D&D 4E Comment about 4E designers loving D&D

[Geron Raveneye]

I think what they mean is that the 'sweet spot' exists because the maths just happens to work at those levels - the modifiers to the dice rolls are between 25% and 75% of the range of the dice roll itself (that is, between +5 and +15 on a d20), where at very low levels the modifiers are largely irrelevant (as they get swamped by the variance on the die roll), and at high levels the die roll is largely irrelevant (as it gets swamped by the modifiers).

When the designers put together 3.X, they didn't fully account for this oddity in the numbers, and so caused the 'sweet spot'. In 4e, the designers have noted this fact, and are building the game to suit. Hence, they have eliminated the 'accident of math'.

I might be completely wrong, of course.

Thanks for that, makes a few things clear to me indeed.

 

[BryonD]

There is no such implication. You are bringing that to it yourself.

correct

 

[Morrus]

Well, to be fair, I think it's there too, although I don't think it was intended.



Why will this be the best game yet? Because the people working on it love D&D.

which can be rearranged into the implication:

If they love D&D, then it will be the best game yet.

Which has the following corollary:

If it is not the best game yet, then they do not love D&D.

If you read it that way, it implies that if there are any shortcomings in 3rd edition, it's because the designers didn't love the game enough. That conclusion is preposterous, and certainly not what the writer of the quote intended, but when the implication operator gets abused by sloppy writing these things tend to fall out. Of course, if we give the author the benefit of the doubt, it ceases to be an issue.

That makes it your inferance. For the author to imply something, he must deliberately do so. What you infer from his words is what you infer, not what he implies.

 

[Christian]

Milo Bloom: "Ma'am, do you love that baby in your stomach?"

Pregnant lady: "What? Well, yes, of course. I love him very much!"

Milo: "Then why did you eat him?"

(Bloom County rocked so hard, once upon a time.)

 

[lkj]

Well, to be fair, I think it's there too, although I don't think it was intended.



Why will this be the best game yet? Because the people working on it love D&D.

which can be rearranged into the implication:

If they love D&D, then it will be the best game yet.

Which has the following corollary:

If it is not the best game yet, then they do not love D&D.

I don't think that logic chain works. It neglects the word 'yet'.

3rd edition could have been the best game yet when it was released (since there was no 4th edition).

And 4th edition can be the best game yet in the future (an improvement on the previous best game).

Conclusion-- Everyone loves D&D! Yay!

But probably a better reading of that blog is--

4th edition will be an improvement on 3rd edition because the designers really love D&D, and their main goal therefore is to make D&D better. Not just to make another edition for the sake of making one.

Anyway, back to lurking. I'll decide if 4th ed is the best game yet after I see and play it. In the meantime, I'll amuse myself reading rampant speculation and over-interpretation based on insufficient information. (Not necessarily a criticism. It's good fun so long as you're having fun doing it and not being too nasty in the process. Being aware that your are doing it is a bonus as well.)

Cheers,
AD

 

[Beckett]

I like this quote today from James Wyatt-



3E is inherently unbalanced...

I wonder how the designers of 3.0 feel about comments like this?

Well, let's see what Jonathon Tweet has to say:

It is funny. In my case, however, it's not that I'm expected to bash 3.X now. It's that I'm finally allowed to do so. It's been three years since I ran 3.X, but I was never very public about that fact. Now that 4E's announced, I can let the fans know without making the PR people angry.

Full post

Full thread

 

[sfgiants]

It is interesting to note that a lot of people feel 4e is happening because 3.x wasn't perfect. That's true. It isn't perfect and 4e may be better. However, it is obvious that 4e is an attempt to make more money. I mean c'mon the 3.x suppliment ideas had dried up. The only way to make more money is with 4e...

Wizards isn't doing 4e out of the goodness of their hearts...

 

[Fobok]

It is interesting to note that a lot of people feel 4e is happening because 3.x wasn't perfect. That's true. It isn't perfect and 4e may be better. However, it is obvious that 4e is an attempt to make more money. I mean c'mon the 3.x suppliment ideas had dried up. The only way to make more money is with 4e...

Wizards isn't doing 4e out of the goodness of their hearts...

The only reason they publish books at all is to make money. That doesn't mean the game won't be good, though. In fact, it's more likely it will be. The better the game is, the more money they make.

 

[Lonely Tylenol]

That makes it your inferance. For the author to imply something, he must deliberately do so. What you infer from his words is what you infer, not what he implies.

Implication inheres in the sentence, not in the author's intentions. I'm just explaining why it's not an unreasonable reading, not that it's a reasonable conclusion. It's an uncharitable conclusion.

 

[Lonely Tylenol]

The only reason they publish books at all is to make money.

That's not true. The reason they publish books is to make money. The reason they publish books is because they like to write books. If it were only money they were after, they could have sold insurance instead.