Recent content by General Barron

The changes proposed here are actually quite simple. One of them actually REMOVES words from the rules (5' step provoking AoO as normal), while the other is dead simple (5' step of opportunity). I don't see how those two things are going to take several minutes to figure out... :uhoh: So if...

This is a faulty argument, IMO. EVERYTHING is an abstraction, unless you are participating in actual combat to the death (even physical combat with practice swords must have abstraction to a degree). There is no possible way to make a "role-playing realistic combat simulation", or for that...

I fail to see how that isn't railroading. Instead of having the players participate in the background events, I have just narrated it to them. The end result is the same, except now the players will have less of a connection to the story, since they are only being read the background, instead of...

It is more railroading than I'd prefer, but it is a required plot hook. Without it, the following adventure can not occur. If possible I'd like the encounter to feel 'fair' (i.e. the players might have been able to stop it), but it absolutely has to end with the above conditions met. "The...

Lol... I know, that's why I'm trying to make this as 'foolproof' as possible. :) *If the duke is killed outright in the surprise round, then there is nothing the PC's can do about it (unless they get suspicious before then... :uhoh: ) *If the wizard has some sort of teleportation spell...

Wow, you aren't very trusting, are you. ;) That cannot happen. The encounter must be set up so that the duke dies. The whole point is that the PC's get framed for his murder, and must attempt to prove their innocence. My thoughts were to have the wizard blast him with an empowered spell of...

Thanks for the great feedback. Let me clarify a bit. The PC's don't really know the duke, his bodyguard, or anyone else. They are just hired help--the duke is essentially pulling a publicity stunt, so by hiring outside help, he hopes that word of his exploits will travel across the land. This...

MY PLAYERS STAY OUT!!! I'm looking for advise on the difficulty of an encounter I'm working on. It's a little complicated, and I'm looking for some help ironing out the specifics. Here is the general situation: The adventurers have been hired to accompany a duke on a small dungeon dive. The...

Didn't read all the replies here, so forgive me if this has been mentioned: Currently, Spot and Listen are skills, not attributes. If they represent how well your character can hear or see things, then why can you improve them with level? Why is there a maximum number of ranks you can invest in...

Okay, this makes more sense. Although, in actual play, the DM would have to be careful to make sure his PC's don't advance levels much faster than this timetable. A simple method to do this might be to cut the XP given out by a fixed number (1/2, 1/4, etc). If the PCs still manage to make 20th...

Now I'm totally confused. Who said anything about removing it? All I was talking about was making it provoke an AoO, like any other movement. You say that you have no problem with "allowing a way to counter" it. Okay, my idea to "counter it" is to make it provoke AoO. Players can still take it...

Prepare for a LONG post! Okay, I really got to thinking, and now I've totally overhauled this skill. Hopefully you'll like it :o. My thought process and layout has been heavily influenced by Rich Burlew's Diplomacy Rules, but the actual mechanics are quite different. I'm still not entirely sure...

I agree that this is a terrible idea. A point-buy method is the only way to ensure that all players feel fairly treated. I personally don't like rolling for stats or HP either, since the one roll sticks with the player for the whole game (unlike any other roll). Currently you are telling them...

Yeesh... basically all you are doing is greatly increasing the power of humans and other such races. So by the same token, you are making monsters relatively less powerful. If the average middle aged commoner is 13th or 14th level, then a mob of them could easily take down all sorts of powerful...

Exactly, it would be very difficult to chart all the possible types of bonuses... which is why I think overall power (i.e. Level/HD) is the best thing to use. I actually tend to agree that some change should be made. It should be easier for a 20th level wizard to intimidate an orc, without the...