Search results

  1. C

    D&D 5E (2014) Is It Time To Not Assign Spellcasting Classes ANY Casting Mechanics?

    I like the main idea quite a lot, but I think it falls just a wee bit short of where it is ultimately aiming. Namely, instead of moving "spell casting mechanics" out of the classes, move "spell casting mechanics + stuff closely associated with those mechanics" out of the classes. That might be...
  2. C

    Playtest Update

    One thing they could be doing is constantly improving their survey methods. For example, how they got out of that last round of surveys that "turn undead as a spell" was not popular I have no idea, since the way they did the spell questions had to be a major turnoff to a lot of respondents...
  3. C

    What I learned from Boardgames: The hidden power of the character sheet

    I had considered the paper clip idea for a homebrew game where each player was tasked with handling multiple characters, sometimes handing off minor characters to another player, and thus needed good ways to track certain information. The game didn't work out, but I think I had this particular...
  4. C

    D&D 5E (2014) With Respect to the Door and Expectations....The REAL Reason 5e Can't Unite the Base

    No kidding. Not to mention that in real life most things worth pursuing take a lot of fairly boring and/or drudge work to accomplish. Very rarely do designers deliberately model that part in a game, though sometimes they manage to sneak it in by accident. :p
  5. C

    D&D 5E (2014) With Respect to the Door and Expectations....The REAL Reason 5e Can't Unite the Base

    In BW, the big difference is the advancement, I think, and the way the advancement itself feeds back into the cycle itself. It's theoretically possible to advance in BW slowly without failure, but that would be some extremely improbable rolls combined with some long-term training. In practice...
  6. C

    D&D 5E (2014) With Respect to the Door and Expectations....The REAL Reason 5e Can't Unite the Base

    Right. Which would break the reward cycle in BW, which is the best thing about it. People see the Beliefs and read "Fate Aspects" as if the Beliefs were central, but it's the "Fight for what you Believe" that is central, because that is the reward cycle in BW. Everything in BW is in there either...
  7. C

    D&D 5E (2014) With Respect to the Door and Expectations....The REAL Reason 5e Can't Unite the Base

    And how! All the abuse in my 3E games was because the player didn't know to avoid this seemingly innocuous, in character, choice. 3E is the poster child for a system that you have to master in order that a group of well-meaning, non niche-stepping friends can make sure they don't accidently...
  8. C

    D&D 5E (2014) Multiclassing...AGAIN?

    Well, low-level "slumming" is something you can never totally avoid unless you put arbitrary limits on multiclassing. This is true no matter what mechanics you use, though of course social contract can dictate those limits too. That is, even if I come up with a mechanical solution that satisfies...
  9. C

    D&D 5E (2014) Multiclassing...AGAIN?

    Buy the levels as you have said, but don't stack the features. So you only get the best individual thing of any given class. A Fighter 1/Wizard 1 has the hit points of a 1st level fighter, but a Fighter 1, Wizard 3 has the hit points of a third level wizard. That sounds like it gets out of...
  10. C

    Trouble responding to playtest surveys

    Thanks, I can get to the survey that way. Someone XP for me, please, since I can't yet.
  11. C

    Trouble responding to playtest surveys

    Sending by private email, as I want to leave the GUID in. I'm using Outlook Express (the freebie version on Windows 7.)
  12. C

    Trouble responding to playtest surveys

    I tried that, but it was if the link itself was garbled. And it's every single link in the email, including the one that is supposed to give you a cleaner version of the email. :D I'm using the standard version of Trend Micro for virus if anyone else is having this issue.
  13. C

    Mike Mearls: A Paladin, Ranger, and Wizard With Arcane Tradition Walk Into A Tavern

    Me neither, especially the rangers. However, my objection is mainly that the original spells were only there because "some nifty vaguely class-related ability that can vary" in AD&D was often implemented in the game as "gets a spell"--even when this really didn't fit. (And people complain...
  14. C

    Trouble responding to playtest surveys

    Anyone else been getting email invites to respond to the playtest with unclickable links? I'd think it was my virus protection software, but it is it, WotC survey email is the only thing that sets it off. Everything clickable gets blocked, and I can't seem to get it unblocked. Other emails...
  15. C

    D&D 5E (2014) With Respect to the Door and Expectations....The REAL Reason 5e Can't Unite the Base

    Trouble is going to follow no matter what terms you use. It will just depend on which trouble you want to pick. "Dissociated mechanics" and "accurate" don't belong in the same book, let along the same sentence. And that's all I've got to say to your point.
  16. C

    D&D 5E (2014) With Respect to the Door and Expectations....The REAL Reason 5e Can't Unite the Base

    I'd say that "concept first" is often a good way to approach RPG development--provided that you have a sufficiently rigorous and narrow view of what encompasses "concept". The more lazy and broad you get with "concept," the less that will work. Really, once you've got a good concept nailed...
  17. C

    D&D 5E (2014) With Respect to the Door and Expectations....The REAL Reason 5e Can't Unite the Base

    I don't really disagree with the various answers thus far, but for my part I had something a little more abstract in mind. Namely, consistency in the spirt of the rules. As a practical matter, I've found it easer to communicate that then the details, though obviously a certain amount of...
  18. C

    D&D 5E (2014) With Respect to the Door and Expectations....The REAL Reason 5e Can't Unite the Base

    He may, but the quote you cited is largely orthogonal to the issue Balesir raised. Gygax is talking about fidelity to the spirit being superior to fidelity to the letter. No one with half a brain argues against that (though there are plenty of people on the internet demonstrating how it goes)...
  19. C

    D&D 5E (2014) Maybe D&D Should Branch?

    If they produce a kludged compromise mix, I agree with you. Good modular products are not kludged compromises, though. Now, whether or not WotC can produce a good modular product is thus the big question. :D And you'll note that I said part product, part building element. D&D isn't a room...
  20. C

    D&D 5E (2014) Maybe D&D Should Branch?

    Forking two branches at once would be business suicide. Might as well detonate the meteor swarm at your feet, and forgo the saving throw. :D Now, you could make a case for taking the existing 3.5 and 4E platforms and continuing them with mild support while working on Next. I don't think I'd...
Top