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Concentration mechanic can ruin plots in adventures
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<blockquote data-quote="the Jester" data-source="post: 7911522" data-attributes="member: 1210"><p>I'm three pages into the thread and nobody has yet pointed out that <strong>3e is the only version of D&D that made npcs by the same rules as pcs.</strong> This isn't a piece of 5e design, this isn't some unprecedented aberration of the latest edition- it's a return to form. </p><p></p><p>Look at the entry for "Men" in the 1e MM, or various things like "bandits" or "berserkers" before that. Check out any npc you'd care to mention from 4e. Those aren't all following the same rules as pcs. Sure, some do- but only some, and explicitly so. </p><p></p><p>Now, if you <em>want</em> your npcs to follow the same rules as pcs, that's fine, but let's be real- that is the position that isn't in line with the traditions of D&D. It's a 3eism. And like I said, that's fine, if it's what you want. It's a fine approach- but it's absolutely not the only one or inherently better than "I want an npc who can do x, so let's give her x as a special ability!" Neither way is better on the whole, though one or the other might be better <em>for you.</em></p><p></p><p>Anyhow, that doesn't help the OP! (Although it seems like he's settled on <em>geas</em> as his answer, at least as of the part of the thread I've read.) I think my answer (were I in OP's position and not wanting to give him special powers) would be something along the lines of "there's something in the water". Rather than giving him an extra ability, I'd give him access to some kind of resource that dulls the minds of those consuming it. Something that makes them susceptible to suggestion, or that extends charm effects for a great length of time- a magic pool, some kind of weird gas, an idol before whom the broken-minded must be brought, a psionic effect that lingers in the chamber an elder brain once dwelt in. Something like that. That adds the potential for the pcs to get access to it, which means I would probably also add something that makes it obvious that using that resource will eventually corrupt/destroy the users, to encourage the pcs to destroy it rather than use it.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="the Jester, post: 7911522, member: 1210"] I'm three pages into the thread and nobody has yet pointed out that [b]3e is the only version of D&D that made npcs by the same rules as pcs.[/b] This isn't a piece of 5e design, this isn't some unprecedented aberration of the latest edition- it's a return to form. Look at the entry for "Men" in the 1e MM, or various things like "bandits" or "berserkers" before that. Check out any npc you'd care to mention from 4e. Those aren't all following the same rules as pcs. Sure, some do- but only some, and explicitly so. Now, if you [i]want[/i] your npcs to follow the same rules as pcs, that's fine, but let's be real- that is the position that isn't in line with the traditions of D&D. It's a 3eism. And like I said, that's fine, if it's what you want. It's a fine approach- but it's absolutely not the only one or inherently better than "I want an npc who can do x, so let's give her x as a special ability!" Neither way is better on the whole, though one or the other might be better [i]for you.[/i] Anyhow, that doesn't help the OP! (Although it seems like he's settled on [i]geas[/i] as his answer, at least as of the part of the thread I've read.) I think my answer (were I in OP's position and not wanting to give him special powers) would be something along the lines of "there's something in the water". Rather than giving him an extra ability, I'd give him access to some kind of resource that dulls the minds of those consuming it. Something that makes them susceptible to suggestion, or that extends charm effects for a great length of time- a magic pool, some kind of weird gas, an idol before whom the broken-minded must be brought, a psionic effect that lingers in the chamber an elder brain once dwelt in. Something like that. That adds the potential for the pcs to get access to it, which means I would probably also add something that makes it obvious that using that resource will eventually corrupt/destroy the users, to encourage the pcs to destroy it rather than use it. [/QUOTE]
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Concentration mechanic can ruin plots in adventures
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