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<blockquote data-quote="Zustiur" data-source="post: 5986706" data-attributes="member: 1544">Quite possible, though I hope it's good in play too. <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile&nbsp; &nbsp; :)"&nbsp; data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" /> However, each mechanic needs some tracking.AD&amp;D and 3E both required you to track a number of rounds or turns. This in itself can be quite a headache.4E required you to roll a dice instead of tracking rounds. Instead we end up tracking many variations on spell duration. Is it until the end of the caster's next turn? The beginning of the caster's next turn? Sustain? Save ends? Until the end of the target's next turn? Until some other weird condition is met, such as 'when I move' or 'if I attack the wrong guy'?I personally found this form of tracking to be more irritating than tracking rounds. I also find the 'save ends' mechanic to be a bit 'flat' in play. Firstly because it never really varied from needing a 10, and secondly because all too often the effect only lasted one round.Conversely, my mechanic only requires you to write down a single number (the DC). This number doesn't change from round to round. Nor does it necessarily have to live in a game with many other potential 'spell ends' conditions.A simpler alternative might be to have:Spell duration = Attack Total - Defence Total. If you 'hit' you automatically know how many turns the spell will last. If you beat the target's defence by 5, it will last 5 rounds. No rolling for duration and no rolling for subsequent saves. However, I still prefer the mechanic I outlined above for the single reason that it means you won't know exactly how long the spell will last.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Zustiur, post: 5986706, member: 1544"] Quite possible, though I hope it's good in play too. :) However, each mechanic needs some tracking. AD&D and 3E both required you to track a number of rounds or turns. This in itself can be quite a headache. 4E required you to roll a dice instead of tracking rounds. Instead we end up tracking many variations on spell duration. Is it until the end of the caster's next turn? The beginning of the caster's next turn? Sustain? Save ends? Until the end of the target's next turn? Until some other weird condition is met, such as 'when I move' or 'if I attack the wrong guy'? I personally found this form of tracking to be more irritating than tracking rounds. I also find the 'save ends' mechanic to be a bit 'flat' in play. Firstly because it never really varied from needing a 10, and secondly because all too often the effect only lasted one round. Conversely, my mechanic only requires you to write down a single number (the DC). This number doesn't change from round to round. Nor does it necessarily have to live in a game with many other potential 'spell ends' conditions. A simpler alternative might be to have: Spell duration = Attack Total - Defence Total. If you 'hit' you automatically know how many turns the spell will last. If you beat the target's defence by 5, it will last 5 rounds. No rolling for duration and no rolling for subsequent saves. However, I still prefer the mechanic I outlined above for the single reason that it means you [I]won't[/I] know exactly how long the spell will last. [/QUOTE]

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