monk preview: another expertise feat - talk about stealth errata!

[KarinsDad]

I really really want to hear WotCs explanation why this wasn't included in errata, instead of us to go out having to buy PHB14 to get these feats!!

WotC explain? When was the last time WotC explained anything? They had a good dialog with their customers before 4E came out and then after that, the only thing I've seen is comments about new products.

Does anyone have a link to some type of forum or something where WotC explains anything (other than the FAQ which is pretty old and limited)?

 

[James McMurray]

WotC explain? When was the last time WotC explained anything? They had a good dialog with their customers before 4E came out and then after that, the only thing I've seen is comments about new products.

Does anyone have a link to some type of forum or something where WotC explains anything (other than the FAQ which is pretty old and limited)?

Try Dragon and Dungeon magazines. You'll find plenty of explanatory articles, podcasts, and interviews.

 

[Nail]

WotC explain? When was the last time WotC explained anything? They had a good dialog with their customers before 4E came out and then after that, the only thing I've seen is comments about new products.

Does anyone have a link to some type of forum or something where WotC explains anything (other than the FAQ which is pretty old and limited)?

Try Dragon and Dungeon magazines. You'll find plenty of explanatory articles, podcasts, and interviews.

Uh-huh.

Which article explains Expertise (or a related subject)?

 

[jasin]

Uh-huh.

Which article explains Expertise (or a related subject)?

... even for very wide definitions of related: epic defense feats, items which boost F/R/W from Adventurer's Vault, why sorcerers get +Dex to all damage while warlocks get +1d6 1/round, two-bladed swords vs. rapiers, battle ragers, invoker At-Wills vs. wizard At-Wills. All of these have been criticized as either math patches in the guise of options, or gross power creep, or both.

There is a running series on skill challenges, much of which is predicated on the assumption (realization?) that skill challenges as written, even after errata, don't work. So the criticism of stealth errata can apply there too.

 

[chaotix42]

Which would you choose first, the one in PHB1 or the one in PHB2?

Expertise, of course!

Assuming your answer is PHB2, doesn't this reversal strike you as odd?

Odd? Yeah, I thought the feats were too good to be true at first, what with the rather barren selection of to-hit bonuses in the PHB1, but I'm just not troubled by them now. Call me laid-back, I guess? Or maybe a munchkin?

 

[Nail]

..There is a running series on skill challenges, much of which is predicated on the assumption (realization?) that skill challenges as written, even after errata, don't work. So the criticism of stealth errata can apply there too.

That bugs me more than the expertise line of feats; you'd think that at least post-errata, skill challenges would work.

So...what do the dragon magazine articles say about running skill challenges? I'd love to hear what advice they give, and whether it differs substaintially from the way I've been running them (house ruled).

 

[James McMurray]

Uh-huh.

Which article explains Expertise (or a related subject)?

I was responding to a question regarding them explaining "anything". They've explained a lot of things.

 

[Nail]

Okey-dokey. I agree they have explained some things, and that I've enjoyed reading their explanations. (I *really* enjoy reading thier explanations that differ widely from the apparent facts, but that's another matter.)

Now I want them to explain "X" Expertise feats.

 

[jasin]

So...what do the dragon magazine articles say about running skill challenges? I'd love to hear what advice they give, and whether it differs substaintially from the way I've been running them (house ruled).

I'm not a subscriber, so I've haven't read the articles in detail, but there were skills grouped by role and ability score (to make it easier to pick an even spread rather than have the rogue rolling Bluff, Diplomacy and Streetwise while everyone else waits for him to finish), advice about aiding (since, as the article admits, aiding completely wrecks the whole idea), stuff like that. Mostly (very insightful) advice on how to run the game when non-combat challenges are concerned, rather than the new subsystem that seemed to be promised before the books came out.

 

[jasin]

Okey-dokey. I agree they have explained some things, and that I've enjoyed reading their explanations. (I *really* enjoy reading thier explanations that differ widely from the apparent facts, but that's another matter.)

What, specifically, are you thinking about here?