Menu
News
All News
Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
Pathfinder
Starfinder
Warhammer
2d20 System
Year Zero Engine
Industry News
Reviews
Dragon Reflections
Columns
Weekly Digests
Weekly News Digest
Freebies, Sales & Bundles
RPG Print News
RPG Crowdfunding News
Game Content
ENterplanetary DimENsions
Mythological Figures
Opinion
Worlds of Design
Peregrine's Next
RPG Evolution
Other Columns
From the Freelancing Frontline
Monster ENcyclopedia
WotC/TSR Alumni Look Back
4 Hours w/RSD (Ryan Dancey)
The Road to 3E (Jonathan Tweet)
Greenwood's Realms (Ed Greenwood)
Drawmij's TSR (Jim Ward)
Community
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Resources
Wiki
Pages
Latest activity
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Downloads
Latest reviews
Search resources
EN Publishing
Store
EN5ider
Adventures in ZEITGEIST
Awfully Cheerful Engine
What's OLD is NEW
Judge Dredd & The Worlds Of 2000AD
War of the Burning Sky
Level Up: Advanced 5E
Events & Releases
Upcoming Events
Private Events
Featured Events
Socials!
Twitch
YouTube
Facebook (EN Publishing)
Facebook (EN World)
Twitter
Instagram
TikTok
Podcast
Features
Top 5 RPGs Compiled Charts 2004-Present
Adventure Game Industry Market Research Summary (RPGs) V1.0
Ryan Dancey: Acquiring TSR
Q&A With Gary Gygax
D&D Rules FAQs
TSR, WotC, & Paizo: A Comparative History
D&D Pronunciation Guide
Million Dollar TTRPG Kickstarters
Tabletop RPG Podcast Hall of Fame
Eric Noah's Unofficial D&D 3rd Edition News
D&D in the Mainstream
D&D & RPG History
About Morrus
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*Dungeons & Dragons
Changes in Interpretation
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="GreyICE" data-source="post: 6014410" data-attributes="member: 6684526"><p>What shocks me most about this debate is how there appears to be an entire group of people who do not understand that simulationist gaming is <em>not the only approach.</em></p><p></p><p>Page 42 answers the question "How do you design an easy/moderate/hard challenge for PCs of a certain level on the fly." It does NOT answer the question "What is an appropriate challenge level for 'Situation X.'" In fact the section is EXPLICITLY named "situations the rules do not cover." </p><p></p><p>So why are people insisting that they are the rules for covering certain situations? It's not. The table is not a table for difficulty of doors in the city of brass. It's not a table for the difficulty of stunting off a chandelier. It's not a table for discussing the difficulty of overloading an arcane crystal to cause a massive explosion. Because if it was rules for how to do that then THOSE WOULD NOT BE SITUATIONS THE RULES DON'T COVER.</p><p></p><p>4E does not attempt to simulate everything. <strong>They leave it up to the DM how to simulate the DM's world. </strong> Pg. 42 is a guide to how to challenge the PCs on the fly. </p><p></p><p>If the PCs go to the City of Brass at level 21, the DM might decide all the locks there are hard, for their level. Or he might decide that they're hard for a level 25. Or he might decide anything he wants, DM's prerogative. But with that chart he has the TOOLS TO MAKE THOSE DECISIONS. </p><p></p><p>If the PCs later return to the city, the DM can choose to keep the old difficulties, or decide the locks have been upgraded, or whatever he wants. And he has the tools to do so!</p><p></p><p>It's amazing people can discuss how 4E disempowered DMs, and then complain that the rulebook gives the DM the power to set lock difficulties in the City of Brass however he wants rather than having an entry "Lock difficulty, City of Brass: DC 32" and then have the players with infinity system mastery complain that the DM has "screwed them" when he upgraded the locks so their Factotem skill monkey can't idly pick everything in the city. </p><p></p><p>Wait... I may have identified the actual problem...</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="GreyICE, post: 6014410, member: 6684526"] What shocks me most about this debate is how there appears to be an entire group of people who do not understand that simulationist gaming is [i]not the only approach.[/i] Page 42 answers the question "How do you design an easy/moderate/hard challenge for PCs of a certain level on the fly." It does NOT answer the question "What is an appropriate challenge level for 'Situation X.'" In fact the section is EXPLICITLY named "situations the rules do not cover." So why are people insisting that they are the rules for covering certain situations? It's not. The table is not a table for difficulty of doors in the city of brass. It's not a table for the difficulty of stunting off a chandelier. It's not a table for discussing the difficulty of overloading an arcane crystal to cause a massive explosion. Because if it was rules for how to do that then THOSE WOULD NOT BE SITUATIONS THE RULES DON'T COVER. 4E does not attempt to simulate everything. [B]They leave it up to the DM how to simulate the DM's world. [/B] Pg. 42 is a guide to how to challenge the PCs on the fly. If the PCs go to the City of Brass at level 21, the DM might decide all the locks there are hard, for their level. Or he might decide that they're hard for a level 25. Or he might decide anything he wants, DM's prerogative. But with that chart he has the TOOLS TO MAKE THOSE DECISIONS. If the PCs later return to the city, the DM can choose to keep the old difficulties, or decide the locks have been upgraded, or whatever he wants. And he has the tools to do so! It's amazing people can discuss how 4E disempowered DMs, and then complain that the rulebook gives the DM the power to set lock difficulties in the City of Brass however he wants rather than having an entry "Lock difficulty, City of Brass: DC 32" and then have the players with infinity system mastery complain that the DM has "screwed them" when he upgraded the locks so their Factotem skill monkey can't idly pick everything in the city. Wait... I may have identified the actual problem... [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*Dungeons & Dragons
Changes in Interpretation
Top