives both, and still remains balanced." - CapnZapp
This is what tactics is all about, and if it were just a simple power scaling, then it would be suitable to provide both, but it isn't.
It is a broadening of tactical options, not to 'spruce up combat' but to allow for other combinations of abilities to shine.
Some techniques require a simple action to use for instance, and being able to use that technique, AND attack in the same round can be BETTER than a simple double attack.Posted 15th February 2010 at 06:01 AM by Togashi Shinjitsu - Like i have said before, i will give it a chance. it looks like it could be cool. I really liked 3e and did not find it hard at all. not sure what to think about it now. could be easr to play but i don't wnat it looking like a kid game.
i want to like everythign about it but the whole added hitpoint stuff sounds bad. i am a player in a game and with some of the other plays, i can tell we are going to have real problems with the extra hit points. they do not need to be there.
what was wrong with x2 hit points? we dont relly need the option. 
i also don't get whta is going on with the card game and the rpg. they clearly say its not going to be there then they say it is. then its not. i don't know anything anymore. all i know is that i like the card game in the role playing game.
Posted 16th February 2010 at 12:17 AM by Pickson23 - the card game drives the canon storyline. The RPG has traditionally had the core rulebook tied to the (then current) storyline. This causes problems when RPG players want to play using historical schools and groups that no longer exist in current storyline.
The greyhawk example would be "here are rules for x class. This replaces Y class that was present during the 'from the ashes' box set, which we won't print rules for because they don't exist any more"
Now, all the base rules are separately presented, so it isn't locking RPG players down to playing "only in current storyline". The x2 wounds is still the default. The 'option' is there if your gm wants a less deadly game. If you prefer grittier games, make it a x 1 multiplier...
The options are there now, but that doesn't mean any of them are forced on you...Posted 16th February 2010 at 02:28 PM by Togashi Shinjitsu - I just had to chime in here being that things are getting a little confusing.
First of all, The Ninja, you may need to tone it back a bit. But, I don’t think you are way off on some of your views here. When I was reading the designer journals, it seems like what some of the other people are saying here is not off base. It does seem like the game we know is getting drastically changed. This could be a good thing or a bad thing, frankly I just have to wait and see before I pass to much judgment.
I know that my group does not play with the current CCG storyline. It was never an issue with our group. We made characters and the story teller would tell his story. When I GM, it’s a mixed bag, No big deal. I think people are missing what The Ninja and Pickson are saying. What I think they mean is that the game we really know is based on the evolution of the CCG and by taking that away, we are trying to make change for changes sake. If Shawn thinks that most players still run that time line and is making the change anyway, it really does not make sense to me either. I do believe in the "if its not broken don’t fix it" idea.
In this particular case regarding hit points, I feel that the added hit point rules are not necessarily needed. I understand where the dev team is coming from but it sounds like they are taking a cue from GURPS (realistic/cinematic action) system which does not fit with legend of the five rings. I know my group will not be using x3 - x5 rules. It misses the whole point of the previous editions.Posted 17th February 2010 at 12:50 AM by Kovak - The CCG/Story evolution of the game world is still there, current events in the CCG driven story will still appear in new books, that is't being taken away... The ability to run 'anywhen' in the timeline is just being added, by divorcing the main mechanics from the CCG/Story's current arc. You can still run a 'CCG/Story timeline' game if you wish.
The hit point 'optional' rules take about umm... half this post's space in the core book. They are part of the plethora of options available in 4E. The 'bag of pizza toppings' if you like. There are myriad other optional tweaks that have been tried and tested by die-hard L5R players that have made it into 4E as a sidebar...
I currently play in a game that uses X4, because we need a low mortality rate for the current campaign.
Another campaign set in a grittier war-torn Rokugan might use X1, and have 3 backup characters per player... It all depends on the roleplaying experience you wish to craft...
There are just more crafting tools available if you want them.Posted 17th February 2010 at 05:24 AM by Togashi Shinjitsu - Ok the division of the rules from the CCG is getting confusing with everyone's differing opinions. Here is the justification as I see it.
The rules of the previous editions included timeline specific motivations etc, which if a person was not playing in that specific timeline could make it difficult to understand or make it work, for that particular game. By removing the references to the current CCG storyline, we are left with the pure rules segment.
Think of it this way. I live in Australia and drive my car on the right side of the road. The stop signs here are octagonal and red. The give way signs are triangular and also red. The traffic lights are three lights, red, orange/amber, and green in that order from the top. At an intersection I have to give way to the left (on coming traffic).
Now in the United States I believe that the rules are almost the same, with a few changes (call them timeline specific rules). You drive on the left side of the road, and I guess give way to traffic on the right (on coming traffic). But your lights and signs are the same as here. And I am sure that the English and Europeans have similar small changes to the rules of the road.
So if I was to take a trip to the states, I would have to learn the (timeline) specific changes, but the same general rules apply. So AEG are presenting a book of the basic rules of the road that every nation (timeline) has, so that I can learn the basic rules and then when I visit another nation (timeline) only have to adapt to the specific changes that have been adopted by that nation (timeline).
As for the arguements about the setting and the pizza metaphore from the first two designer diaries. Have none of the people complaining ever had a friend or family member with a special dietary requirement? I know that with a potential peanut allergy in a former partners child we did not purchase peanut butter or anything that contained peanut butter. And I like peanut butter, but a sacrifice was made for the benefit of another. I could still have some when I visit family and friends, as long as the child wasn't there, so I still got to have my fix.
It really is a pretty simple matter.Posted 20th February 2010 at 05:47 AM by EvilGez - I'm generally liking what I'm hearing so far. I prefer rules light systems as long as they still keep to the spirit of the game.
I'm extremely relieved to see a break from the ccg storyline being such a big influence on the rpg as my group, playing since 1e, was never been able to keep up and we gave up in the end before 3Erev.
One thing that I was hoping to see altered though, what I consider a base problem with the game, has been left intact as far as I can tell. There is mention of how levels provide such a big character jump and yet the huge Earth ring influence on whether you die or not is left intact.
The Earth ring should influence your hits but having levels determined by 2x (or more!!) your Earth ring means people can take 1.5x, 2x, 3x as many blows with an equally sharp sword as another being. I have always found that hard to fathom. Especially when the Monkey School comes into play (aaargh - talk about MMO tanks).
I personally would like to see less difference in hit levels between the ranks (so that anyone could be severely wounded by a good, solid (or even lucky) blow) and more relaince on armour.
My biggest issue with the game has always been that no matter how good your hit if they have enough Earth (whether they are a mortal man or not) you might merely tickle them with your razor-edged sword. (Exaggerated for illustration).
That is what I'd like to see addressed, not more wounds
Apart from that, I'm liking the way it all sounds so far.Posted 23rd February 2010 at 12:13 PM by Marp - I like very much your idea, i give you the benefit of doubt, really hope that the idea not lose in the process.
L5R is the game that like very much in comparison with the others, the book i wait to buy must be contain everything i needed to play, plot for playing what i want, all rules, character creation, monster, runing adventures, and the rest of books only Background, like you say the book of clans i want to undestant how is working every clan, and shadowlands and nagas or nezumis or etc, but in my basic book it must be every rule that i need for run anyone of this races or other races that i want.
the idea of improve the narrative way and speed the game over the rules is the best way for me. in roll and keep the damage and to hit must be one roll, you may be analise this.
its really a shame for the third edition , but i believe in the work that you Realizing, simple, structured and balanced i hope to see soon the book.
sorry for the English and the honor be with you...Posted 3rd March 2010 at 05:51 PM by gmpelon
Updated 3rd March 2010 at 06:01 PM by gmpelon
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