Search results

I had a pair of questions about comments way-back-when in the podcast (and maybe elsewhere). Now that the book is at the printers', maybe we can get some answers about these! First, with reference to something Dave Noonan said in an old podcast about designing magic items... Did you end up...

Yeah, I'm guessing two-handers just have a bigger die and that's it -- the extra hand is how you pay for the extra die size. If you're going from a d8 longsword to a d12 greatsword, that's an average +2 damage. A versatile weapon would be a flat +1 damage, and that seems fine to me even if...

That makes sense and fits my sense of what a burst is. But then what's a 'blast'?

I'm glad I wasn't actually drinking my coffee when I read that! :lol:

Well, I dunno about THAT, but I think you get to be a demigod if you complete the Apotheosis epic destiny.

I never used them, no. It was sort of an intellectual exercise. I can post them if you like, I guess... I don't even remember if they're still on my computer at home, though, and they're very much rough drafts only; not really tested or balanced yet. For the "sneaky mode" shape, I'd just say...

I actually wote up a series of feats for the PHBII "shapeshift" druid that would grant new forms -- I think I went with "Stealthy Stalker", which was a rat or cat or some similar thing (you shrink to Tiny, bonus to dexterity, and... Eh, I can't remember wtihout going to look it up). Another was...

I agree totally with this. The Raven Knight PRC presented in "Expedition to Castle Ravenloft" does this with its raven companion -- the companion can take one of several actions each turn that inflict specified debuffs on the enemy you selected, but it doesn't act like a character. It doesn't...

And then the Greatest Song in the World to get rid of him, right?

Seems to me like the Bard is sort of the inverse of a necromancer or other shadow-user. They draw on the raw essence of the feywild, and as a result can access certain fey-like powers. I don't know that bards are going to be heavy on the illusion; it's sounded to me like they're going to be...

It's from the 1st edition DMG, page 111. It's one of the silly comics they had in that version. See the Why We Aren't Funny article for other examples. The picture shows a priest and a magic user (wizard) rolling dice at the table, and they're saying that line to the fighter.

That's true. Rather than "make a charisma-based skill check", it'll be based on "Attack: Cha vs Will" or some such combination, where you make a charisma-based attack to use your magical music. But why wisdom to determine number of background skills? That seems a little messed up. I think...

The thing is, I think the opposite for the same reason! All these non-adventuring skills are legitimate uses of your ability, but they can't stand up in a real character creation scenario. You're having to have Craft Beer and Profession: Basket Weaver stand in the same room with Athletics and...

Not exactly; it's just that those mundane skills don't have to be represented. If I want to put in my background that my dwarf is well known for his brewing skills, that doesn't have to attach to some number on my sheet; the DM can just say yes, fine, I make good beer when I spend time making...

Somebody earlier mentioned the Death Spiral, and I want to reiterate that. If you've ever played Werewolf, you've probably seen a death spiral in action. You get hit and mark off some boxes of damage, enough to give you a significant combat penalty. You fight a little more, but now you're...

See, this is why discussions of GNS drive me nuts. People don't know what the terms really mean. I really can't agree here, because mechanics that ensure a dramatic flow of events (similar to a movie or novel) do not imply a narrativist game. Narrative gaming is more than just focusing on the...

Maybe somebody could help me out here -- what elements of 4e seem to be leaning 'narrativist'? I don't see it. Narrativist rules would be rules that allow you to break the other rules of the system because you think it would be dramatically appropriate to do so, such as rules for how the GM...

Narrativism is mostly concerned with producing a "meaningful" story -- with exploring a theme though the game. I think that flips to "railroading!" for many simulationists -- a simulationist thinks that things in the game-world follow certain "laws of physics", as it were, and breaking those...

Of course. GNS is a tool for finding out what you and your players really want, and for finding a system that best supports that. It's not a way to slap insulting tags on other people. In fact, I find that I use varying quantities of all three depending on the situation. I normally have the...

But IS it different? I've watched a lot of kung fu sparring in my life -- but I don't dream I can walk in and take that dude who's been training for ten years. Or if I've had five years of training with target shooting with a rifle, I don't suppose that means I can pick up a pistol and be an...