Sure, but I'm arguing power, flavor and mechanics is still trees, not forest.
The "forest question" would be "should this feature or mechanic be in the game
at all?"
Here are a bunch of good evaluation questions to ask:
- What is the specific problem or weakness with 5th Edition it is trying to solve?
- Is that problem or weakness really one that needs fixing?
- Is the Level Up feature or mechanic focused on solving the problem, and only solving the problem?
Thank you, I better understand your argument now.
So going back to something you said earlier, its important for LevelUp to design a product that people want to buy. So I'm going to use that argument to counters a bit of yours at the moment.
- What is the specific problem or weakness with 5th Edition it is trying to solve?
- Is that problem or weakness really one that needs fixing?
I think the greater question really is: What options do players want more of?
I don't think LevelUp is necessarily going for the "this is the
proper 5e". Its more about "this is 5e with a lot more crunch and options". Ergo, its not about fixing issues as much as it is providing customizations that players desire. Will there be
fixes... of course there will, but I don't feel that is the primary objective.
Applying this to the current packet. I don't think there is anything
wrong with the 5e races, for the most part they are all fine and suitable. We could argue the variant human as probably the one outlier of possible racial problems, but I think that's more a rough spot than a true issue. So from your questions earlier, is there a problem here that needs fixing...I think the answer would be no.
But that's not the point. The point is, a lot of people like racial customization (or at least we believe they do, and the initial surveys seem to point to that). Therefore, offering some nice crunchy racial options with good flavor....will help make the book a one customers will buy.
So taking that argument back to my examination of the packet...I think "looking at the forest" would be asking the question: "Are these options covering the core of the customizations that players want?" That's a good and fine question, its just not the one I am asking at the moment, I was doing a more mechanical review of what has been presented, both of the power balance of the mechanics, and there tie in to the flavor they present. I think such a thread discussing whether these are the "right" flavor packets and covering the archetypes people want to see would be a fine addition to the conversation, and I would encourage someone to start such as conversation if they wish.