Abilities as the Core - uh yeah...

[CuRoi]

Wiseblood - I agree with the idea of keeping much of the monster stats in a "behind the screen" sort of envelope instead of trying to shoehorn everything into rules which may not ultimately won't support it. While I prefer many of the new options and mechanics 3e brought, I REALLY miss the old Monster Manuals. Great stuff there - just the necessities you need to run a monster but its still a distinctive threat.

Good point about the whole racial skills bonus - those aquatic animals that can't swim very well for lack of skill points for instance or predators that have no way to track and hunt for food (due to insufficient Survival scores). My favorite was the 3e Grigg - little grasshopper like Sprite - that due to skill points and jump rules really, well, couldn't jump. Description still says "they can jump great distances" but with a move of 20', a height of 1.5 feet, great must be used extremely loosely even with a +8 Racial bonus. If I recall correctly, 3.5 version just added a fly move.

But yeah, I was more thinking of natural armor for PCs. Most likely, I'll experiment with dropping that as a bonus altogether whether it is for a DR or HP armor system - it won't be the most drastic thing I've proposed.

Shields by my system are already separated out from armor. They will provide a bonus to your Dexterity Defense for a certain number of attacks. Some new feats will alter this limit.

 

[Wiseblood]

You've obviously put a lot of work into your site. Nice job. You've also moved further (nad farther) into your reimagining 3e than I have. I would like to share some more of my own preferences and musings but I do not want to hijack your thread. So I will try to stick to your material.

Second Wind as you present it looks good. IMO better than other verions I have seen. A lot better. I may steal that for my home game. I had considered a similar effect by adjusting armor (tighten straps and whatnot) to recover some of that but I couldn't get it to work right in my head.

At first I thought it too strong at once a fight but reading more carefully it's more like a light version of fast healing.

Rogue I only notice the channeling as a change. Have you encountered problems with the rogue in playing regular 3e or whichever iteration you are using? IME their performance has been lackluster, low defense, situational offence, narrow focus. If I am using your system will I continue to be plagued by this? or am i missing something critical?

I skip around a bit but I decided to peer into the things that intrest or flummox me.

 

[CuRoi]

Thanks again for checking out the site. I'm glad second wind looks good - I like the aspects of 4e that cut down on the "15 minute" adventure day. My take on it is very limited in scope, but it's intended to just gives players a last ditch shot at staying alive during a fight or maybe helps players shrug off some of the "save or suck" effects that plague 3e.

I agree with problems with the rogue and the intent is to improve performance and defense. It's why I took some of those abilities which were only available at later levels and moved them down either into standard rogue powers or into the "channeling" powers.

Also - be sure to note the change in how melee Defense functions. A rogue now has the best "armor class" available with a +1/level to their Dexterity Defense. This -should- translate into a bit better staying power than previously experienced. This should also mean a Rogue is less susceptible to critical hits (as a crit isn't based on dice but based on exceeding the Defense by 20).

I am still debating whether I want to limit crits to certain monster types or just allow sneak attack on all monsters. Again its all theoretical until I playtest more extensively, I don't think allwoing sneak attack on all monsters would necessarily break anything, but I'm not sure.

 

[Wiseblood]

I am still debating whether I want to limit crits to certain monster types or just allow sneak attack on all monsters. Again its all theoretical until I playtest more extensively, I don't think allwoing sneak attack on all monsters would necessarily break anything, but I'm not sure.

Thanks for pointing out the defense thing.

Un-crittable monsters and no sneak attack was one of the nerfs for martial classes I never much cared for.

Per 3e rules the creatures that possess this trait lack vital organs to attack. This seems to run counter to the evidence they put forth.

First, you still roll damage when you attack these creatures. In this way you differentiate a lousy shot from a good one. IMO it woulod make more sense to simply inflict static damage.

Secondly, a critcal hit does not strike a vital spot on creatures at all. If it did they would have a diminished capacity (blind or whathaveyou) or be mortally wounded. I may be way off base there though.

A critical hit does more damage IMO because it is an excellent move. (as they say in the old NES Dragon Warrior game.)

 

[CuRoi]

Good point. HPs are abstract enough that requiring hitting vital areas to mean a loss of "Extra" hit points seems unecessary. Either you landed a solid blow or not, whatever the creature is. In fact, with damage as variable as it is, it's very conceivable that a "vital organ" sneak attack does less damage on a poor roll than a regular attack. How does that make sense? Either you stabbed them in the groin or not if we are assuming crits mean hits on vital areas.

I think I'll allow crit damage as well as sneak attack to be applied to any creature. Also, my addition of Skullduggery (Channeling) has it's own way Rogues can cause special damage. It actually more mimics a true vital area hit since you can Blind, Hamper, or Weaken an enemy with your strike.

 

[Wiseblood]

Good point. HPs are abstract enough that requiring hitting vital areas to mean a loss of "Extra" hit points seems unecessary. Either you landed a solid blow or not, whatever the creature is. In fact, with damage as variable as it is, it's very conceivable that a "vital organ" sneak attack does less damage on a poor roll than a regular attack. How does that make sense? Either you stabbed them in the groin or not if we are assuming crits mean hits on vital areas.

I think I'll allow crit damage as well as sneak attack to be applied to any creature. Also, my addition of Skullduggery (Channeling) has it's own way Rogues can cause special damage. It actually more mimics a true vital area hit since you can Blind, Hamper, or Weaken an enemy with your strike.

Stabbed in the groin hits close to home. LOL.