Recent content by Steelwill

What is the point of using settings and creatures like Dispater and Mephistopheles that have canon already if not to stick with it? I mean if you don't want any expectations associated with canon, run a home brew with home brew monsters and everything. It seems really backwards to act shocked...

True and there are many things that 4E addressed very well that were concerns from 3.5, but it is entirely valid to say some of the concerns were stuff from a vocal minority not the silent majority in some cases, and in others, 4E's attempted solutions were not better than just dealing with the...

The difference being that WoTC got 8 years out of 3.5, as did the players, and Pathfinder was born on its back and still going strong. 4E was contentious from jump street, having the biggest division of D&D fanbase in history. So bad that the division still argues now, in nearly every thread...

Magic was neutered in 4E, and then everyone, fighters, casters and everything in between were given the same AEDU mechanics and this homogeneous system was the basis for 4E's balance. You must have had a really low opinion of a fighter in all previous editions, but still people played them and...

AEDU + rituals worked better for casters than any other class in 4E. My issues are with poor execution not concept. Rituals could be so much better than they are. Spells and several general concepts about magic need to be revamped. Bring back the power level of spells and magic from 3.x...

I think its fine, its a good abstraction if you don't want the game to bog down too much with hit location, loss of limbs, etc. Besides, when a foe dies, more times than not that is the only time it will have needed to exist in game, so I don't mind letting the players describe the death scene...

because the point of growth aka levels, skill points, whatever metric you choose to reflect that, is to get better, which means to gain advantage. Balance takes advantage and hammers it into a flatline. This is why a lvl 30 and a lvl 15 character in 4E don't feel all that different. Gaining...

Ideally it would be cool if both classes at high levels are able to sunder the heavens, one with might the other with magic (ok both probably with magic, just one with a magic sword and biceps the size of volkswagons). What 4e did however was instead of bringing the fighter up to the epic level...

I by and large agree with what is said above, but would like to add a bit. Regarding Skill Challenges and Emergent Gameplay, props to Gardukk for speaking to this issue and putting it more clearly into words than I have seen it phrased before. That said, I would like to add that combat...

The people and places, consistency and recurrence. The people and places need to come to life with emotion and personality, the facts are good, but feeling and quirks give life. Stay Consistent; if NPCs, setting specific rules/natural laws, and locales change each time the party interact...

I generally agree with the above quoted post, but would like to add, the forums will contain alot of feedback,good and bad, but as far as the outright flame and vitriol or in some cases nonsense entirely, isn't that what forums are moderated for? I mean even an angry opinion can be conveyed...

I agree with this, and would add that the pacifist so deliberately trying to make the attack fail undermines the spiritual weapon being a threat to the creature it is flanking and therefore no longer provides CA, as the creature may safely ignore it. The basis for this being that PC's who would...

I don't think this needs to be so one way or the other as these debates often polarize into. Railroading is only bad if it is noticeable, which if it is, means that at some point the player's have been made to feel dragged along for the ride or powerless in the process and creation of the...

Railroading is only a problem when its noticeable.

Since WoTC decided to change it to feel more like the legacy version, they should have gone whole hog adding something like; "Every 6 levels beyond the first, the mage gains an additional missile per use of the Magic Missile power. Missiles may be launched at separate targets or the same...