I too thought that I understood sots' post back when I read it, but amid all the "can you explain" and "no go reread it" I don't care if I did and hope that people can go back to griping about 5e's rough edges rather than arguing about sots'
D&D 5E Critiquing the System
Son of the Serpent
Pupil
who's post do you think was misunderstood just to be clear?
we were talking about people misunderstanding don's posts.
Don Durito
Hero
I think he's just confusing me and you for some reason. No doubt, we both need to post more clearly in order to prevent that.
Son of the Serpent
Pupil
errrr...no. that doesn't seem reasonably possible.
there is no way you or i were so unclear as to cause him to mistake which of the two of us was being talked about. with all the quoted posts and name drops he clearly didn't read carefully. i know that exact type of comment has been getting complained about, but come on. how much would you have to skim over mix that up?
he didn't read enough. for this particular situation we're currently in that really is the only reasonable explanation.
Ovinomancer
No flips for you!
Except that I said what @dnd4vr said about your idea and you agreed with him, so I have no idea what you think was misrepresented. Was it the dice pool comparision?
And, for your example, the SoDL ability has a lot of jargon - short range, triggered action, boon -- that allows description to be offliaded onto other areas of the rules. Bardic Inspiration is written in a style that is more natural to read and more consolodated into one place. So, length of the entry is a poor indication of rule complexity. Looking closer, both abilities indicate range, for instance, so that's not different. Both indicate timing, which Bardic is more complex, yes, but it's also more flexible. Prayer trades flexibility for less complexity here.
Both have an effect, which is where your main argument lies. And, it's a reasonable argument. However, the argument that a more consolodated system is better ignores a few things. Size of effect, for one. Bless being a d4 while Bardic Inspiration being up to a d12, for instance, allows more nuance without adding a lot of extra complexity. 5e limits the sources of added dice or bonuses to a handful of things and replaces all of the other bonuses and penalties from history with advantage/dusadvantage. It's already massively reduced the cognitive workspace from previous editions, but kept a few iconic things for continuity and for some interest. Some of those saying they followed your argument from the start have also argued 5e is too bland but you're actually suggesting an even more homogenized system.
While I agree that a system like Demon Lord has some good design, that doesn't mean 5e lacks by aiming for a different spot. Different games provide different things, largely by where they allow granularity.
Ovinomancer
No flips for you!
That was a nice display of intuition, then. I was less nimble and so asked a question, for which I have been treated less than pleasantly. Even when I summarized I was dismissed, despite my understanding being the same as a later, lauded summary from a different poster, if much less verbose (a trait I've been told is antithetical to understanding, oddly). I suppose that may be because I also registered some disagreement with my summary though.
Still, congratulations on avoiding negativity by dint of your intuitive prowess.
shadowoflameth
Adventurer
Fair enough and I liked XGtE
I am very comfortable with 5e.
Ran B/X, 3e and 3.5e previously and never warmed to D&D for multiple reasons.
5e hit the sweet spot for me, and with the DMG options to tweak and adjust the game, plus the general RAR not RAW style allows for a relaxed and flexible system.
My criticism is that monsters are a little dull. I have run and played 13th Age and played 4e, and I like the greater variety and interest in the monster designs. However a competent ref can retrofit tweaks to make them both more interesting and easier to run.
Matt Colville advises how to do it, or grab 4e/13A and port.
Ran B/X, 3e and 3.5e previously and never warmed to D&D for multiple reasons.
5e hit the sweet spot for me, and with the DMG options to tweak and adjust the game, plus the general RAR not RAW style allows for a relaxed and flexible system.
My criticism is that monsters are a little dull. I have run and played 13th Age and played 4e, and I like the greater variety and interest in the monster designs. However a competent ref can retrofit tweaks to make them both more interesting and easier to run.
Matt Colville advises how to do it, or grab 4e/13A and port.
