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Prose, Terminology, Fluff, & Presentation: Spreadsheets or Haiku?
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<blockquote data-quote="tomBitonti" data-source="post: 5904522" data-attributes="member: 13107"><p>Wanting to say ... there are several issues here. Morris' protestation non-withstanding, for some folks, whether the descriptive texts has an in game effect is a consideration, and that goes far beyond an issue of presentation. Second, Sleep, from 4E, is a train wreck of a spell. As a consequence, Sleep is a problematic example.</p><p></p><p>I say that sleep is a train wreck because (1) It combines a slow effect and a sleep effect. That's confusing to folks used to the older sleep, which either put to sleep or it didn't. The slow effect is new, and creates a confusion with the older Slow spell. (2) It has a confusing effects track. I thought that the goal was to simplify spell mechanics. The spell has an area of effect, a to-hit roll, an initial save, and a save to remove an ongoing effect. Not trouble, if you are used to the mechanic. Terribly confusing to someone just getting used to the rules.</p><p></p><p>I don't think that any presentation style will overcome these problems of the spell itself. As a result, either presentation style will fail, leading to a meaningless comparison.</p><p></p><p>TomB</p><p></p><p>Edit: As an afterthought, "Lethargy", or perhaps "Sap the Will" are better names. But enough about Sleep! since that's not the focus.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="tomBitonti, post: 5904522, member: 13107"] Wanting to say ... there are several issues here. Morris' protestation non-withstanding, for some folks, whether the descriptive texts has an in game effect is a consideration, and that goes far beyond an issue of presentation. Second, Sleep, from 4E, is a train wreck of a spell. As a consequence, Sleep is a problematic example. I say that sleep is a train wreck because (1) It combines a slow effect and a sleep effect. That's confusing to folks used to the older sleep, which either put to sleep or it didn't. The slow effect is new, and creates a confusion with the older Slow spell. (2) It has a confusing effects track. I thought that the goal was to simplify spell mechanics. The spell has an area of effect, a to-hit roll, an initial save, and a save to remove an ongoing effect. Not trouble, if you are used to the mechanic. Terribly confusing to someone just getting used to the rules. I don't think that any presentation style will overcome these problems of the spell itself. As a result, either presentation style will fail, leading to a meaningless comparison. TomB Edit: As an afterthought, "Lethargy", or perhaps "Sap the Will" are better names. But enough about Sleep! since that's not the focus. [/QUOTE]
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