Urban Bounty Hunter from SCAG Courtesy of Extra Life

ad_hoc · Oct 4, 2015

Here it is, the Urban Bounty Hunter from SCAG. The Extra Life campaign just hit $70,000. At $80,000 we get to see the new Roguish Archetype: Mastermind. Also don't forget to check out the Preface, Contents Page, and Greenflame Blade cantrip!

ad_hoc · Oct 4, 2015

pukunui said:
[MENTION=6748898]ad_hoc[/MENTION]: How do you keep finding these things? I've been looking and looking and refreshing and refreshing. Still nothing!

It gets posted in the stream chat first.

They usually don't get around to updating the website for a while. It is happening live and someone is in charge of it I am sure, but they probably have other duties as well I am guessing.

pukunui · Oct 4, 2015

ad_hoc said:
It gets posted in the stream chat first.

Ah OK. It's been posted on Twitter now too.

They usually don't get around to updating the website for a while. It is happening live and someone is in charge of it I am sure, but they probably have other duties as well I am guessing.

Yeah, they still haven't added the link for the greenflame blade on either the main Extra Life page or the D&D page.

As for the preview itself: The bounty hunter looks like it's just a variant of the criminal background. Seems kinda pointless. It's not like we couldn't make up our own bounty hunter background. I wonder if any of the new backgrounds will get their own lists of traits, or whether they'll all just be variants of the ones in the PHB.

Paraxis · Oct 4, 2015

It disappoints me that they spent page space to new backgrounds, just come up with your own they are the very easiest thing to make yourself.

I'm A Banana · Oct 4, 2015

pukunui said:
As for the preview itself: The bounty hunter looks like it's just a variant of the criminal background. Seems kinda pointless. It's not like we couldn't make up our own bounty hunter background. I wonder if any of the new backgrounds will get their own lists of traits, or whether they'll all just be variants of the ones in the PHB.

I gotta confess, seems underwhelming. Not a fan of the complexity creep of the "pick two" skill and tool proficiencies (mechanically, why be a criminal when you can be an Urban Bounty Hunter? Why is the latter more diverse and nuanced than the former?).

I mean, if your background is a roleplaying hook, it might as well be a very distinct roleplaying hook, and not just some other background wearing different colored pants.

ad_hoc · Oct 4, 2015

I'm A Banana said:
I gotta confess, seems underwhelming. Not a fan of the complexity creep of the "pick two" skill and tool proficiencies (mechanically, why be a criminal when you can be an Urban Bounty Hunter? Why is the latter more diverse and nuanced than the former?).

I mean, if your background is a roleplaying hook, it might as well be a very distinct roleplaying hook, and not just some other background wearing different colored pants.

I wonder if it is based on feedback they received.

I could see the logic going the other way. Once there are enough backgrounds, and because you can pick out of your class anyway, if you want to choose a background just for its mechanical effect you will be able to get the skills you want anyway. So then, why not enable people to pick the background they want for their character without being mechanically punished for it.

Not saying I agree with it, but I can see the benefit.

Not sure about the half background/half do it yourself either. Saving page space can be good, and it is nice to have more backgrounds to have more templates to work from. I hope most are FR specific as that is something that I would have a harder time coming up with.

Warbringer · Oct 4, 2015

Building backgrounds is very simple.

Waste of printed space ... Use it for subclasses

AaronOfBarbaria · Oct 4, 2015

Warbringer said:
Building backgrounds is very simple.

I agree that I find building backgrounds simple. I disagree that it is universally simple, and thus no more space should be given to it. I mean, if they are so simple to build, why bother with more than just the tool-kit that explains how to build them in the first place?

Here's Why: Building a background from the parts of various example backgrounds is simple. Coming up with a feature for a background? That's different, and much less of a simple matter, especially with only a limited set of things as examples for what is appropriate as is found in the PHB.

Plus, not everyone out there playing D&D wants to be required to make up their own this or that, no matter how simple it is to do so.

pukunui · Oct 4, 2015

AaronOfBarbaria said:
Coming up with a feature for a background? That's different, and much less of a simple matter, especially with only a limited set of things as examples for what is appropriate as is found in the PHB.

Sure. But the Urban Bounty Hunter isn't giving us a new example. It's just a tweaked version of the Criminal's feature.