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It is definitely a neat idea and also neat that it can overlay relatively simply over the existing system. I'm not yet sure, though, that it seems worth it. You pitched the benefit as "some characters heal faster," which might be neat, but I know that I now need to compare 3 weapon types against...

I have a re-occurring mechanic I use for things that should be raw ability checks since I agree that ability checks are boring. I call it "The Mechanic." It feels slightly complex at first (it isn't) but since it is uniform in its use people quickly get used to it. Roll d20 + ability mod and...

I can't point you to the reference, but I believe for a sprint Dex is recommended and over a longer race it would be Con. As you note, if one has a higher speed (or a feat) they just flat out win. Sort of the same rules and logic behind things like arm wrestling competitions--higher score wins...

I agree that they change but I'm not sure I think that is a good thing. Obviously the first economy will be more prevalent during character creation, but since you continue to acquire power throughout the game it ought to present you with meaningful decisions as you gain levels, select feats...

I have found that, in general, when a player recommends a change in the prerequisites of a feat, they often suggest a change to something they already would have met and away from something they didn't like. It is a huge red flag. If this is the case for your scenario and you really don't want...

I pretty much stick to chosen treasure, often tailored to the party and campaign. For the most part, my players just got annoyed when their Weapon Spec: Longsword character kept finding axes and it wasn't worth the resentment. One solution is to introduce mechanics like residuum, but that is...

I think the drawbacks will be larger than first anticipated. Some classes have extra surges because their class powers intend for them to spend on behalf of others. All of the sudden, those "group resources" can now be re-funneled back to the character. It is sort of hard to spend surges during...

You know who really doesn't get any love? Chester A. Arthur. I was assigned to write a report on him in 5th grade and I think I can count the number of times he has come up since on one hand. This thread also made me realize that being compared to WoW is sort of a silly slur. Being likened to a...

I wanted to give you XP but evidently did so too recently. Tons of great stuff in there that really put a lot of my wayward thoughts into a structured format.

I think this is a very fair assessment. The one neat revelation I've had so far is that both 3e and 4e set up the Economy Two so that monsters more or less equaled a PC in terms of actions. Monsters tend to be a bit simpler, but for the most part they can do everything a player can. As a result...

I think I am headed in the same direction as you but we're not in quite the same place. I'm not really sure my end destination because this is more just a thought I had and wanted to discuss. Maybe we are actually in the same boat and we're just using different terminology; hopefully we'll find...

So obviously I disagree about the usage of the word "economy" because I picked it, but economics is the study of the production and consumption of goods and services. In game terms, this is the availability and consumption of power. The three tiers discussed look at three different levels. (1)...

I had a similar epiphany some years back. I had been the sole DM for a few years and each campaign kept trying to "up" my game by introducing more nuance and more refined stories. I left the country for a few weeks and a different player stepped up and DM'd a mini campaign for six or so...

Hmm, after reading a page and a half of replies after my first post, I think I might change my answer to: "An edition war begins when statements are more defamatory than illustrative."

The recent upsurge of edition threads made me rethink my opinions of the various editions. I hold all of them in esteem, but I generally feel that each edition stands upon the shoulders of the previous to go farther. Yet, many posters who's opinions generally impress me unequivocally hold that...

A friend of mine got annoyed at how easily hit points returned and how being knocked unconscious seemed rather trivial. He instituted a house rule that a failed death saving throw applied a "Wound" that reduced maximum surges by one. You died when you ran out of surges instead of three failed...

In general I don't recommend using important mechanics to fix some other problem in the game. What you've identified is that you dislike how rapidly people can gain levels, but your looking for the solution in a mechanic that balances how much someone can heal per combat. This is the ol' taking...

"My brother once told me, nothing a man says before the word but, really counts."

An edition war begins when the statements describe people instead of rule systems.

On one hand I think class names are extremely useful in being evocative and implying an initial flavor. However, I dislike when the name gets in the way of campaign flavor. So a class like "Knight" sort of obviates the ability of the campaign world to have Knights. The same can be said of...