D&D General Weapons should break left and right

[Not a Decepticon]

I don't recall saying anything about "people should stick to what the game does best". Maybe try to make sure your comments apply to the person to whom you're responding?

"the game does not have mechancis for x", "the game is not for x" and "people should stick to what game does best, which is not x, but y" are for me close enough of arguments to treat them as synonymous.

 

[Micah Sweet]

"the game does not have mechancis for x", "the game is not for x" and "people should stick to what game does best, which is not x, but y" are for me close enough of arguments to treat them as synonymous.

Didn't say those things either (and I disagree on them being synonymous). I said I don't see traditional D&D-like games (I'm being more specific here) as being principle about collaborative storytelling.

 

[Not a Decepticon]

Didn't say those things either (and I disagree on them being synonymous). I said I don't see traditional D&D-like games (I'm being more specific here) as being principle about collaborative storytelling.

Then I jsut don't think we can agree, sicne we clearly want fundamentally different things from the game.

I find referring to a game that allows for item damage as "accountant base" is insulting, and I suspect intended as such. Some people like things you don't, and that IMO ought to be respected.

Now that is a strawman on your part, tho. When people complain about game being more akin to accounting or doing taxes, it usually means a lot deeper and bigger issue than just "item damage", and I beleive it was the case with use of this phrase from person you are replying to.

 

[Micah Sweet]

Then I jsut don't think we can agree, sicne we clearly want fundamentally different things from the game.

That's what I was trying to say in the first place. Glad we agree to disagree.

Now that is a strawman on your part, tho. When people complain about game being more akin to accounting or doing taxes, it usually means a lot deeper and bigger issue than just "item damage", and I beleive it was the case with use of this phrase from person you are replying to.

Perhaps, but "accountant game" is still an insulting term, regardless of the specific mechanics to which it is being referred.

 

[James Gasik]

Look different groups have different tastes when it comes to gaming. It just so happens that there are more people who want to play Risk than The Campaign for North Africa. That's not an indictment or even saying one approach is "superior". If games streamline concepts like carrying capacity, rations, torches, equipment breakage, or ammunition, it's because the developers believe the people who play those games will enjoy the experience more. If that's not true, they're perfectly welcome to switch to a game that has these features or houserule them in.

In my Tales of the Valiant game, I have a Mechanist (a Martial Artificer, basically) who uses a pistol. He took the Augment that allows him, just like a 5e Artificer, to fire magic bullets and never have to reload or worry about ammunition. I'm currently pretty laissez-faire about tracking ammo after experimenting with it in my last game, only for the system I created to obsolete itself the instant it became a nuisance. However, due to this thread, I asked the Mechanist player if it bothered him that I'm not really asking anyone else to track ammunition, when he devoted a character ability to not have to.

"Nah, not really, I mostly took the power since I knew there wouldn't be many magic guns around, and this way I never have to worry about black powder getting damp, or exploding, and I can use a shield in my off hand. I'd rather you didn't start hounding people about ammo just because of me. It saves me an Augment I can use for other things, because if you did make it harder for them, I'd just use it on their bows as well."

So for my group, at least, I think I made the right choice. Worrying about these things would make the game feel more "real", I suppose, but for my players, it wouldn't make it more enjoyable.

 

[Edgar Ironpelt]

Out of curiosity, how many of those strings were left strung the entire time, taken out into harsh weather environments with no tending, and/or dragged into water, through swamps, etc.?

I think your strings are probably much better off than a typical adventurer's.

I did bowhunting at times, so the strings did get dragged out into the Great Outdoors with its cold and wet.

I think my strings weren't really better off than the typical adventurer's - unless the DM runs a 'gotcha' game where the PCs are considered to neglect and abuse their gear by default, and only care for their gear if the players speak up and make a big production about routine maintenance.

It's like justifying swords breaking easily "because the PCs never clean the blood off, and so the swords become weakened by corrosion."

 

[LordBP]

I did bowhunting at times, so the strings did get dragged out into the Great Outdoors with its cold and wet.

I think my strings weren't really better off than the typical adventurer's - unless the DM runs a 'gotcha' game where the PCs are considered to neglect and abuse their gear by default, and only care for their gear if the players speak up and make a big production about routine maintenance.

It's like justifying swords breaking easily "because the PCs never clean the blood off, and so the swords become weakened by corrosion."

Modern strings are far different than medieval strings (polyester/Kevlar vs linen/silk/hemp/natural fibers)

 

[Maxperson]

I did bowhunting at times, so the strings did get dragged out into the Great Outdoors with its cold and wet.

I think my strings weren't really better off than the typical adventurer's - unless the DM runs a 'gotcha' game where the PCs are considered to neglect and abuse their gear by default, and only care for their gear if the players speak up and make a big production about routine maintenance.

It's like justifying swords breaking easily "because the PCs never clean the blood off, and so the swords become weakened by corrosion."

I'm not talking about a bow hunt. I'm talking about weeks to months out in the wild, wild outdoors, with no waxing of the strings. Did you never wax your bow strings? I also think that your materials are a bit better than the adventurers, but that's not really what I'm even talking about.

You wax bow strings ever few weeks to keep them from going bad. You don't keep a bow strung 24/7, 365 days a year. I'm not arguing that they would snap twice a week and every third Tuesday, but lack of care would take its toll and cause the eventual failure of bow strings.

 

[Azzy]

Modern strings are far different than medieval strings (polyester/Kevlar vs linen/silk/hemp/natural fibers)

Yes, but do we have definitive evidence of of how often medieval (or other premodern cultures) bow strings snapped? If we don't, any attempt to model breakage is base entirely on vibes.

 

[Micah Sweet]

I'm not talking about a bow hunt. I'm talking about weeks to months out in the wild, wild outdoors, with no waxing of the strings. Did you never wax your bow strings? I also think that your materials are a bit better than the adventurers, but that's not really what I'm even talking about.

You wax bow strings ever few weeks to keep them from going bad. You don't keep a bow strung 24/7, 365 days a year. I'm not arguing that they would snap twice a week and every third Tuesday, but lack of care would take its toll and cause the eventual failure of bow strings.

Haven't you hit 20th level in modern D&D after weeks of game time in the wild? Certainly after months.