Recent content by pemerton

In 1st ed AD&D dragons don't have magic resistance. But they do have special saving throws (MM, p 31): When a dragon attains 5 or more hit points per die, its saving throw is calculated by dividing its total hit points by 4, thus giving a higher number of hit dice than it actually has. This...

Torchbearer. (I've heard of it Five Torches Deep, but that's it for that one.) Burning Wheel is also great for low magic, if that's what someone wants.

I regularly mock/tease the players in my TB2e game when they miss good treasure hauls. Which is something they seem to have a knack for . . .

In the sealing of the Abyss, movement by the characters was being measured on the grid, in accordance with the movement rules. But the expansion of the zone by way of the Arcana check and use of the Stretch Spell ability was not being tracked on the grid - this was a layer-wide effect. In terms...

My answer to the question is it depends on the system being played. Most of the posts in this thread seem to assume D&D, or a D&D-like system, where looking and searching are (mostly) free in system terms, but risk bogging down play at the table, and the consequence of triggering a trap is...

I think 4e D&D rewards skilful, intelligent players at all tiers of play, in a least two ways: skill and intelligence are needed to achieve the benefits of cooperation and synergies in combat situations; and skill and intelligence (and also imagination) are needed to fully engage with the...

4e D&D also defined them in terms of what's at stake, and related stuff like what is the scope/field of action for the PCs. It can be summarised along the lines of: *Hommlet, KotB and the Slavers are Heroic tier; *The giants, Drow and even maybe Q1 are Paragon tier; *Taking the fight to the...

Further to post 1068: This suggests a rough ratio of 3:2. That is, 7th level AD&D = 10th to 11th level 4e; 12th to 13th level AD&D = 18th to 19th level 4e; etc. But that is only rough: it gives us 20th level AD&D = 30th level 4e, but the fiction of 20th level AD&D is not very well...

But . . . but . . . my vorpal longsword goes to 11.

A 19th level PC is close to Epic tier. Here's an example of an episode of upper-Paragon play: In AD&D terms, this is in the same general ballpark as D3 or Q1, and so I guess 10th to 14th level. In AD&D, 7th level PCs are very capable against Orcs and Ogres, but are likely to be at risk if...

I've posted examples, which you seem to be ignoring. A high epic tier fighter can do 600 hp of the damage to the tarrasque in one round. That's not comparable to 5th level in any version of D&D. A high epic tier invoker can dominate a group of enemies once per encounter. That's not comparable...

I guess when you put it like that . . . I also think there may be a failure to have regard to all the complex build elements of a 4e PC, and the (many) ways in which they interact. And that's before we get to party synergies. It is a very intricate game.

I don't know what you mean by "the power level is so low"? How are you measuring power level? The 30th level Invoker/Wizard in my game can turn back time to return from the dead if killed; can dominate a group of enemies once per encounter; can manipulate magical effects with more skill and...

So is the answer to my question - how does the framing of scenes/establishing of situations work in your system? - the following (at least more-or-less)? *The GM builds (or borrows or purchases) a fantasy setting. *The GM thinks up one or more sequences of dramatic events/developments that are...

The post that I replied to just said "Have a look at the lvl 29 powers in 4E. Compare to synaptic static in 5E.". And Synaptic Static is itself from a supplement rather than the PhB. But in any event, here's a 29th level spell from the 4e PHB: Hurl through Hell Daily * Arcane, Fear, Fire...