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<blockquote data-quote="Jacob Lewis" data-source="post: 8555498" data-attributes="member: 6667921"><p>There are many hurdles getting in the way of projects like this. One of the most common is the compulsion to retain a high level of backwards compatibility in order to keep previous materials relevant and useful. I get that it's easier to reuse existing content so you're not having to redesign a ton of material that already exists. But it also limits the need for new innovation and mechanics which could actually make the system work better. </p><p></p><p>For example, <em>healing surges</em> could be more useful as a player resource if it did more than just recharge hit points. As written, players only needed to decide how many to burn before the next rest based on their character's health (i.e. remaining hit points). In my experience, it was rare for any of my players to actually run out of healing surges before their next long rest. They would typically often run out of daily powers first, which forced them to look for that long rest opportunity instead, and consequently recharge their surges in the process. </p><p></p><p>Now imagine if they had the option to spend some of those surges to recharge one of their powers. Or if surges were required to use your strongest abilities. Players will need to make more tactical decisions regarding how they manage their resource as a group. Do they save their last surges to stay in the fight? Or expend them on a powerful attack which could be the difference between victory and defeat? </p><p></p><p>This, in my mind, accomplishes several things but it also requires more work. "Daily" powers would no longer require an artificial timer that doesn't always make any sense. It gives characters better agency to make decisions based on both strategies and narrative. And it just makes the game more efficient.</p><p></p><p>Of course, this is one of the many radical ideas I have that would require a lot of tweaking and playtesting. But this is just one example to help me make a point. At what point does it go from a couple of tweaks to a few house rules to a full revision to another retroclone to something completely different? And when does it become more practical to keep using the game as it is? The answer to that last question, by the way, is usually when the work becomes greater than the reward.</p><p></p><p>I'll be watching this thread to see how things go. It will be hard for me to comment on some ideas because I have very specific ideas for my own project. But it's always good to see 4e getting some attention. <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" /></p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Jacob Lewis, post: 8555498, member: 6667921"] There are many hurdles getting in the way of projects like this. One of the most common is the compulsion to retain a high level of backwards compatibility in order to keep previous materials relevant and useful. I get that it's easier to reuse existing content so you're not having to redesign a ton of material that already exists. But it also limits the need for new innovation and mechanics which could actually make the system work better. For example, [I]healing surges[/I] could be more useful as a player resource if it did more than just recharge hit points. As written, players only needed to decide how many to burn before the next rest based on their character's health (i.e. remaining hit points). In my experience, it was rare for any of my players to actually run out of healing surges before their next long rest. They would typically often run out of daily powers first, which forced them to look for that long rest opportunity instead, and consequently recharge their surges in the process. Now imagine if they had the option to spend some of those surges to recharge one of their powers. Or if surges were required to use your strongest abilities. Players will need to make more tactical decisions regarding how they manage their resource as a group. Do they save their last surges to stay in the fight? Or expend them on a powerful attack which could be the difference between victory and defeat? This, in my mind, accomplishes several things but it also requires more work. "Daily" powers would no longer require an artificial timer that doesn't always make any sense. It gives characters better agency to make decisions based on both strategies and narrative. And it just makes the game more efficient. Of course, this is one of the many radical ideas I have that would require a lot of tweaking and playtesting. But this is just one example to help me make a point. At what point does it go from a couple of tweaks to a few house rules to a full revision to another retroclone to something completely different? And when does it become more practical to keep using the game as it is? The answer to that last question, by the way, is usually when the work becomes greater than the reward. I'll be watching this thread to see how things go. It will be hard for me to comment on some ideas because I have very specific ideas for my own project. But it's always good to see 4e getting some attention. :) [/QUOTE]
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