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  1. DM_Blake

    D&D 3.x 4E/3E Combat Time Question...

    Most 3e rounds, most of time, can go pretty quickly. I think a lot of people are hoping 4e will be the "silver bullet" to solve all their problems. In my experience, 3e combat rounds are usually quick and painless. The slow downs come from: 1. Player not knowing what to do. He's indecisive...
  2. DM_Blake

    Why does epic level play entail treating death as a "speed bump"?

    There's another way to look at it. But first we have to understand what death is, in game terms. And for that we need to understand what life is, too. Simplified: life is a state where the body of flesh and muscle and bone and other tissues is animated by natural life-force, spirit, soul...
  3. DM_Blake

    Why does epic level play entail treating death as a "speed bump"?

    Let's break it down logically, from a game play point of view: In low levels, you basically hit stuff with your sword, and they hit you with their claws and teeth or their swords. Maybe some spellcasters hit things with spells, but those don't do much more damage than hitting things with swords...
  4. DM_Blake

    PCs With Recharging Abilities... Why Not?

    Dreamcatcher said it first, I believe: It comes down to balance. You expect each PC to throw in 1 - 3 big powers (a couple per-encounter powers, maybe a daily), and then spend the rest of the fight using small powers (at-will powers or even basic attacks, sometimes). Each encounter you place...
  5. DM_Blake

    Healing Surges innate Blessed band aids

    It seems to me that there is a middle ground. A game system where damage is painful, dibilitating, and, well, damaging. But also where access to healing is readily available, and the guy who loses a leg will be up walking around in real-life minutes thanks to the availability of healing magic...
  6. DM_Blake

    Healing Surges innate Blessed band aids

    I gotta say, this is the least realistic/acceptible version of HP/recovery that I have heard yet. My gaming group would laugh me out of the room if I pulled this one on them. I hope you were trolling, or if not, I hope you have a very different gaming group than mine so you won't suffer that...
  7. DM_Blake

    Healing Surges innate Blessed band aids

    I could, grudgingly, accept this logic. Except for all the Cure X Wounds spells, and Heal, and others, that seem to cure my stun. One or the other have got to give. Either damage is wounds, and cured by Cure X Wounds, or damage is stun, and cured by Cure X Stun. But not one of each. It's...
  8. DM_Blake

    To all the other "simulationists" out there...

    LOL, my House Rule document is into triple digits... But to be fair, it also includes a huge section of "combined feats" where I created an xls table of feats and their sources and summaries from over 25 core, splat, and 3rd party books (and some I made up, too). I would probably be under 100...
  9. DM_Blake

    To all the other "simulationists" out there...

    I hear your pain. I really do. I've tried so many game systems over 30+ years of playing, I don't even dare list them all. Here's some of them: D&D (every edition), Gurps (every edition), Champions, Fantasy Hero, Warhammer FRP, Rolemaster, Runequest, Tunnels and Trolls, Dangerous Journeys...
  10. DM_Blake

    To all the other "simulationists" out there...

    Yes, technically the term "Refocus" is a holdover term I use from 3.0, but the tactic still exists in 3.5 by using the delay action and delaying until initiative 20 of the following round: It's just easier to say "refocus"...
  11. DM_Blake

    To all the other "simulationists" out there...

    Yep, and in 4th edition, he will deflect that blade so well that it won't even draw blood - it will only make him a little tired, so that he can take a second wind and recover his lost HP. Or, alternatively, a cleric could wander by and cast Cure Light Wounds, er, uh, Cure Light Tiredness to...
  12. DM_Blake

    To all the other "simulationists" out there...

    Round 1: Still silent and invisible, the rogue refocuses. Guaranteed initiative advantage. Round 2: Rogue positions himself within reach of the guard and the bell, then he sneak attacks from invisibility. This is a surprise round, so guard does nothing. Round 3: Guard rolls initiative, but not...
  13. DM_Blake

    Help me out. PoL. Why don't small towns get overrun?

    Here's another thing to consider. Starting with 3e, leveling became much easier. If anyone recalls the olden days of yore where a fighter needed 2,000 xp to get to level 2, and each orc he killed was worth 15xp, he would have had to solo-kill 134 orcs to get to 2nd level. But in 3e, that number...
  14. DM_Blake

    Tips for new DM& group?

    Forcing it, and even ruining it. Don't invite your players to fight among themselves. If the paladin's player is a fairly decent roleplayer, he will catch on to this on his own, and maybe even roleplay it well without destroying party unity. If he isn't a fairly decent roleplayer, then telling...
  15. DM_Blake

    WoTC Rodney: Economy of actions

    Quite true. Summoning is weak enough without wasting two feats to be able to summon much weaker creatures safely. Yep. Even more so when you consider they don't have to prepare their interrupts (no held actions required). Even more so when you consider that fireballs are scary, but summoned...
  16. DM_Blake

    Ranged Strikers - more "aggro" mechanics?

    Sure, if you're talking about a significant difference in how close the target is, or what cover they might have. If a ranger is faced with 2 enemies, neither of whom are in melee or have any cover at all, one of whom is 4 squares away and one is 5 squares away, it seems to me that the ranger...
  17. DM_Blake

    WoTC Rodney: Economy of actions

    Wouldn't help much. Silent means you could whisper the verbal components, even if you're gagged. Still means your hand gestures are so minimal that they can easily escape notice, and you can even cast if you're bound. However, neither metamagic feat hides the magical effects. A silent...
  18. DM_Blake

    WoTC Rodney: Economy of actions

    I'm not really changing the rules. The components are already there. I'm making it more clear to all viewers that a summon is being cast, and everyone who can see it knows who is casting it. That's no different than fireball, except fireball is a standard action, so nobody can interrupt it...
  19. DM_Blake

    Richard Baker on Orcus and Deity Slaying

    Ahh, but you can do both. I've never had a party of mortal PCs take down any god. Not even a petty godling or abyssal princeling. But I have run campaigns where powerful PCs ascend beyond being mortals. Become god(like) in their own right. Contend with demigods, princelings, and other petty...
  20. DM_Blake

    Anti-martial effects?

    It should not be necessary. With that I agree. But it should be possible. I would imagine, in a world as full of magice as D&D, many mages (and others) would devote long hours, even long years, to finding spells they can cast, or items they can make, to prevent enemy mages from using their...
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