D&D 5E 28/1/13 L&L D&DNext goals part Four

[Dragoslav]

I have never understood this "I don't like X, so nobody else should be allowed to have it as an option" attitude.

That's not my attitude at all. As I said later in my post, I want 5e to be able to handle multiple playstyles, so I don't think that facing should be excluded from an optional rules set just because I don't like it anymore than I think people should advocate for the exclusion of 4e powers like "Come and Get It" just because they don't like it*. I don't mean to imply that there shouldn't be options for facing; my sardonicism only derives from early comments by DDN developers along the lines of "For people who loved 4e, we want to include systems for tactical combat, like rules for facing!!!11" Those comments made me skeptical that the devs 1) were serious about getting 4e fans on board, and/or 2) knew what it was about 4e that made it strike a chord with its fanbase.

Hence, I'm not against having facing as an element within the optional tactical combat module. I'll just be disappointed if the elements that are meant to replicate 4e-style play are limited to fiddly mechanical bits like facing. I know that we're still a long way off from seeing these advanced-level optional modules in any concrete form, so I'll naturally reserve my final judgment until then and in the meantime continue to harbor skepticism whenever the topic comes up.

*(And now that someone has spoken the abominable phrase "Come and Get It," commence 10-page discussion on validity of said power)

 

[tomBitonti]

So, what sorts of rules are we looking at building? The list is a little fluid, but here's what we want to focus on. It's kind of a laundry list, and there's no guarantee that everything will be ready at launch, so it's more of a wish list.

Include tactical combat rules that allow the option to add more miniatures gaming elements to combat. This would include a grid, options for facing, rules for more detailed zones of control, and so on.
Provide a system that emphasizes refreshing resources by encounter instead of by day. The nice thing about our approach is that since this is an option, we don't have to settle for half measures. Everything can be encounter-based, even hit points.
Create rules for giving mechanical weight to character motivation, personality traits, and so on.
Provide a structure for a more story-based approach to D&D, treating the DM and players as co-authors of a narrative with a specific focus.
Use action points, fate points, or a similar meta-mechanic as a reward or a way to give players a mechanical option to boost their power for a specific moment.
Create variant XP rules, using XP as a way for a DM to place the emphasis on fighting, interaction, exploration, finding treasure, and so on.
Add in rules for firearms, including both a historical take and one driven by fantasy.
Include rules for mass combat between armies, both for resolving two armies fighting and battles where the PCs can play a role.
Design rules for speeding up battles that involve lots of monsters and the characters.
Provide rules for sea battles.
Create rules for realms management and strongholds.
Design rules for finding ingredients and reagents to craft magic items.
Provide critical hit and critical failure tables.
Design rules for using armor as damage reduction, along with rules for hit locations.
Introduce rules for lingering wounds, a gritty approach to health and well being.
Include alternative magic systems.
Provide rules for horror and sanity, along with other rules to change D&D's genre.

Gah. That's a wish list, not a project plan. My software engineering sensibility alarms are flashing high alert.

TomB

 

[VinylTap]

Sometimes I think you 4th ed die hards confuse "the first example that pop'd into the developers head when asked a vague question" and "The main emphasis we are all focused on and pushing BIGTIME in the new system, regardless of the community wishes". I don't know how many times they can say "we're listening and closely as we can to the community in order to make the most people happy".

 

[D'karr]

Sometimes I think you 4th ed die hards confuse "the first example that pop'd into the developers head when asked a vague question" and "The main emphasis we are all focused on and pushing BIGTIME in the new system, regardless of the community wishes". I don't know how many times they can say "we're listening and closely as we can to the community in order to make the most people happy".

From what I've read of comments and criticisms I'd say the the 4e die-hards, as you choose to call them, are hardly nor exclusively the only ones with that type "knee-jerk" attitude.

From my observations, IMO, the biggest cries have been of "I'll never play that game if it has X, Y, or Z 4e element." Of course that is only my biased observation and I could be completely wrong.

 

[VinylTap]

From what I've read of comments and criticisms I'd say the the 4e die-hards, as you choose to call them, are hardly nor exclusively the only ones with that type "knee-jerk" attitude.

From my observations, IMO, the biggest cries have been of "I'll never play that game if it has X, Y, or Z 4e element." Of course that is only my biased observation and I could be completely wrong.

There's a lot of that as well, yes.

 

[Gadget]

I was a little confused by the article as the initial presentation of Basic/Standard/Advanced implies a progression of increasing rules complexity. Yet many, though certainly not all, of the 'advanced' rules options described in the advanced article don't seem all that complex compared to the 3e-ish Standard rules discussed earlier. In fact, many seem like they would work well with the basic game, if one were so inclined, without increasing complexity at the table by much at all. Perhaps they should consider calling it 'options' (or some other term) instead of Advanced, given the history of that title in D&D.

 

[Klaus]

I'd be okay with all HP restoring after each encounter if you could also use 'grievous wounds.' So your stamina replenishes, but if you were actually injured, that takes a long while to recover.

Maybe grievous wounds go straight for the Hit Dice?

 

[I'm A Banana]

...the thing I'm writing now has them reduce Maximum HP (and get some other jazz)

 

[Remathilis]

*(And now that someone has spoken the abominable phrase "Come and Get It," commence 10-page discussion on validity of said power)

Nah. You're just dead to me.

 

[Bedrockgames]

Honestly White Wolf/Onyx Path is better for horror, its what they,specialize and are known for.

I found the Ravenloft horror rules quite useable.