Search results

Also cool and makes sense. So would that be classes like "wooden, "armored," or "steel plated"? Basically the term makes more and more sense as the groupings it references become more and more broad. Also, is there a reference or is this just personal knowledge?

But you still need mechanisms to flesh out those various roles. If you decide that both Fighter and Ranger are "weapon users," you still need some way to differentiate the Ranger's feel from the Fighter's feel. So you are mostly transferring the complexity from the class rule-device into a...

No, it probably would *not* fall under fair use. On that same measure, it is true that if a company doesn't defend its IP it can potentially lose said IP. However, a company can also broadly license usage of its IP or declare that it will not prosecute certain violations without jeopardizing its...

billd91 There are definitely times when that line blurs. If we are talking about an accessory where the utility is derived from its physical form or a photo where the value is derived from its visual form, then sub-par reproductions of those doesn't diminish or cannibalize the original IP. My...

I think this statement cuts too broad. Paizo is successful because they produced a high quality product but also differentiated themselves from WotC by treating their customers more like partners than customers. People dug that, it earned them immense loyalty, and that, in my opinion, drove...

For me the absolute core of D&D is something that is entertaining to me and my friends + social. The trick, then, is figuring out what elements are necessary to let the game be entertaining over time. For me, those are simple, dynamic mechanics that are adaptable to a wide range of scenarios.

The work on zones changed a lot and I had some great feedback from commenters. They are presented in two posts: abstract and details. They are both pretty long posts, apologies. I also did a normal size post on a different approach on stats inspired by the discussion around Mearls' most recent...

That is a really neat perspective and I dig it. In my mind, though, I think more sophisticated game design should be *easier* to communicate and let people get under the hood. D&D has near 40 years of proof that the audience loves to house rule. If they are moving towards a system that makes...

I didn't read it that way (I'm certainly open to being wrong though, so explain away). Mearls gave an example of a character interacting with poison and he acknowledged that you could "make a saving throw versus poison, a Fortitude save, or suffer an attack against Fortitude defense." He...

Someone pointed out to me today that Old School Hack uses "arenas" (basically zones) with an arena being a fairly large area of the battlefield. Movement allows you to move to an adjacent arena so it is fairly constrained, but since that is the intent of OSH, it is pretty perfect. Different...

I think the idea was that 4e progression mechanic (1/2 level) would be added straight to your stats, so the 20th level guy would still tend to be better. Despite that, I still think it is a bit short sighted. His proposal would certainly streamline the character sheet but at the expense of...

Alright, that makes sense. In chainmail it was a literal grouping (or class) of armors all taking on similar traits when targeted by different groupings (or classes) or weapons. The other explanations I've seen "work" but are less precise usages of the word 'class' than bonus or modifier would...

I've been working a lot on a variant D&D system and was sort of bummed when I realized I'd removed armor class. Then I thought, "hey, what's the deal with 'class' in armor class?" There are a handful of definitions of class that can be stretched so that the term makes sense, but Gygax was a...

I think the right number of classes is the fewest number of classes capable of satisfying your (and ostensibly your players') game needs. For me, simpler always trumps more complex because it allows you to evoke more depth to the individual elements instead of having the flavor lost in the...

Thanks so much for the shout out. I'm stoked you like the logic behind my design. I put a lot of effort in being explicit so people can attack my ideas on the merit and so far it has paid off. The criticisms I've gotten have been poignant, helpful, and generally awesome. I'd be a little...

Pawsplay's phase 4 inspired me to expand on my previous post. I would say that the importance of RPGs has actually increased over time despite taking an increasingly back-seat role in my life. Some people paint, others write, others knit, others build... I do all of those through RPGs. If I get...

I think titles can add a bit of realism and depth to a campaign world and so I include a simple version varied by region. However, I think depth is shattered and the tapestry of the imagination is torn when players are (understandably) confused. So if you have a dozen different tiles of a dozen...

A follow up article on the fix presented yesterday that explains the design rationale and implications of the fix.

Sometimes I like to think of message boards like sci-fi tropes. On track, I think this is a really neat time in D&D and RPGs in general. The professional designers have educated and introduced their audience to enough variety that people now have a huge range of preferences, knowledge, and...

To what extent do you think that is a chicken-or-the-egg scenario? Are the players you have access to just diehard committed to other games or is no one willing to break the ice? (I have no dog in this fight, so honest question).