Search results

This works fine when you fight a dragon - which is the case in quite a few stories. But in most campaigns, that's not what you do. You fights lots of monsters, of many varieties, and you go on quests knowing that they will involve those fights. And what this means is that the PCs have to...

The problem with considering level as destiny or luck rather than increased prowess, is that the PCs get in a lot of fights, against a lot of different foes. If you fought one dragon and defeated it, that could be for a lot of reasons. Maybe you were destined to slay it. Maybe you got lucky...

Even for Force Orb, you can always decide to believe that there's an invisible creature in the square and fire the orb at it.

The counter to this... Is this: If the PCs only fought the town guards, then it wouldn't be at all odd for the guards to level as fast as the PCs. However, the PCs fight monsters. And those monsters have a clear heirarchy. Fighting an Orc is not the same thing as fighting the Tarrasque...

A sliding scale for time/resources sounds good, so you can make something like a pit trap (longer amount of time, minimal resources), or a standard mechanical traps (standard time, standard resources), or a quick-setting magical traps (less time, more resources). Doesn't have to complex either...

"Enemy" is easy - anyone you want the power to hit. It can even vary from round to round (For instance, your fellow party member attacks you, so you blast him back with a "hits enemies" power. But then it's revealed that he was under mind control, so you heal him with a "heals allies" power)...

Why is this suddenly an issue? Clerics have been able to heal outside of combat in every version of D&D, as well as many other RPGs. In fact, healing outside of combat is often the preferable option (it certainly was in 3E). And it's not like you get unlimited healing out of this, because...

I think this may be a point that need clarification. For representing an externally generated story, these effects may be problematic. For inspiring a story, these effects are no more of a problem than anything else. Nobody is saying that 4E can't represent stories (at least I'm not) - the...

I'd say it's not that it doesn't support the story, it's that it doesn't inform the story. 4E's rules are very effect-based, which is great if you already know what story you want to tell and just need to fit the appropriate components to it. What they won't help you with is generating...

Even if you can find a Reliable encounter power, I wouldn't worry - it would still be considerably weaker than the Demigod ability.

Are they? Let's not forget that someone with Knock spent more resources getting it than someone with Thievery - one trained skill, versus a trained skill, a feat, finding someone to learn it from, and paying for it. Let's also not forget that Knock is costing you money every time you use it...

I think this "skill protection" thing is going way overboard. Let's remember that a single use of a single skill is not a huge part of a character. At most, it represents a single feat (Skill Training). Being able to pick locks is not what makes a Rogue special, because any character who...

I agree on that. Long and elaborate ritual to return the dead to life? Definitely. Long and elaborate ritual to open a door? Or dig a small hole? That's just pathetic. I mean, rituals cost money - significant amounts of money. That means they should be faster than mundane means, not slower.

I guess there would have to be some benefit to the complexity - better versatility, or better ability to specialize at the expense of versatility, or something else. So I'm not sure how perfectly things could be balanced. However, I'm not sure they need to be perfectly balanced, as long as...

For me, the loss of complexity is a big drawback, and I can see that the narrowing complexity gap could be one too. Personally, the 3E Wizard/Cleric/Druid - that's the level of complexity/strategy/tactics I enjoy. I would be happy with a game where all the classes worked that way. But I can...

Is that really a problem though? The PC is words and numbers on a sheet. It doesn't have feelings, and it won't care if it gets challenged or not. The players are infinitely more important than their character sheets - challenging and entertaining them is what matters. Now I do understand...

Find traps? Yes, but there are other classes with Perception as a skill, and there's always Skill Training if necessary. Disable traps? Not as necessary. Sure, a Rogue is the stylish way to deal with traps, but most traps can be either: A) Triggered from range. B) Destroyed from range...

Isn't it a good thing that Save-or-Die abilties can actually inspire fear? Or long-lasting mind control? Or 3E-style Hold Person? Or 3E-style colossal-sized grappling? Since they specifically removed all of these abilties from 4E, I'd guess the answer is "no", as far as 4E is concerned. When...

Alchemist's Fire might be somewhat useful for a Controller-less group, but even then it's an expensive proposition. And more importantly, based on the way 4E crafting works, you're spending the full market price to craft it yourself - so just buying your alchemical items costs the same as...

Alchemy seems a bit underwhelming so far. Of the items given, the only ones that seem at all cost effective are: 1) Smokesticks, and they're still not that great. 2) Low-level Alchemist's Fire, simply to light buildings and stuff on fire quickly. With everything else, you're paying a very high...