D&D General Dmg previews up

[MichaelSomething]

I have to assume that you are joking. Tone is so difficult to portray on Forums. But c'mon. EnWorld IS actually very good when you're skin is thick and you learn how to listen through the noise, but I wouldn't wish it on a new player! C'mon!

I am merely trying to provide a workable solution for the people who want the DMG to focus on the needs of the advanced DM. If they don't want the DMG to guide new DMs, then they won't mind taking the book's place, right? And joining Enworld isn't the only way to get this done. WOTC could set up an apprenticeship system and recruit Enworlders to hand down their hard earned techniques to the next generation! I'm sure one to five hours a week advising a new DM is a small price to pay so that the DMG contains only material that appeals to expert DMs like us!

 

[EzekielRaiden]

Proficiency dice was a super underrated mechanic

A lot, lot, lot, lot, LOT of people do not like having their bonuses randomized.

And there's really no way to argue that proficiency dice are not clearly slower than a proficiency score.

 

[EzekielRaiden]

Heck, this morning I was scrolling and saw a "fun" video up from DnD Shorts titled "The New Rules are 100% Balanced with Zero Exploits" with a little "This is Fine" thumbnail. Obviously sarcasm, but it annoys me because you will likely never find a rule system ever created that is perfectly balanced with no exploits. So what's the joke? Haha, the game isn't actually perfect, don't you feel silly now?

The joke is that this update--as part of the pitch--included the claim that it was, in some sense, a balance pass. To have glaring zero-day issues appear is...disheartening.

And before you (or the various others who hold this opinion) claim otherwise: yes, balance actually does matter to a meaningful chunk of the fanbase. It is not their only concern. I doubt it is even the primary concern for all that many. But it is up there...and if your top two or three concerns are already addressed, you start going down the list, yeah? It's not like the fact that "the economy" and "immigration" are the top two concerns for most voters somehow makes it so that ABSOLUTELY NO ONE EVER cares about other issues like education reform or LGBT rights.

 

[Charlaquin]

A lot, lot, lot, lot, LOT of people do not like having their bonuses randomized.

No doubt! And understandably so.

And there's really no way to argue that proficiency dice are not clearly slower than a proficiency score.

Very, very marginally so, but sure.

 

[FitzTheRuke]

A lot, lot, lot, lot, LOT of people do not like having their bonuses randomized.

And there's really no way to argue that proficiency dice are not clearly slower than a proficiency score.

I have to give you that. I loved the idea of proficiency dice, and I tried them out - in the end, I think that they don't quite work as well as they seem like they ought to.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

A lot, lot, lot, lot, LOT of people do not like having their bonuses randomized.

Aren't sneak attack and bardic inspiration basically the same thing?

 

[FitzTheRuke]

The joke is that this update--as part of the pitch--included the claim that it was, in some sense, a balance pass. To have glaring zero-day issues appear is...disheartening.

I honestly think that they succeeded at the balance pass goal.

It's not perfect, but 99% of those "zero-day issues" seem obvious that they are a result of being too close to the material to see the loophole. Others are only problems on a pure technicality (in a "It doesn't say that you need to breathe, so..." sort of way), that they'd only ever come up at a table where someone is trying to punk the game.

Only a very, very few are actual head-scratchers, where what it is that the designers actually mean by the rule is hard to parse.

For normal people, playing a normal game in good faith, not trying on purpose to break anything, the game is, IMO, on better footing "balance"-wise than 2014. Do I wish that they'd hit a few more things with a nerf bat? Sure. Do I think a few new options are superior to old ones? Sure.

But they made a successful, if not perfect, balance-pass.

 

[EzekielRaiden]

No doubt! And understandably so.

Very, very marginally so, but sure.

Even with a digital program doing the rolling for you, you just have to tell it to roll, I have seen more than enough evidence that "please roll one single extra die" complicates matters significantly at real tables.

It's one of the reasons why I'm still baffled at their choice to make crits "roll twice the dice" rather than the dramatically simpler "use maximized damage." Because maximum of NdX is essentially identical to average 2NdX.

Aren't sneak attack and bardic inspiration basically the same thing?

Are those your core competence, or a nice benefit layered on top some of the time? I'm fairly sure they're the latter.

Because yes, I did speak imprecisely in order to say less. People don't mind optional side-benefit bonuses that are random. They do mind having their core performance be that random.

I honestly think that they succeeded at the balance pass goal.

I and others disagree with this assessment.

 

[Charlaquin]

Even with a digital program doing the rolling for you, you just have to tell it to roll, I have seen more than enough evidence that "please roll one single extra die" complicates matters significantly at real tables.

“Real tables,” implying that tables like my own where this doesn’t complicate matters significantly… aren’t real?

 

[EzekielRaiden]

“Real tables,” implying that tables like my own where this doesn’t complicate matters significantly… aren’t real?

So your statements that it doesn't complicate things imply my tables haven't been real, then?