D&D 5E Krynn's Free Feats: setting-specific or the future of the game?

[James Gasik]

Personally I like hit points better than damage tracks or wounds that slowly whittle your character down to uselessness, thus creating the infamous "death spiral" (as seen in Shadowrun, World of Darkness, or Star Wars: Saga Edition).

Even though those kinds of rules make combat healing more important, the idea that getting damaged makes it easier to take more damage really only works if the game supports you fleeing in terror with minimal reprisals- which is often not the case (and can be immersion-breaking when it is).

 

[GMforPowergamers]

Personally I like hit points better than damage tracks or wounds that slowly whittle your character down to uselessness, thus creating the infamous "death spiral" (as seen in Shadowrun, World of Darkness, or Star Wars: Saga Edition).

yeah... I have in the last 30 years gone back and forth on this... but in the end I agree HP while being 100% narrative and gamest... they are the most fun ways to run commbat heavy games... or even combat medium games.

I am sure I could run WIld Beyond the Witchlight or Stixhaven useing WoD rules I would not be able to say the same about Curse of Strahd or my current Homebrew world... the death spiral would lead to too many deaths

 

[Vaalingrade]

yeah... I have in the last 30 years gone back and forth on this... but in the end I agree HP while being 100% narrative and gamest... they are the most fun ways to run commbat heavy games... or even combat medium games.

I love them because they ARE 100% narrativist and gamist.

 

[James Gasik]

Something a friend of mine was talking about was a system where players could "opt-in" for permanent wounds. The idea was, if you failed a Death Save (but did not die, obviously), when you came back, you could reach into a hat with bits of cardboard detailing a permanent wound (and it's game effect), but if you did, you receive a special bonus (he never could decide what that would be, which is why this idea was never implemented).

 

[GMforPowergamers]

Something a friend of mine was talking about was a system where players could "opt-in" for permanent wounds. The idea was, if you failed a Death Save (but did not die, obviously), when you came back, you could reach into a hat with bits of cardboard detailing a permanent wound (and it's game effect), but if you did, you receive a special bonus (he never could decide what that would be, which is why this idea was never implemented).

we have a curse of strahd game going (while 2 but that is a long story) and we allow dark gifts from the dark powers that act that way to avoid death... but if you get too many you become an NPC

 

[Micah Sweet]

Personally I like hit points better than damage tracks or wounds that slowly whittle your character down to uselessness, thus creating the infamous "death spiral" (as seen in Shadowrun, World of Darkness, or Star Wars: Saga Edition).

Even though those kinds of rules make combat healing more important, the idea that getting damaged makes it easier to take more damage really only works if the game supports you fleeing in terror with minimal reprisals- which is often not the case (and can be immersion-breaking when it is).

I am at this point tired of "fun" being equivalent to "easier to play and less dangerous for my character ".

 

[James Gasik]

we have a curse of strahd game going (while 2 but that is a long story) and we allow dark gifts from the dark powers that act that way to avoid death... but if you get too many you become an NPC

See now that's a good idea. Though when I played CoS, I desperately avoided taking Dark Gifts which annoyed my DM immensely. "These are cool and flavorful!".

Then the adventure gave me one whether I liked it or not. A bite attack that I had no use for. Yay!

 

[James Gasik]

I am at this point tired of "fun" being equivalent to "easier to play and less dangerous for my character ".

I can understand that, but it's not just about my viewpoint as a player. As the DM/GM, I don't particularly find it any fun to go "ah, well, a lucky blow, you take 6 levels of aggravated damage from the Gangrel's claws which you can neither soak nor heal, so I guess you're moving at 1/4th speed with -5 to all of your die pools for this fight."

If your point of view differs, and that is fun for you and the people you play with, game on! But I've done that, got the t-shirt, and am willing to do something else.

 

[GMforPowergamers]

I am at this point tired of "fun" being equivalent to "easier to play and less dangerous for my character ".

intresting... so you are pro the game being HARDER to play and having more character deaths?

 

[GMforPowergamers]

As the DM/GM, I don't particularly find it any fun to go "ah, well, a lucky blow, you take 6 levels of aggravated damage from the Gangrel's claws which you can neither soak nor heal, so I guess you're moving at 1/4th speed with -5 to all of your die pools for this fight."

the number of times I have seen Vampire games GRIND TO A SCREACHING HAULT mid story becuse a vampire has to spend a week spending blood and willpower just to get back his health and not be at -X to rolls is amazing... worse still when you try to play a game and get a character that gets Agg right out of the gate and you get to decided "Does every threat have to have fortitude, or can this 1 character just boom past defenses"

then again past editions of D&D did it too... 1 character has an AC 32, and 4 characters are all in the teens... to hit the 32 on anything other then a 19 or 20 you have a monster with +14 to hit... that auto hits all but 1 other party member on anything other than a 1...