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<blockquote data-quote="Quickleaf" data-source="post: 6267399" data-attributes="member: 20323"><p>Good question. I am not serious about putting this out there yet. If I was, this would be on a Kickstarter. Maybe I'll get there, maybe not. That's not the important thing for me. This is mainly for me and my group, and for any folks in the ENWorld community who happen to be interested.</p><p></p><p>So yes, it's to get feedback. And to have my ideas challenged/critiqued. There's an old trick for fiction writing called "Kill Your Babies." Consider me putting this up here an invitation for just the sort of critique you're providing <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite2" alt=";)" title="Wink ;)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=";)" /></p><p></p><p></p><p>Ok, the wording on the barbarian example would need to be changed. Make it enemies, for example. Obviously, "Bag of Rats" is asinine and both designers and players should avoid it.</p><p></p><p>I'm going for a unified condition track to account for things like dazed/fatigued. And then anything besides that may invoke conditions that are pre-described like "stunned" or "asleep" or "petrified." And then sometimes there will be something entirely unique. So a lot like 4e that way.</p><p></p><p>It's the durations & power usage where I'll be making big adjustments. There will be probably 5-6 main duration types, same goes for power usage. So for duration types there will be "until end of this round", "until concentration is broken", etc. Then for power usage there will be "hero point", "stance", "recharge - ###", and so forth.</p><p></p><p></p><p>I'm only passingly familiar with the idea of Aspects, but I have never played FATE. How are Aspects more creative?</p><p></p><p></p><p>Certainly there's some inspiration from the Essentials fighter. But definitely not the same. I am focusing my design more on the rest of the game and coming back to classes later, but... I do have a preliminary version of the fighter. I'll post it next and you can tell me if it's basically the 4e Essentials fighter.</p><p></p><p></p><p>Ok, let me address everything here, because I want to separate out where I think your legitimate criticism lies.</p><p></p><p><strong>"Whats an upshot?"</strong> Is at best a legitimate criticism of the name I choose for this mechanic. Every RPG has lingo, and learning that lingo is part of learning the game. So this criticism is really "I am not familiar with your game. Can you pick another name that more readily captures what this mechanic is about?"</p><p></p><p><strong>"Let me look at my list of upshots"</strong> This misses the premise of the upshot/complication mechanic, which perhaps I need to make explicit now: It's a tool for creativity and improvisation, not a straight jacket. The lists of upshots I wrote are inspirations that make sense given the context. Really, neither GM nor players ever needs to reference those lists (unless, perhaps, someone is having a creativity-impaired moment or it's an especially complex scenario). All the GM and players have to remember is the <strong>Rule of 5</strong> - at 5 above or below the Difficulty, something extra good or extra bad happens. Players describe the good. GM describes the bad. And, to clarify, it probably shouldn't be a game or battle-ender.</p><p></p><p><strong>Play has to STOP</strong> This is the heart of your criticism, and I think it is entirely legitimate. I don't know yet how it will play out. My sense is that it will be quite seamless after a session getting used to it, but it does require a bit more thought go behind every d20 roll. So perhaps in this system there will be fewer rolls with greater significance attached to each roll? I don't know, it's definitely something I'll be keeping an eye on as I introduce it to my group.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Quickleaf, post: 6267399, member: 20323"] Good question. I am not serious about putting this out there yet. If I was, this would be on a Kickstarter. Maybe I'll get there, maybe not. That's not the important thing for me. This is mainly for me and my group, and for any folks in the ENWorld community who happen to be interested. So yes, it's to get feedback. And to have my ideas challenged/critiqued. There's an old trick for fiction writing called "Kill Your Babies." Consider me putting this up here an invitation for just the sort of critique you're providing ;) Ok, the wording on the barbarian example would need to be changed. Make it enemies, for example. Obviously, "Bag of Rats" is asinine and both designers and players should avoid it. I'm going for a unified condition track to account for things like dazed/fatigued. And then anything besides that may invoke conditions that are pre-described like "stunned" or "asleep" or "petrified." And then sometimes there will be something entirely unique. So a lot like 4e that way. It's the durations & power usage where I'll be making big adjustments. There will be probably 5-6 main duration types, same goes for power usage. So for duration types there will be "until end of this round", "until concentration is broken", etc. Then for power usage there will be "hero point", "stance", "recharge - ###", and so forth. I'm only passingly familiar with the idea of Aspects, but I have never played FATE. How are Aspects more creative? Certainly there's some inspiration from the Essentials fighter. But definitely not the same. I am focusing my design more on the rest of the game and coming back to classes later, but... I do have a preliminary version of the fighter. I'll post it next and you can tell me if it's basically the 4e Essentials fighter. Ok, let me address everything here, because I want to separate out where I think your legitimate criticism lies. [b]"Whats an upshot?"[/b] Is at best a legitimate criticism of the name I choose for this mechanic. Every RPG has lingo, and learning that lingo is part of learning the game. So this criticism is really "I am not familiar with your game. Can you pick another name that more readily captures what this mechanic is about?" [b]"Let me look at my list of upshots"[/b] This misses the premise of the upshot/complication mechanic, which perhaps I need to make explicit now: It's a tool for creativity and improvisation, not a straight jacket. The lists of upshots I wrote are inspirations that make sense given the context. Really, neither GM nor players ever needs to reference those lists (unless, perhaps, someone is having a creativity-impaired moment or it's an especially complex scenario). All the GM and players have to remember is the [b]Rule of 5[/b] - at 5 above or below the Difficulty, something extra good or extra bad happens. Players describe the good. GM describes the bad. And, to clarify, it probably shouldn't be a game or battle-ender. [b]Play has to STOP[/b] This is the heart of your criticism, and I think it is entirely legitimate. I don't know yet how it will play out. My sense is that it will be quite seamless after a session getting used to it, but it does require a bit more thought go behind every d20 roll. So perhaps in this system there will be fewer rolls with greater significance attached to each roll? I don't know, it's definitely something I'll be keeping an eye on as I introduce it to my group. [/QUOTE]
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