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
*TTRPGs General
Mike Mearls: A Paladin, Ranger, and Wizard With Arcane Tradition Walk Into A Tavern
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="Ainamacar" data-source="post: 7648862" data-attributes="member: 70709"><p>As long as they stick to mechanical considerations alone for balancing, I am OK with this. However, thinking along the lines of "This RP play or class entrance condition/restriction is really difficult, we better give the class something above and beyond!" is on the path to insanity. Any class with RP considerations baked-in must be designed assuming those considerations are totally malleable and ignorable, because that is exactly what they are. Just say no to the 3.5 Frenzied Berserker, 2e Amazon fighter kit, and the Elven-freaking-Bladesinger.</p><p></p><p>If they must be mixed I don't mind so much if a specific instance of RP complication gets a bundled pair of carefully designed mechanical disadvantages and advantages that only apply when the complication actually occurs. For example, maybe an Alienist or other character touched by Cthulu-themed stuff has delusions. Well, if the character suffers a material drawback from a delusion (say attacking a creature that isn't there while in combat with monsters that *are*) granting them a bonus as a consequence of dealing with their delusion might be OK. That would be a bit like how FATE handles complications, by making them essentially optional but with a coupled upside and downside when they occur. That technique scales cleanly with player and DM buy-in, and usually avoids the excesses associated with the RP restrictions on my "just say no" list. Some players will embrace the mechanical complications, others will prefer to leave it for pure RP or fluff, and the game can truck along without trying to balance game balance on yet another knife's edge.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Ainamacar, post: 7648862, member: 70709"] As long as they stick to mechanical considerations alone for balancing, I am OK with this. However, thinking along the lines of "This RP play or class entrance condition/restriction is really difficult, we better give the class something above and beyond!" is on the path to insanity. Any class with RP considerations baked-in must be designed assuming those considerations are totally malleable and ignorable, because that is exactly what they are. Just say no to the 3.5 Frenzied Berserker, 2e Amazon fighter kit, and the Elven-freaking-Bladesinger. If they must be mixed I don't mind so much if a specific instance of RP complication gets a bundled pair of carefully designed mechanical disadvantages and advantages that only apply when the complication actually occurs. For example, maybe an Alienist or other character touched by Cthulu-themed stuff has delusions. Well, if the character suffers a material drawback from a delusion (say attacking a creature that isn't there while in combat with monsters that *are*) granting them a bonus as a consequence of dealing with their delusion might be OK. That would be a bit like how FATE handles complications, by making them essentially optional but with a coupled upside and downside when they occur. That technique scales cleanly with player and DM buy-in, and usually avoids the excesses associated with the RP restrictions on my "just say no" list. Some players will embrace the mechanical complications, others will prefer to leave it for pure RP or fluff, and the game can truck along without trying to balance game balance on yet another knife's edge. [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*TTRPGs General
Mike Mearls: A Paladin, Ranger, and Wizard With Arcane Tradition Walk Into A Tavern
Top