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    Stances

    Ok, class abilities of another kind then. My point was: why stances and not abilities that are always active (in the case of combat styles) or depend on which attack action you use (in the case of multi-attack).
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    The Importance of Randomness

    There are no formal win/lose conditions, but players certainly create their own conditions for positive/negative rewards. I wouldn't call them winning/losing precisely because they are seldom game ending. Someone's positive reward may even be negative for another player: losing a character in a...
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    The Importance of Randomness

    That something is a random encounter in no way implies a lack of rationale. It is the DM's job to determine the rationale, if it is not readily apparent. The examples I gave have an implied rationale behind them. I would phrase "abdication of responsibility" in a more neutral way, but yes: they...
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    Spells: The Essentials

    Spells don't make skills meaningless. If the mage has a diplomacy spell prepared, he probably doesn't have a sneak spell and/or has one combat spell fewer. They are just another approach to the problem. Also, charm person (3e) makes targets friendly. That's not even the best result skills can...
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    The Importance of Randomness

    There are pre-placed encounters for most of the examples. Random encounters make them more common, ensure a chance for even those parties who don't venture to those specific locations, and make the world seem more dynamic. They also result in each campaign going differently, since some things...
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    The Importance of Randomness

    Ability score generation seems to come up in a lot of threads. FYI, you get close to 4d6dl averages if you start with the array 16/14/12/10/8/6 and roll 3d6 in order to increase.
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    The Importance of Randomness

    Randomness is especially important for the exploration "pillar". I wholeheartedly recommend the excellent Kingmaker AP from Paizo as a study in how random encounters make the world alive. They are not just background noise, but foreshadow important foes or allies in the narrative. They are also...
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    Stances

    I'm not opposed to stances, but I'm not sure what the problem is that they need to solve. The fighter can only attack with the weapons he's wielding, so why should he also have to be in a specific stance? Knowing both TWF and Sword'n'Board, you can still only use one style each round. Why...
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    Conceptual Problem - Fighter vs. Ranger

    They should make the core four classes more general than others. Cleric is a holy warrior, who uses both magic and weapons. Fighter is a dedicated combatant who can use any weapon. Rogue is a scout or a mobile skirmisher with a wide array of skills. Wizard is a dedicated magic user, weak when...
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    D&D Blog. Should Fighters get multiple attacks?

    For that situation I think it would work better if AC and attack bonus increase, while hp stay relatively flat. That way combat advantage is more important for the guards. Let's assume the guards normally need 17-20 to hit. Combat advantage (flanking) gives them +2 so their average damage...
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    D&D Blog. Should Fighters get multiple attacks?

    Good summary of pros and cons. (Although I'm not sure design is any harder than for increasing damage. Having both is the problem.) If they keep the 4e standard/minor/move actions, multi-attack could require only your standard and minor and still let you move.
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    Confirming crits, good idea, bad idea, or worst idea ever

    Depending on what you mean by "go crit", that was true for some other rolls in 3e. Almost every check other than a skill roll was automatically successful on a 20. Spells critted when the enemy rolled 1 on a save. In addition to what has been done before, I would consider making saves crit so...
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    D&D 5E (2014) [Very Long Indeed] Reconciling Combat as War and Combat as Sports in 5ed

    Any procedure for which there are detailed rules *becomes* expected procedure. Even if you just have the six ability scores and modifiers, those rules allow you to interpret pretty much any action you can imagine as a check vs. a DC. Personally, I find things typically labeled "fluff" often...
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    D&D 5E (2014) [Very Long Indeed] Reconciling Combat as War and Combat as Sports in 5ed

    I haven't played Wushu, but in my experience rules light systems tend to let groups gravitate to the kind of play they are used to or find fun. If you prefer CAS and use such a system maybe it seems to support that; whereas if you prefer CAW it seems to support that. The same is true with...
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    D&D Blog. Should Fighters get multiple attacks?

    Trailblazer is a good starting point: 6th level you get two attacks at -2 each, 11th the penalty drops to -1 and after 16th there's no penalty. IMO four attacks for TWF is too much. Maybe it could start with two at -2, then 6th level three at -3 or so, with penalties coming down at 11th and 16th.
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    SoD, how can we accommodate everyone?

    Also, no time limit, no cost to cast, no chance the target's soul is unwilling or unable to return. It can be different in 5e. Mechanically, they are pretty close. Thematically there are important differences, and I can imagine campaigns and settings where reversing petrification is ok but...
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    Confirming crits, good idea, bad idea, or worst idea ever

    In 4e that's true, and another reason auto-confirm works. In 3e you'll see a lot of variation, even in balanced encounters. A CR 5 monster may have AC 20+. Four CR 1 monsters (still EL 5) may have AC 10-13. The same is true for attack bonuses.
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    Confirming crits, good idea, bad idea, or worst idea ever

    BTW, the problem the confirm attempts to solve is that someone with 10% chance to hit should be critting a lot less than someone with a 90% chance. Without confirm both have a 5% chance. With the confirm, the former becomes a 0.5% chance and the latter a 4.5% chance. If you don't have something...
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    Confirming crits, good idea, bad idea, or worst idea ever

    Make it full damage before confirmation and let the roll add even moar damage or cool things like tripping.
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    D&D 5E (2014) How would you like 5e to handle combat roles.

    Roles are only a part of it. Why would a LG paladin accept an assassin in his party? Why would an orc-hating dwarf work with a half-orc barbarian? Why would anyone want to be near a kender? Trying to fix those problems with mechanics doesn't work. Maybe because they like Bob? Maybe because...
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