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7 Years of D&D Stories? And a "Big Reveal" Coming?
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<blockquote data-quote="pemerton" data-source="post: 7665871" data-attributes="member: 42582"><p>When I think of chicken-or-egg problems, I tend to think of them as causal puzzles, or (if we stretch the metaphor) as puzzles of logical or conceptual circularity.</p><p></p><p>But in RPG design there is no puzzle, because the mechanics and the fictional/story element that the mechanics express can emerge simultaneously. For instance, when I read the "dwarf" rules in 4e I'm not a tabula rasa - I've played D&D, I've read LotR, I can see the art on the page. So I know the trope/genre I'm being pointed towards.</p><p></p><p>I don't know if you saw my example of the Chained Cambion I talked about upthread, but that was a case where even with the flavour text about the Chained Cambion's pain, rage and frustration it wasn't fully clear to me what the power was meant to be until it came out in play - at which point, to me at least, it became beautifully and powerfully clear.</p><p></p><p>It is small, weak (but fit for its size - look at its Athletics) but clever and talks elven. So it's not a (mundane) animal. DEX is its best stat and it has Acrobatics. So it's quick.</p><p></p><p>It's good, so not a gremlin or quickling, but it is clawed like them.</p><p></p><p>It has warlocky-abiliites: it can Eyebite, and teleport through the mists; and it is fey, so presumably when it teleports it steps through the mists that are the veil between worlds (mortal world and Feywild).</p><p></p><p>At this point it could be a type of good but wild fairy, or a fey cat of some kind. But it has lure of the wild - so enemies are entranced by it and drawn to it. (That's not a charm effect, though. Perhaps it should be?) But it also has Undeniable Beauty, which means when its enemies reach it and try to attack it they can't.</p><p></p><p>That suggests some sort of nymph, rather than a cat. But its type of "beast" suggests a cat, rather than a nymph. It can't fly, so it's not an insect or faerie/pseudo-dragon.</p><p></p><p>Conclusion: from the stat-block I can't tell definitively what sort of creature it is (eg exactly what it's body type is), but I think it is some sort of wild creature of the feywild, a beautiful cat or something similar. It may have a human face - the fact that it uses Eyebite at least suggests that its eyes are placed on its face as they are for a person (hence why I'm thinking of a cat as another possibility, as well as the claw), and its undeniable beauty would fit with having a human face too.</p><p></p><p>Whether it is a beatiful wild creature of the feywild, or a human-faced animal, it is clearly enchanted (Eyebite, lure of the wild, misty step) but relatively peaceful (Reflex and Acro, Good alignment, undeniable beauty). In story terms, it might make a good familiar for a good-aligned elven or half-elven Feylock; or it might be a creature that the PCs are trying to find because if they can persuade them to let it have a lock of its golden hair or silver coat (etc), then they can present that to the Fomorian king as a token for safe passage. But that will require the PCs first to successfully approach it, which will be hard because it hides from them (eyebite, misty step) and dazzles those who approach (undeniable beauty, lure of the wild).</p><p></p><p>That's my take. How'd I do?</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="pemerton, post: 7665871, member: 42582"] When I think of chicken-or-egg problems, I tend to think of them as causal puzzles, or (if we stretch the metaphor) as puzzles of logical or conceptual circularity. But in RPG design there is no puzzle, because the mechanics and the fictional/story element that the mechanics express can emerge simultaneously. For instance, when I read the "dwarf" rules in 4e I'm not a tabula rasa - I've played D&D, I've read LotR, I can see the art on the page. So I know the trope/genre I'm being pointed towards. I don't know if you saw my example of the Chained Cambion I talked about upthread, but that was a case where even with the flavour text about the Chained Cambion's pain, rage and frustration it wasn't fully clear to me what the power was meant to be until it came out in play - at which point, to me at least, it became beautifully and powerfully clear. It is small, weak (but fit for its size - look at its Athletics) but clever and talks elven. So it's not a (mundane) animal. DEX is its best stat and it has Acrobatics. So it's quick. It's good, so not a gremlin or quickling, but it is clawed like them. It has warlocky-abiliites: it can Eyebite, and teleport through the mists; and it is fey, so presumably when it teleports it steps through the mists that are the veil between worlds (mortal world and Feywild). At this point it could be a type of good but wild fairy, or a fey cat of some kind. But it has lure of the wild - so enemies are entranced by it and drawn to it. (That's not a charm effect, though. Perhaps it should be?) But it also has Undeniable Beauty, which means when its enemies reach it and try to attack it they can't. That suggests some sort of nymph, rather than a cat. But its type of "beast" suggests a cat, rather than a nymph. It can't fly, so it's not an insect or faerie/pseudo-dragon. Conclusion: from the stat-block I can't tell definitively what sort of creature it is (eg exactly what it's body type is), but I think it is some sort of wild creature of the feywild, a beautiful cat or something similar. It may have a human face - the fact that it uses Eyebite at least suggests that its eyes are placed on its face as they are for a person (hence why I'm thinking of a cat as another possibility, as well as the claw), and its undeniable beauty would fit with having a human face too. Whether it is a beatiful wild creature of the feywild, or a human-faced animal, it is clearly enchanted (Eyebite, lure of the wild, misty step) but relatively peaceful (Reflex and Acro, Good alignment, undeniable beauty). In story terms, it might make a good familiar for a good-aligned elven or half-elven Feylock; or it might be a creature that the PCs are trying to find because if they can persuade them to let it have a lock of its golden hair or silver coat (etc), then they can present that to the Fomorian king as a token for safe passage. But that will require the PCs first to successfully approach it, which will be hard because it hides from them (eyebite, misty step) and dazzles those who approach (undeniable beauty, lure of the wild). That's my take. How'd I do? [/QUOTE]
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