Menu
News
All News
Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
Pathfinder
Starfinder
Warhammer
2d20 System
Year Zero Engine
Industry News
Reviews
Dragon Reflections
Columns
Weekly Digests
Weekly News Digest
Freebies, Sales & Bundles
RPG Print News
RPG Crowdfunding News
Game Content
ENterplanetary DimENsions
Mythological Figures
Opinion
Worlds of Design
Peregrine's Next
RPG Evolution
Other Columns
From the Freelancing Frontline
Monster ENcyclopedia
WotC/TSR Alumni Look Back
4 Hours w/RSD (Ryan Dancey)
The Road to 3E (Jonathan Tweet)
Greenwood's Realms (Ed Greenwood)
Drawmij's TSR (Jim Ward)
Community
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Resources
Wiki
Pages
Latest activity
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Downloads
Latest reviews
Search resources
EN Publishing
Store
EN5ider
Adventures in ZEITGEIST
Awfully Cheerful Engine
What's OLD is NEW
Judge Dredd & The Worlds Of 2000AD
War of the Burning Sky
Level Up: Advanced 5E
Events & Releases
Upcoming Events
Private Events
Featured Events
Socials!
Twitch
YouTube
Facebook (EN Publishing)
Facebook (EN World)
Twitter
Instagram
TikTok
Podcast
Features
Top 5 RPGs Compiled Charts 2004-Present
Adventure Game Industry Market Research Summary (RPGs) V1.0
Ryan Dancey: Acquiring TSR
Q&A With Gary Gygax
D&D Rules FAQs
TSR, WotC, & Paizo: A Comparative History
D&D Pronunciation Guide
Million Dollar TTRPG Kickstarters
Tabletop RPG Podcast Hall of Fame
Eric Noah's Unofficial D&D 3rd Edition News
D&D in the Mainstream
D&D & RPG History
About Morrus
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
D&D Older Editions
5e Play, 1e Play, and the Immersive Experience
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="Monayuris" data-source="post: 7537292" data-attributes="member: 6859536"><p>When rules systems try to shoehorn everything into a unified mechanic you end up losing me sometimes.</p><p></p><p>Some situations require different rules mechanisms to resolve. Sometimes you want the randomness of a linear set of results, sometimes you want results on a bell curve. A game that uses the correct mechanism as appropriate to the situation is more adaptable than those that try to do all with one. Games with bespoke systems generally have systems that are better designed for their purpose. Unified mechanics tend to require short cuts to force rules to fit or have greater dependancies on other elements.</p><p></p><p>It does indeed add to the immersion to me since interacting with the mechanic adds to the experience. </p><p></p><p>For example, turn undead... </p><p></p><p>in old school it is a roll against a chart that tells you what undead you turn, then a 2d6 to determine hit dice effected. Now this sounds like attack and damage but the existence of the chart makes it feel like my character is doing something unique.</p><p></p><p>This was one of the things I disliked most about 4e. No matter what I was doing... casting a spell, swinging a sword or else... it felt all the same: make an attack roll and roll damage. </p><p></p><p>Also turn undead as it’s own subsystem was able to more accurately balanced because it was its own mechanic. You don’t have to globally tweak DC’s or save bonuses to balance turn undead with the rest of the unified mechanic. All you need to do is make the turn undead mechanic achieve the results you want.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Monayuris, post: 7537292, member: 6859536"] When rules systems try to shoehorn everything into a unified mechanic you end up losing me sometimes. Some situations require different rules mechanisms to resolve. Sometimes you want the randomness of a linear set of results, sometimes you want results on a bell curve. A game that uses the correct mechanism as appropriate to the situation is more adaptable than those that try to do all with one. Games with bespoke systems generally have systems that are better designed for their purpose. Unified mechanics tend to require short cuts to force rules to fit or have greater dependancies on other elements. It does indeed add to the immersion to me since interacting with the mechanic adds to the experience. For example, turn undead... in old school it is a roll against a chart that tells you what undead you turn, then a 2d6 to determine hit dice effected. Now this sounds like attack and damage but the existence of the chart makes it feel like my character is doing something unique. This was one of the things I disliked most about 4e. No matter what I was doing... casting a spell, swinging a sword or else... it felt all the same: make an attack roll and roll damage. Also turn undead as it’s own subsystem was able to more accurately balanced because it was its own mechanic. You don’t have to globally tweak DC’s or save bonuses to balance turn undead with the rest of the unified mechanic. All you need to do is make the turn undead mechanic achieve the results you want. [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
D&D Older Editions
5e Play, 1e Play, and the Immersive Experience
Top