(un)reason
Legend
Dragon Magazine Issue 243: January 1998
part 2/8
Forum: We already knew that the forum would be a major source of information for the next edition. What does surprise me is that here they spell this out explicitly. Send in your rules suggestions! What should stay, what should change. This'll make things even more interesting, as I get to see the rejected ideas as well.
Gary Sturgess shows us what happens when you make armor subtract damage rather than making you harder to hit. Interesting. I know most systems do it like that, but it looks like D&D'd need a bit of rejigging before that could work.
Chris Brucas objects to the idea that Dex is more important than Str as a real life martial artist. Both are pretty important, but strength moreso. Even fencing, the stereotypical finesse swashbuckler style, requires tons of arm strength to do quickly and stylishly. Don't you just hate it when people bring reality into your elegant models.
Chris DeRosa thinks that spells and items that change your capabilities are far more important than those that add plusses to your existing ones like magic weapons. Yeah, this is why wizards & clerics win at higher levels. It's not about the numbers, it's about the options. Making things too convenient is what really short-circuits adventures, not how hard you can hit.
Eric Morton thinks that nymphs consciously using their beauty as an offensive weapon seems rather out of character. Plus stripping is inherently humiliating, and what if they save? Plus the flavour could do with a little rejigging. Hey, whatever makes your campaign sparkle dude.
Sage advice: Who can use wearable magical items. (anyone of the race it's designed for. Magic can adjust it the rest of the way. )
When does a character wielding two weapons attack (Whenever the DM says. )
Does spellcasting trigger an attack of opportunity. (no)
How do proficiencies, abilities and hit points work for multiclassed characters (no-one agrees. It's most frustrating. Skip will give you skip's opinions, but skip will not pretend that other books won't contradict them in the future)
Is fireball a sphere, or a cubic volume (Both. If you cast it in an enclosed area, it pushes outward until it's used it's entire volume. This can have tragic and hilarious results. )
Can fireballs bounce (No. They go boom straight away.)
Does doing a touch attack spell trigger an attack of opportunity (No. The magic counts as a weapon.)
Does Choke mess up spellcasting automatically. (make an initiative check to get a spell off before you take the damage. )
What happens if you have a weapon that does 1d20, and upgrade your die type. D100 is too much (d30 should do the job. )
How does a thief know what spells are on a scroll (what do you think their failure chance is for? )
Does wall of force block locate object (no. The magic goes round.)
How do you determine what type of magic arrows your characters find ( Ahh, tables. Is there anything you can't do with them? )
part 2/8
Forum: We already knew that the forum would be a major source of information for the next edition. What does surprise me is that here they spell this out explicitly. Send in your rules suggestions! What should stay, what should change. This'll make things even more interesting, as I get to see the rejected ideas as well.
Gary Sturgess shows us what happens when you make armor subtract damage rather than making you harder to hit. Interesting. I know most systems do it like that, but it looks like D&D'd need a bit of rejigging before that could work.
Chris Brucas objects to the idea that Dex is more important than Str as a real life martial artist. Both are pretty important, but strength moreso. Even fencing, the stereotypical finesse swashbuckler style, requires tons of arm strength to do quickly and stylishly. Don't you just hate it when people bring reality into your elegant models.
Chris DeRosa thinks that spells and items that change your capabilities are far more important than those that add plusses to your existing ones like magic weapons. Yeah, this is why wizards & clerics win at higher levels. It's not about the numbers, it's about the options. Making things too convenient is what really short-circuits adventures, not how hard you can hit.
Eric Morton thinks that nymphs consciously using their beauty as an offensive weapon seems rather out of character. Plus stripping is inherently humiliating, and what if they save? Plus the flavour could do with a little rejigging. Hey, whatever makes your campaign sparkle dude.
Sage advice: Who can use wearable magical items. (anyone of the race it's designed for. Magic can adjust it the rest of the way. )
When does a character wielding two weapons attack (Whenever the DM says. )
Does spellcasting trigger an attack of opportunity. (no)
How do proficiencies, abilities and hit points work for multiclassed characters (no-one agrees. It's most frustrating. Skip will give you skip's opinions, but skip will not pretend that other books won't contradict them in the future)
Is fireball a sphere, or a cubic volume (Both. If you cast it in an enclosed area, it pushes outward until it's used it's entire volume. This can have tragic and hilarious results. )
Can fireballs bounce (No. They go boom straight away.)
Does doing a touch attack spell trigger an attack of opportunity (No. The magic counts as a weapon.)
Does Choke mess up spellcasting automatically. (make an initiative check to get a spell off before you take the damage. )
What happens if you have a weapon that does 1d20, and upgrade your die type. D100 is too much (d30 should do the job. )
How does a thief know what spells are on a scroll (what do you think their failure chance is for? )
Does wall of force block locate object (no. The magic goes round.)
How do you determine what type of magic arrows your characters find ( Ahh, tables. Is there anything you can't do with them? )