Dragonbane general thread

[overgeeked]

The only reason it might be worthwhile discussing is that some folk are actually looking to migrate from D&D. Now if they are just there to trash the game because it isn’t D&D, well that’s another thing.

Yeah. Finding ways to bridge the gap without fundamentally changing Dragonbane is a good way to draw in new players. Converting monsters, magic, spells, magic items, modules, etc. are all good ways to show your typical stuck-in-D&D-mindset player that Dragonbane can do that stuff, too.

 

[Aldarc]

Small digression about the Dragonbane Community discord.

It has slowed down but for a long time on a weekly basis, we would a new member state DB felt "weird" because it lacked X.

X equaled some D&D-ism of some sort, be it a lack of clearly defined clerics, kin with darkvision, etc.

Some of them got a bit huffy when reminded DB was not D&D and didn't have to follow in those same footsteps.

One of the things that appeals to me about DB is that it is NOT D&D. I would certainly like some things that aren't there; however, they are not necessarily things that I want from D&D.

Although I played a lot of clerics, paladins, and druids in D&D and PF1, I have never liked the divide between arcane and divine magic. It's why I moved to games like Arcana Evolved and True 20 in my d20-only days. It's why I like Fantasy AGE, where we also got people asking "Where are the clerics and divine magic?" As I said earlier in this thread, I'm fairly certain that it was seeing the list of magic schools in the QuickStart that kind of convinced me to drop money for the Kickstarter.

If I wanted a cleric that blessed others, I would probably just reskin the Musician Heroic Ability.

Sort of. Maybe.

I think it always deserves at least a bit of push back simply because it should be made clear the game works fine without the proposed change and that it's a bad idea to make that change. If for no other reason than to hopefully minimize the risk of them bad mouthing the game after the fact. I know it's tilting at windmills, but it seems like a worthwhile endeavor. I don't care if someone doesn't like a game. Not every game is meant for every person. But it really bugs me when people make a slough of house rules without knowing what they're doing and then complain about the game sucking as a result. But it's never the house rules that suck, it's always the game itself. Just drives me up the wall.

It's why I prefer playing the game RAW for a decent enough amount of time. I wanna know how the game as written handles before I start customizing the game chassis.

 

[Sir Brennen]

It's why I prefer playing the game RAW for a decent enough amount of time. I wanna know how the game as written handles before I start customizing the game chassis.

Yeah, I think it's a good bit of advice to anyone trying any new game: try to play it RAW first to see if you really need the change you're proposing.

 

[Aldarc]

Yeah, I think it's a good bit of advice to anyone trying any new game: try to play it RAW first to see if you really need the change you're proposing.

Agreed.

I also want to hold off from making changes because of the upcoming Expert book. It could have rules or options that would require reverting any previous changes. Constantly tweaking rules does not make it easy for new players. So there is some degree of "wait and see" that factors into my approach here as well.

 

[overgeeked]

Ugh. In the middle of my first "But it's not D&D and my character is so weak" conversation with at least two players. Like, how are people surprised that Dragonbane is a lower power level than D&D5E? Do they literally go in blind? Come on guys, at least read the free Quickstart before agreeing to play.

 

[Aldarc]

Ugh. In the middle of my first "But it's not D&D and my character is so weak" conversation with at least two players. Like, how are people surprised that Dragonbane is a lower power level than D&D5E? Do they literally go in blind? Come on guys, at least read the free Quickstart before agreeing to play.

"Your DB character would be weak if we were playing D&D with this character but we are not."

 

[overgeeked]

"Your DB character would be weak if we were playing D&D with this character but we are not."

If only.

"This game sucks! These characters suck! Why would I want to play a game where a goblin can one-shot me?"

I dunno. Maybe because easily winning all the time is duller than watching paint dry.

 

[Von Ether]

When 5e first came out, my son had this issue with 5e. "Look at how much weaker a 5e fighter is to a 3e fighter!"

He had a think after I said it was lucky then a 5e fighter is never going to face a 3e fighter.

I think for some players, the bigger numbers matter even if it makes no sense. Yi-gi-whatever was onto something when they just added more zeros to their off-brand Pokemonsomething.

 

[darjr]

If only.

"This game sucks! These characters suck! Why would I want to play a game where a goblin can one-shot me?"

I dunno. Maybe because easily winning all the time is duller than watching paint dry.

In contrast our past Basic Fantasy game we lost six of 11 and almost lost everyone. A couple mid level PCs too.

We all had a blast even as we mourned the dead.

I did try really really hard to keep people alive but there is only so much a single cleric can do.

 

[Wolfpack48]

If only.

"This game sucks! These characters suck! Why would I want to play a game where a goblin can one-shot me?"

I dunno. Maybe because easily winning all the time is duller than watching paint dry.

Pretty sure a goblin can one shot a 1st level 5e character. They sure could in 1e.