Recent content by Isaac Chalk

Multiclassing in 4E is a bit whiff. So, for that matter, is multiclassing in every previous edition. 3E's is the version that makes the most sense, but even then, it's fraught with problems stemming from fundamental imbalance between classes and their levels. As for previous editions, I...

No problem. Also! The makers of FATE Core are due to have a Kickstarter very soon. Any support level nets you the playtest PDF and the final PDF is pay what you want. The most startling revelation is that Awesome Cop from the cover sketch was secretly Awesome Magical Cop all along!! He's still...

Fie Upon "You Suck Now But He Sucks Later" I'm thankful* that 4th Edition is of the opinion that instead of having wizards sucking at first level countered by fighters sucking at high level, that maybe wizards and fighters should be fun regardless of level, with rewarding tactical options that...

The first time I went into the Harmonix forums, I ran into someone complaining that YYZ shouldn't be in Rock Band since it was "racist against vocalists." Video game forums, in general, should be avoided at all costs. If they were having fun, they'd be playing the game instead.

There is Strands of FATE, an indie RPG unisystem using FATE. The writer recently completed a Kickstarter for a sci-fi FATE RPG called Nova Praxis. In addition, the Dresden Files RPG uses a premutation of FATE, and the Spirit of the Century people are working on their own unisystem called FATE...

Earnestly, whilst growing up I played a host of RPGs that weren't D&D at all - I had the occasional 2E game mixed in with GURPS, Marvel FASERIP, Rifts (shut up, I was 12,) and Aberrant and other White Wolf games. It was only when 3E hit that I played D&D more fully, and it was less by choice and...

I would say that my incentive is game-oriented in that I prefer the game have more goals and structure than a toy would necessarily provide. I also, however, think that the How is more important than the If - it's my experiences that games built around the If tend to lean heavily on character...

My personal rules for stuff along these lines is: 1) Don't be boring, 2) Don't be ruinous. If you kill him, or make him unplayable, then neither he nor the group gets to deal with the aftereffects, positive and negative, of his actions, and what's more boring than that? Players don't need...

And back! Sorry, been away. I got my Escalation Edition pre-order as well. Going through it, I like most of the tweaks I've seen (though this thing is still not pretty by modern RPG standards, pure black text on white with no formatting.) One thing I think I forgot to mention is the 13th Age...

Related to healing, is how resting and healing up works. (Or, here is how 13th Age solves the 15 minute workday.) Broadly similar to the short rest/extended rest system, with a difference. An extended rest is only available penalty free after a set number of fights or otherwise challenging...

On healing surges: they're called 'recoveries,' which is a much better term and a testament to how much a good name matters. ('Healing surge' is not a good name.) Everyone gets eight recoveries, at least. They work broadly the way surges do in 4E, opening up healing in some ways but limiting it...

Now available to pre-order. However, PDF downloads are not yet enabled, so if you're pre-ordering for that, you may wish to hold off for a while yet.

Short answer, yes, they are. Long answer, the game delineates weapon in broad strokes - a weapon falls into the d4-d6-d8-d10-so-forth category, with penalties for swinging around a weapon that's outside of your weight division. In the end, this prevents long discussions about what polearm is...

On Icons. The equivalent of the nine-panel alignment grid in 13th Age is the Icon Grid, with "Positive Relationship," "Conflicted Relationship," and "Negative Relationship" along the x-axis, and "Heroic Icon," "Ambiguous Icon," and "Villainous Icon" along the bottom. Depending on which panel...

I always try to listen to constructive criticism. It's only polite. (If I tried to heed all the criticism I get, of course, I'd be in a rubber room.) A proper "here's what's good, here's what's bad, this many stars out of five" review is difficult at present because the game only just left...