3.5 Stat Blocks Kill my creativity

[Dark Jezter]

Well, now that I actually have some time to sit down and post...

Well I haven't noticed this phenomenon at all.

Well, at least some of us have, because TheAuldGrump recognized it as well.

Or, more precisely, to the extent that there is any 'concentrated group' that makes this complaint, they seem no more 'concentrated' than those who advocate -- and decry -- "low magic" settings, or "grim-and-gritty" settings, etc.

There is, indeed, a group of EN World members who strongly advocate "Low Magic, Grim & Gritty" settings whenever the subject comes up. If you do a forum search over the last year or two for threads about low magic grim & gritty campaigns, you'll find 4 or 5 posters in particular who are the most vocal proponents of that style of play.

Likewise, the number of posters who seem to get all "bent out of shape" at the mention of any non-3e game, or that 3e may not be perfect, seems just as limited as the number of posters who express frustration with 3e.

Yep. There are EN Worlders who act like 3e is perfect in every way and all other systems suck, just as there are posters out there who act as though 3e has absolutely nothing going for it and earlier editions are superior in every way. I'm more forgiving of the former, however, because EN World is a D&D 3e/D20 message board.

In short: get a grip -- not everyone shares your tastes and/or views.

I wasn't claiming that they do, or should. But thanks for the snarky comment.

Hmmm ... I trust that you have learned from your past errors and are not attributing any of these claims to me (as you have mistakenly done in the past).

Well, I will give you the benefit of the doubt, and assume that you are referring to Diaglo here.

Real classy dredging up old arguments like that. But while we're on the subject, I can recall a time or two when you misrepresented my statements as well.

 

[TheAuldGrump]

Oy!

Yes Akrasia, there are some people who bring up C&C whether or not it is appropriate, and yes, you are one of them. Though you have not been quite as militant lately, perhaps because some of the new and shiney has worn off.

But that does not excuse my behavior, not at all, I removed that portion for a reason Dark Jezter, to avoid an argument like this. I was wrong to attack C&C - in this case it was a reasonable suggestion given the complaint. It is not a complaint that I share, but given that there are games filling the D20 Lite niche it is obviously a concern.

So please people, can we keep this civil? And yes Auld Grump, I am talking to you as well!

The Auld Grump, who, me?

*EDIT* And no, I do not believe that D&D 3.x is the perfect system, this is a less than perfect world. (In fact it isn't even my favorite system, just the one I get to play most often... it is about number 5.)

 

[barsoomcore]

It could be worse. We could have one that starts out as a "D&D is too complex" rant but then turns into a 280 post long argument.

Give it time. It's still got that new thread smell.

Come on, thread! 200 more to go!

Though I have to admit that coming into this thread AFTER TAG snipped his C&C attack makes the whole conversation kind of surreal.

 

[TheAuldGrump]

Give it time. It's still got that new thread smell.

Come on, thread! 200 more to go!

Though I have to admit that coming into this thread AFTER TAG snipped his C&C attack makes the whole conversation kind of surreal.

Sorry about that, I was feeling Auld and Grumpy.

But if I am going to complain about other people doing things like that, then it seems really off to put a prime example in the same post...

The Auld Grump, who is now tired, auld, and grumpy...

 

[swrushing]

On the original subject...

I have reached the point where i do see a problem in doing full writeups. Recently during playtest i had to generate multiple 10th level guys and since it was playtest needed to be done right and it was more of a bear than I liked.

but, thats for what i consider bigbad or PC level design.

last campaign i ran, i started in CAMPAIGN PREP generating a number of NPCs of various levels (2nd, 4th, 6th, 8th, 10th, 12th, 15th) to be used to fil various roles. Some were MC and some were single classed (since the MC tended touse two of the lower levels, that was easy.) I then grabbed these as basic blocks for NPCs as i went along. I left a couple feats slots and a skill or two left unspent, to allow for easy tweaking if i needed it (and could leave them as "not relevent to this scenario" when i felt like it.)

So this prevented the need for me fussing with creating stat blocks whole cloth as the campaign went along, wekk after week. Sure, now and again i needed a radically different guy, but frankly, not all that often.

When winging it, i still had some raw numbers to go on.

So a little more work in the very beginning at campaign prep saved me a lot of work week in and week out. I found i can make even the same set of stats seem like a very different challenge more by setting, scenario, and personality than by his numbers being different.

Now, in the Advanced GM guide, by GR, they even have rules for quick generating NPCs and it looks pretty good too.

 

[two]

Give it time. It's still got that new thread smell.

Come on, thread! 200 more to go!

Though I have to admit that coming into this thread AFTER TAG snipped his C&C attack makes the whole conversation kind of surreal.

You know, you continue to say these kind of things about this thread, which, if you would take the time to notice, isn't about "D&D" being too complicated.

It's about a real D&D problem (for GM's). Creating a fully statted NPC at levels 6+ (perhaps 4+) takes a lot of time, and the higher the level, the more time it takes. At some point, some GM's feel the time it takes isn't worth the effort.

Likening it to another thread started years ago about "complexity" isn't helping anyone and honestly, just makes you sound like a jerk.

 

[Nebulous]

I rarely if ever have used stat blocks in DnD, just a brief list of key abilities and hit points and AC. I agree, there's other great games besides DnD, but don't quit just because of book keeping.

 

[Akrasia]

... Real classy dredging up old arguments like that. But while we're on the subject, I can recall a time or two when you misrepresented my statements as well.

Well, I apologize for that!

 

[Akrasia]

... Yes Akrasia, there are some people who bring up C&C whether or not it is appropriate, and yes, you are one of them. Though you have not been quite as militant lately, perhaps because some of the new and shiney has worn off.
...

I don't remember bringing up C&C in "inappropriate" threads. :\

It is not a perfect game at all, but it has certain virtues. I have mentioned it when appropriate IMO. (Or with reference to my own campaign.)

 

[Cam Banks]

It is not a perfect game at all, but it has certain virtues. I have mentioned it when appropriate IMO. (Or with reference to my own campaign.)

Dude. You're like the poster boy for C&C. Your name and C&C are virtually synonymous. I would have a hard time not believing that you worked on the book even if the guys who did work on it showed up to say you didn't.

I'm glad you continue to mention other options such as WFRP and Savage Worlds, but come on. The folks at Troll Lord should be paying you to be a sales rep.

Cheers,
Cam