Recent content by architect.zero

Wow, this thread just floors me. It's been many years since I've run into the social meta game issues that seem to have arisen with some of you folks with regards to GM vs. Player expectations. I can't remember the last time where there wasn't an understanding by every member of the group that...

Yes and also back then we had Ryan Dancey peeing in the pool and getting into flamewars on usenet, and this time we've got a cool cat like Mr. Rouse (sp?) to come on by and smooth our ruffled feathers. 6 of one, half-a-dozen of the other... or so the saying goes.

Q F T I was actively involved on usenet back when 3e was announced, and then I was actively involved in the 1st incarnation of Eric Noah's 3e news site message boards (different username). I will personally vouch for the truth in this and the OP's statements. The entire hubbub surrounding 4e...

Weak thumbs up. I'm staying optimistic about the final product and I'm not ready to pass any sort of judgment until more is known - say, when the PH is finally released. I think they've got their heads and hearts in the right place, but the jury is still out on what they actually deliver...

something else I always, always, always look for a character sheet, if one is in the book. A well made sheet usually reveals, to me, a lot about the game. Then I start with page 1. :D

You don't have to look back in time at all, just go and see what the Pinnacle guys are doing with Savage Worlds "plot point" campaigns, such as 50 Fathoms, or Solomon Kane. They're not as "deep" as the CoC stuff, but they're fantastically flexible published campaigns/adventures in a very...

The bold words are the key: swarm. Ditch the 20 auto-hit and 1 auto-miss. Treat large numbers of insignificant opponents like a swarm. Level 20 PCs vs 200 Orcs? Orc Swarm! If 4e has swarming rules for combining groups of minions (and the like) into swarms, then 20 auto hits and 1 auto...

I can't believe they didn't go with the Green Dragon Fight scene in the first place. It's a nobrainer. It's as if they deliberately mixed up the covers to the PHB and the Character Sheets. All they have to do is swap them. Problem solved.

No world map, no continent maps, nothing above the scale of a city and a 1 days ride radius of countryside. If the published adventures reference each other's locations, that's FINE. Just don't show where each occurs in relation to one another. Feel free to describe that the Keep on the...

This is fantastic news. Exactly how I wanted it to pan out. No maps, no distances between cities, no way to know what nations border each other. Leave all that up to the group. I sincerely hope that they leave it that way too, for the entirety of 4e's product cycle. That being said, I would...

I have a feeling that rather than new roles, we'll see new classes that blur the role boundaries. Look for them in PHB II, though probably (and I'm completely guessing here) in PHB III or later.

To me, Striker implies precision and finesse whereas Aggressor or Assaulter implies brute force butt kicking. Truly though, it's really a super minor thing and it will fade to the background once in play so I'm not sweating it either way :)

I really like the idea of having these roles used by the design team to inform the development of a class. I hope it is helping them to keep things focused. I wish they would've used "Aggressor", "Assaulter", or simply "Attacker" instead of Defender. Defender implies reactivity/passivity...

Yes indeed. Kevin S. and the Palladium crew have turned over the reigns of their baby to WoTC for fine tuning. 4e will actually be re-titled Dungeons and Rifts (much to the disappointment of the Rifts and Dragons fans). Cats and dogs will live together and pigs will fly. / In before the mods! :D

I had to pick "OTHER" because "burn it all before the WoTC Version Enforcement Squad rams my door and forcibly takes me to the 4e re-education camps" wasn't an option.