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Even though my favourite edition is 4E, I think the 3E fanbase was best. The enthusiasm for the new version in my local game club was obvious, and it brought back people who had drifted off from AD&D (myself included). The best thing about it at the time? Having a large pool of people that knew...

This will go a long way to negating your use of "net damage" for stats. Overall though, from the amount of detail and thought you've obviously put into this, I'm coming round to the idea that you have found a specific PC build choice balance problem with the duelist. I'm also finding the...

Short version: Rocks shouldn't auto-defeat scissors, but might get advantage. One of the core "atoms" of a game (almost any game more sophisticated than Snakes and Ladders or Tic-tac-toe) is player choice. Games with more varied and meaningful choices have richer interactions (and sometimes...

My objection to 4E rituals is that they are essentially self-serving money drains. In a balanced game, where narrative is player driven and focussed on what PCs can do, then the only worthwhile rituals are those based around crafting magic items. The rest are tools to solve problems that the...

My prediction: They'll hand out a couple of new, illusion-y cantrips or similar either to all Gnomes, or to a sub-race. Ghost Sound and Dancing Lights

I think D&D, and RPGs in general, suffer problems when modelling forced affects on PC's minds, perceptions and behaviours. Some kind of compromise needs to be reached, because although these effects are fantasy story staples, they break the game contract that the DM controls the NPCs and the...

That's how I'm reading it too: 1) There will be two measures of a monster's power relative to the PCs: Level and XP Value. 2) Published monsters will not explain how the values are arrived at. . . . however I did read that how-to-build-monsters was going to be part of published material, and...

Actually what I don't like is the mostly unwritten assumption that characters are pulling from their power source to achieve results. Otherwise it makes no sense for e.g. a weakling but experienced wizard to be able to smash through barred doors easily in a feat of strength. He or she must be...

OK, makes sense to me. The Warlord could definitely die, same as some of the other source/role combinations that 4E needed for completeness. BTW my current 4E character is an Inspiring Warlord. I'd still like to see a little more. Significantly, I'd like to see options that didn't present a...

I like that only provided it's not the only option. The warlord is very focussed on leadership, and I wouldn't want my Fighter to get that bundled in whatever. Thinking about what I'd want from "taking other classes stuff", I guess it depends on stats - what's the secondary stat that tells me...

The fighter's multi-attack was supposed to work like that if I recall. It pretty much meant you could count on 2 hits per round, and a minimal amount of damage, and the "exciting" bit was seeing if you could get your 3rd and 4th hits in, which would make a difference to how quickly you could...

Next monsters: Some classic monsters in 6-10 level range. A dragon or two. I'm really hoping for some underlying logic to monsters as well (i.e. "how we built them"). Although for playtest purposes they can probably hold on that to much later on.

It would be kind of cool if mechanically the Troll could get a flank with it's own severed arm! However, only if it didn't come at the cost of a paragraph of fiddly rules text. I don't personally see this any different from narrating hacking bits of zombies off, but they still advance. It's a...

Edit: Sorry, was responding to the general sentiment and enclosed quotes, and noted I don't have an example. I do generally dislike players wanting bonuses to rolls just because they've said or argued something they think is relevant. If nothing else, it can de-rail the game into long passages...

I found that a bit heavy going, but overall interesting analysis. I've not thought about the material in this way, so it was worth the read to see a different angle. It might be better as two threads. You start with approaches to playtest analysis, and end with issues around the fighter. And...

I think a bunch more of exactly these kinds of tables (obviosuly covering more than doors, and perhaps giving some alternatives/equivalents) in some DMG appendix for 4E would have been very useful for DMs wanting to build their world with actual stuff coming first and balanced challenges as a...

Associated mechanics are often more work mechacinally at the table. If they are rationale or physics-based, then very often you need to compare traits of two or more things, and bring in more rules. The 3E rogue's Sneak Attack, and how it would work depending on traits of the target, is a simple...

The 3 mental stats have their limitations. That's where save bonuses, versus specific sub-types of saving throw, and associated with classes, races and backgrounds come in. E.g. barbarians (not traditionally high Wis or Cha characters) get +2 saves versus fear when raging. Such bonuses have...

Classes in D&D are the biggest parts of character builds. The power level of feats is unfortunately a little too low to handle major class abilities. This doesn't rule it out, but would require perhaps more complexity in specially-managed separate feats only available for multi-classing. Which...

4E's skill checks are just as static as 3E. As well as easy/medium/hrad, you also select the level of the challenge. This is always the same number. Edit: So scaling the Slimy Cliffs might be a Level 6 Hard Athletics check. It's always that, same as if in a 3E adventure, the Slimy Cliffs were...