Charles Ryan on the Sacred Cows of D&D

[MerricB]

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In answer to the original question: I don't think there are any "sacred cows" in D&D.

When we look at our game and the direction it takes as it develops over time, we don't so much see list of untouchable concepts as a continuum of game elements ranging from "extremely important to the game experience and expectations of our players" to "less so."

Some game elements (whether they're specifics, like the wizard class, or abstracts, like the concept of ablative damage) lie very distinctly at the former end of the scale. We're not going to monkey with them just for the heck of it, except in a product like Unearthed Arcana, where we can present the variations as distinctly optional.

But there's no "off the scale." Everything is open to discussion if we think there's an interesting, more flexible, or better way of doing things. A good example is the racial substitution levels in the Race series books--a system that provides a new spin on the "sacred cow" of character races.

Hope that helps!
__________________
Charles Ryan
Brand Manager, Roleplaying Games
Wizards of the Coast

http://boards1.wizards.com/showthread.php?t=350013&page=1

Cheers!

 

[johnsemlak]

'Ablative' damage

I had to look what 'ablative meant. Hadn't seen that word since Latin class in College.

 

[Acid_crash]

What does he mean racial substitution levels? (I have not, nor will, purchase the race books)

 

[johnsemlak]

What does he mean racial substitution levels? (I have not, nor will, purchase the race books)

That appeared in Races of Stone.

Basically, in certain classes a dwarf or gnome can choose to take some alternate abilites that are more suitable for their race. Mechanically this is done by creating a 'racial substittion level'.

For example, a Dwarven Cleric:

A dwarven cleric may opt not to take the standard Cleric level 1, and may choose a Dwarven Cleric Level 1 instead. At this level (and this level only) the dwarf gets d10 HP, and in lieu of turning undead, the cleric gets smite giants or something like that. I believe spellcasting is the same.

After 1st level, the character progresses normally (and gains d8 hp). However, at Level's 6 and 12 (or something like that, I don't have the book on hand) the dwarf may take further substitution levels, gaining new abilities that replace standard cleric abilities.

 

[rounser]

But there's no "off the scale." Everything is open to discussion if we think there's an interesting, more flexible, or better way of doing things. A good example is the racial substitution levels in the Race series books--a system that provides a new spin on the "sacred cow" of character races.

That's generalising how his group operates to everyone, though, isn't it?

I think the buck usually stops with the DM's house rules on what sacred cows get butchered or led out to pasture for a while. Sure, you can negotiate, but "doesn't fit with my world" or "I'd prefer us to go by the core rules" are likely responses (somewhat understandably).

Besides, "something that cannot be house ruled away" doesn't match what I understand a sacred cow to be - a rules fixture that D&D as a published game would find difficult to dispense with and yet maintain it's status as "D&D". For instance, D&D published without monsters simply isn't D&D, so monsters being part of the game rules is a sacred cow. But, you can run a campaign completely devoid of monsters and still be playing D&D. That doesn't lessen the sacred cow status of monsters in the game, however.

 

[Desdichado]

That's generalising how his group operates to everyone, though, isn't it?

I think the buck usually stops with the DM's house rules on what sacred cows get butchered or led out to pasture for a while. Sure, you can negotiate, but "doesn't fit with my world" or "I'd prefer us to go by the core rules" are likely responses (somewhat understandably).

Charles Ryan isn't just a DM talking about his home game, he's the brand manager for D&D talking about the future direction of the game. He's talking about evolution of the core rules.

 

[francisca]

But there's no "off the scale." Everything is open to discussion if we think there's an interesting, more flexible, or better way of doing things. A good example is the racial substitution levels in the Race series books--a system that provides a new spin on the "sacred cow" of character races.

This isn't a new idea. Flavoring character classes based on race/region is as old as the game itself, especially clerics. Certainly Gygax himself in Dragon #92 said it was OK to tweak the classes, cautioning that you need to make it logical and consistent within the context of your game world, the changes are balanced and fair, and the players are fully informed.

While I like this idea, and I mean like it alot, I would not want to see it folded into the core rules. I certainly don't want to turn to the page where the cleric class is described, only to see a few paragraphs with the info common to all clerics, then "see Dwarven Cleric section for dwarves, Elven Cleric section for Elves", etc.... The core rules need to be the baseline, as some groups want to play or more generic game, players new to the game don't need to be bombarded with 50 gazillion options, and hey, you gotta have something to put in expansions and accessories.

 

[Christopher Lambert]

Ablative has something to do with reducing damage. For instance, ablative armor reduces incoming damage.

 

[Fedifensor]

Charles Ryan may say there are no Sacred Cows in D&D, but I'd like to see them try to change something like Magic Missile's auto-hit capability without a huge outcry...

 

[Henry]

Ablative armor reduces damage by itself being consumed in the process of soaking the damage. In essence, your hit points take away killing blows by the killing force "blowing off" the hit points first. Hence, "ablative" hit points. It's the way the designers look at the hit point mechanic as opposed to an actual wounds-tracking system. Only the last blow is truly lethal - the rest is just padding.