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
*Dungeons & Dragons
Martial Practices inferior to Rituals????
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="Manbearcat" data-source="post: 6201229" data-attributes="member: 6696971"><p>No problem. Just going to address a few of these.</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Let me preface one thing right quick. The way I run 4e, I use Healing Surges as an open descriptor resource for the PCs that represents all manner of things; mental stress, physical fatigue, ailment, morale setback, superficial injury, wind knocked out of you, momentum, etc. It is not "a chunk of meat stowed away for later use" or anything even close. It is very open descriptor and a narrative tool used to facilitate all manner of things. Secondly, in my Skill Challenges, a micro-failure almost universally means the loss of a healing surge, and a loss in the aggregate will cost all of the PCs 1 (sometimes 1) healing surges. With that said:</p><p></p><p>Consider the following level 10 character with Dex/Str as secondary attribute at + 3. This character has no training, theme, background, feat investment into Acrobatics/Athletics. However, he does have the Reliable Balance/Uncanny Strength Martial Practice. That is an automatic 18, the Medium DC for a level 10 Skill Challenge. Given how widely applicable Acrobatics/Athletics is, in a considerable number of Skill Challenges, this character will have already afforded his group 1 of the required (4, 5, 6, 7, or 8) Medium DC successes for the "win condition" to be met. Without it, deployment of that resource would have a 45 % chance of failure. Worth a surge? I'd say so.</p><p></p><p>Consider the following level 10 character with Dex/Str as primary attribute at + 5. This character has training, and either theme or background bonus investment into Acrobatics/Athletics. Like the above character, he also has the Reliable Balance/Uncanny Strength Martial Practice. That is an automatic 27, or 1 more than the High DC for a level 10 Skill Challenge. Given how widely applicable Acrobatics/Athletics is, in a considerable number of Skill Challenges, this character will have already afforded his group 1 of the required (1, 2, 3, 4) Hard DC successes for the "win condition" to be met. Assuming there will be potential for a secondary usage as the narrative evolves, the character can also contribute 1 of the (4, 5, 6, 7, or 8) Medium DC successes (now turned into Hard DC due to the prior success). That is a considerable 2 automatic success (or 50, 33, 25, 20, or 17 % of the total required success to meet the "win condition"). Without it, deployment of that resource would have a 40 % chance of failure at the high DC. Worth a surge? I'd say so.</p><p></p><p>Again, especially so if healing surges are the cost of failures in Skill Challenges.</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Easily my groups' (and the Bladesinger's) favorite.</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>A good chunk gets down to that I think how much do you allow to work with a normal skill use.</p></blockquote><p></p><p>My usage of skills is exrarordinarily broad descriptor. Its not full open descriptor but it is as close to it as it can get. My players are fiction-first so they are not irresponsible with this. Further, I frame tightly and overtly enough (using lots of props including what is tantamount to scene-tags/aspects/distinctions that evolve as the narrative emerges) that any one decision-point couldn't yield open-descriptor even if it wanted to. So that isn't a problem at our table. </p><p></p><p>However. Something like outright subbing a Skill for another Skill without authority of the ruleset? That is in discord with the ruleset as there is a contingent of very specific resources (typically Encounter powers) that allow for the sub of one skill for another; eg the various Wizard "sub Arcana for x" line "Chameleon's Mask" (Stealth), "Spook" (Intimidate), "Suggestion" (Diplomacy).</p><p>[/QUOTE]</p>
[QUOTE="Manbearcat, post: 6201229, member: 6696971"] No problem. Just going to address a few of these. Let me preface one thing right quick. The way I run 4e, I use Healing Surges as an open descriptor resource for the PCs that represents all manner of things; mental stress, physical fatigue, ailment, morale setback, superficial injury, wind knocked out of you, momentum, etc. It is not "a chunk of meat stowed away for later use" or anything even close. It is very open descriptor and a narrative tool used to facilitate all manner of things. Secondly, in my Skill Challenges, a micro-failure almost universally means the loss of a healing surge, and a loss in the aggregate will cost all of the PCs 1 (sometimes 1) healing surges. With that said: Consider the following level 10 character with Dex/Str as secondary attribute at + 3. This character has no training, theme, background, feat investment into Acrobatics/Athletics. However, he does have the Reliable Balance/Uncanny Strength Martial Practice. That is an automatic 18, the Medium DC for a level 10 Skill Challenge. Given how widely applicable Acrobatics/Athletics is, in a considerable number of Skill Challenges, this character will have already afforded his group 1 of the required (4, 5, 6, 7, or 8) Medium DC successes for the "win condition" to be met. Without it, deployment of that resource would have a 45 % chance of failure. Worth a surge? I'd say so. Consider the following level 10 character with Dex/Str as primary attribute at + 5. This character has training, and either theme or background bonus investment into Acrobatics/Athletics. Like the above character, he also has the Reliable Balance/Uncanny Strength Martial Practice. That is an automatic 27, or 1 more than the High DC for a level 10 Skill Challenge. Given how widely applicable Acrobatics/Athletics is, in a considerable number of Skill Challenges, this character will have already afforded his group 1 of the required (1, 2, 3, 4) Hard DC successes for the "win condition" to be met. Assuming there will be potential for a secondary usage as the narrative evolves, the character can also contribute 1 of the (4, 5, 6, 7, or 8) Medium DC successes (now turned into Hard DC due to the prior success). That is a considerable 2 automatic success (or 50, 33, 25, 20, or 17 % of the total required success to meet the "win condition"). Without it, deployment of that resource would have a 40 % chance of failure at the high DC. Worth a surge? I'd say so. Again, especially so if healing surges are the cost of failures in Skill Challenges. Easily my groups' (and the Bladesinger's) favorite. A good chunk gets down to that I think how much do you allow to work with a normal skill use.[/QUOTE] My usage of skills is exrarordinarily broad descriptor. Its not full open descriptor but it is as close to it as it can get. My players are fiction-first so they are not irresponsible with this. Further, I frame tightly and overtly enough (using lots of props including what is tantamount to scene-tags/aspects/distinctions that evolve as the narrative emerges) that any one decision-point couldn't yield open-descriptor even if it wanted to. So that isn't a problem at our table. However. Something like outright subbing a Skill for another Skill without authority of the ruleset? That is in discord with the ruleset as there is a contingent of very specific resources (typically Encounter powers) that allow for the sub of one skill for another; eg the various Wizard "sub Arcana for x" line "Chameleon's Mask" (Stealth), "Spook" (Intimidate), "Suggestion" (Diplomacy). [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*Dungeons & Dragons
Martial Practices inferior to Rituals????
Top