Menu
News
All News
Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
Pathfinder
Starfinder
Warhammer
2d20 System
Year Zero Engine
Industry News
Reviews
Dragon Reflections
Columns
Weekly Digests
Weekly News Digest
Freebies, Sales & Bundles
RPG Print News
RPG Crowdfunding News
Game Content
ENterplanetary DimENsions
Mythological Figures
Opinion
Worlds of Design
Peregrine's Next
RPG Evolution
Other Columns
From the Freelancing Frontline
Monster ENcyclopedia
WotC/TSR Alumni Look Back
4 Hours w/RSD (Ryan Dancey)
The Road to 3E (Jonathan Tweet)
Greenwood's Realms (Ed Greenwood)
Drawmij's TSR (Jim Ward)
Community
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Resources
Wiki
Pages
Latest activity
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Downloads
Latest reviews
Search resources
EN Publishing
Store
EN5ider
Adventures in ZEITGEIST
Awfully Cheerful Engine
What's OLD is NEW
Judge Dredd & The Worlds Of 2000AD
War of the Burning Sky
Level Up: Advanced 5E
Events & Releases
Upcoming Events
Private Events
Featured Events
Socials!
Twitch
YouTube
Facebook (EN Publishing)
Facebook (EN World)
Twitter
Instagram
TikTok
Podcast
Features
Top 5 RPGs Compiled Charts 2004-Present
Adventure Game Industry Market Research Summary (RPGs) V1.0
Ryan Dancey: Acquiring TSR
Q&A With Gary Gygax
D&D Rules FAQs
TSR, WotC, & Paizo: A Comparative History
D&D Pronunciation Guide
Million Dollar TTRPG Kickstarters
Tabletop RPG Podcast Hall of Fame
Eric Noah's Unofficial D&D 3rd Edition News
D&D in the Mainstream
D&D & RPG History
About Morrus
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
The
VOIDRUNNER'S CODEX
is LIVE! Explore new worlds, fight oppressive empires, fend off fearsome aliens, and wield deadly psionics with this comprehensive boxed set expansion for 5E and A5E!
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*Dungeons & Dragons
2/18/13 L&L column
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="I'm A Banana" data-source="post: 6092174" data-attributes="member: 2067"><p>I think I might be twigging to one of the big differences, here...lets see...</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>The thing to realize here is that the core D&D gameplay for a lot of people is "Risk character death for XP and treasure." </p><p></p><p>If a cleric alone prevents character death, then it affects that risk that is central to the gameplay -- it fundamentally alters the challenge level of the game, simply with one class. So that class becomes something that someone who plays D&D in this way is going to need, if they want to get the most bang for their buck. Or, put another way, playing without it is deliberately sacrificing party efficiency.</p><p></p><p>The disconnect seems to be that a good chunk of groups never really played D&D that way, and so affecting character death didn't really add or subtract anything. But we can't assume that newbies will play D&D this way. Because they may play it as "risk character death for XP and GP," too, I feel that we need to make the basic game such that if they have this playstyle, that they aren't pressured into taking a cleric, since a cleric lowers that risk. </p><p></p><p>XP is, furthermore, a measure of how a character gets toward achieving their goals. If the party has 1000 XP until they gain the next level, the party that covers 500 XP between recharges is going to be performing better than the party that covers 450 XP. Regardless of a character's other goals, XP is a constant goal, and it is used to measure other goals (in an old-school XP = GP game, it's a measure of the haul you bring back; in a narrative XP = awarded for time game, it's a measure of how long your character has been around and how much "screen time" they've recieved; in a 3e/4e XP = Monsters game, it's a measure of how many beasts you've slain). </p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>This is an issue, because Party A earned more XP between their rests than Party B, and so accomplished more of their goals. If the adventure involves about 20 combats, Party A is going to finish it in four recharges, while Party B is going to need 5. Party A is thus better at finishing adventures than Party B. They face less of a challenge. They gain levels faster. They require fewer die rolls in between their rewards. In a game that is played as "risk character death for XP and treasure," they've become obviously better, risking less death and being awarded more XP and treasure.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="I'm A Banana, post: 6092174, member: 2067"] I think I might be twigging to one of the big differences, here...lets see... The thing to realize here is that the core D&D gameplay for a lot of people is "Risk character death for XP and treasure." If a cleric alone prevents character death, then it affects that risk that is central to the gameplay -- it fundamentally alters the challenge level of the game, simply with one class. So that class becomes something that someone who plays D&D in this way is going to need, if they want to get the most bang for their buck. Or, put another way, playing without it is deliberately sacrificing party efficiency. The disconnect seems to be that a good chunk of groups never really played D&D that way, and so affecting character death didn't really add or subtract anything. But we can't assume that newbies will play D&D this way. Because they may play it as "risk character death for XP and GP," too, I feel that we need to make the basic game such that if they have this playstyle, that they aren't pressured into taking a cleric, since a cleric lowers that risk. XP is, furthermore, a measure of how a character gets toward achieving their goals. If the party has 1000 XP until they gain the next level, the party that covers 500 XP between recharges is going to be performing better than the party that covers 450 XP. Regardless of a character's other goals, XP is a constant goal, and it is used to measure other goals (in an old-school XP = GP game, it's a measure of the haul you bring back; in a narrative XP = awarded for time game, it's a measure of how long your character has been around and how much "screen time" they've recieved; in a 3e/4e XP = Monsters game, it's a measure of how many beasts you've slain). This is an issue, because Party A earned more XP between their rests than Party B, and so accomplished more of their goals. If the adventure involves about 20 combats, Party A is going to finish it in four recharges, while Party B is going to need 5. Party A is thus better at finishing adventures than Party B. They face less of a challenge. They gain levels faster. They require fewer die rolls in between their rewards. In a game that is played as "risk character death for XP and treasure," they've become obviously better, risking less death and being awarded more XP and treasure. [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*Dungeons & Dragons
2/18/13 L&L column
Top