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Surviving A Dangerous Night Of Gaming With Original Dungeons & Dragons
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<blockquote data-quote="rmcoen" data-source="post: 7730436" data-attributes="member: 6692404"><p>Our college house rule was "75%". d8 = 6hp, d4 = 3hp. No rolling. Having popcorn characters resulted in very little investment in the characters, their relationship to the world, and in role-playing. We got silly caricatures, little commitment to the campaign (player attendance), and no care for the story. All of this we considered "bad", even the players that were primarily hack-and-slashers.</p><p></p><p>On the other hand, 20hp 1st level 4e characters, with guaranteed 100% healing... that's too much the other way. We house-ruled in lasting crits -- hp damage from a critical hit heals at 1hp per spell level, or 1hp per level per day... and *only* when your "normal hp" are at max. so the 190hp level 24 fighter who took a "mere" 25-pt max-damage crit from the demonic black widow spider last session (2d8+9) [compared to the 50-70 the PCs dish out on a crit] had to first spend a full night getting to 165, then another day to get to 189, then get "topped off" with a healing word from the cleric. Getting healed right after the fight would have exhausted the priest's powerful magics, or taken about 2 hours of "healing word x3, rest, repeat.</p><p></p><p>[The idea was stolen from Rolemaster - or Chartmaster, as we called it - and imperfectly bolted onto D&D.]</p><p></p><p>But having characters with 8hp that die instantly... why develop a backstory? Or, as another poster said, "Until Joe8 hits maybe 3rd or 4th level, he doesn't get a name."</p><p></p><p></p><p>Having said all that... in another thread, I noted that as a GM, I want something in between 0e's one-hit wonders (which does, I admit, lead to more thoughtful planning and care when approaching combat) and 4e's "I can't be killed, let me draft up a 6-page background..." I want well-integrated characters in an interesting-but dangerous world, where combat is *probably* going to favor the heroes, but death is always a possibility. Ever played The Witcher 3 on PC? Even at the end of the game, when you are a total bada$$ with awesome gear and lots of skill investment... four bandits and a brash attitude will get you killed!</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="rmcoen, post: 7730436, member: 6692404"] Our college house rule was "75%". d8 = 6hp, d4 = 3hp. No rolling. Having popcorn characters resulted in very little investment in the characters, their relationship to the world, and in role-playing. We got silly caricatures, little commitment to the campaign (player attendance), and no care for the story. All of this we considered "bad", even the players that were primarily hack-and-slashers. On the other hand, 20hp 1st level 4e characters, with guaranteed 100% healing... that's too much the other way. We house-ruled in lasting crits -- hp damage from a critical hit heals at 1hp per spell level, or 1hp per level per day... and *only* when your "normal hp" are at max. so the 190hp level 24 fighter who took a "mere" 25-pt max-damage crit from the demonic black widow spider last session (2d8+9) [compared to the 50-70 the PCs dish out on a crit] had to first spend a full night getting to 165, then another day to get to 189, then get "topped off" with a healing word from the cleric. Getting healed right after the fight would have exhausted the priest's powerful magics, or taken about 2 hours of "healing word x3, rest, repeat. [The idea was stolen from Rolemaster - or Chartmaster, as we called it - and imperfectly bolted onto D&D.] But having characters with 8hp that die instantly... why develop a backstory? Or, as another poster said, "Until Joe8 hits maybe 3rd or 4th level, he doesn't get a name." Having said all that... in another thread, I noted that as a GM, I want something in between 0e's one-hit wonders (which does, I admit, lead to more thoughtful planning and care when approaching combat) and 4e's "I can't be killed, let me draft up a 6-page background..." I want well-integrated characters in an interesting-but dangerous world, where combat is *probably* going to favor the heroes, but death is always a possibility. Ever played The Witcher 3 on PC? Even at the end of the game, when you are a total bada$$ with awesome gear and lots of skill investment... four bandits and a brash attitude will get you killed! [/QUOTE]
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