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[D&D Design Discussion] Preserving the "Sweet Spot"
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<blockquote data-quote="Kid Charlemagne" data-source="post: 2986259" data-attributes="member: 93"><p>Along these lines, there are a couple of things that I feel like pointing out, again, all from my point of view:</p><p></p><p>-Prior editions did a good job of balancing out some of the "wahoo" elements with sizeable dollops of risk. I remembering winning a battle against a powerful wizard because he teleported himself waist deep into the floor of his tower. We stole the ring off his fingers. Haste was balanced by aging. Polymorph Other was balanced by the risk of taking on the mental state of an animal. There are more examples I could come up with. I personally <em>liked</em> that kind of touch, and would like to see more of it. I like the idea of magic as dangerous, unpredictable, and although you might be able to master world-shattering magic, you might just be better off not doing so.</p><p></p><p>-On the other hand, 3E does better at having fewer "save or die" mechanics. They've been toned down, though not enough for my liking. I don't like having my character's life depend on the roll of one die. Or the lives of the foes I face, either.</p><p></p><p>-Taking Raise Dead out of the game requires rebalancing the risk of death. Action Points are one good way to manage this - you can spend them to make saves, etc. I also like the concept, in Skull & Bones, of "rolling the bones" - I don't have the book, but I've had the concept explained to me, so forgive me if I'm in factual error - when you "die" you roll on a table, and various bad things happen to you, but then you're basically stabilized and alive. Kind of a "nine lives" concept - you don't die, but you might lose a limb, or an eye, or gain an impressive scar, or a limp... the list goes on. You get a negative effect, but effect hopefully adds character to your PC, instead of ending him.</p><p></p><p>-Another point about Raised Dead - I limit it in my games via role-playing considerations. Think about it: If you're a cleric being asked to raise someone, why would you? If he's been acting counter to your religions beliefs, he's not worthy. If he's been acting in accordance to your beliefs, he's in heaven, and who would want to be brought back from there? If he's not a believer in your religion, why would you even consider it? All taken together, this means Raise Deads should be rare.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Kid Charlemagne, post: 2986259, member: 93"] Along these lines, there are a couple of things that I feel like pointing out, again, all from my point of view: -Prior editions did a good job of balancing out some of the "wahoo" elements with sizeable dollops of risk. I remembering winning a battle against a powerful wizard because he teleported himself waist deep into the floor of his tower. We stole the ring off his fingers. Haste was balanced by aging. Polymorph Other was balanced by the risk of taking on the mental state of an animal. There are more examples I could come up with. I personally [i]liked[/i] that kind of touch, and would like to see more of it. I like the idea of magic as dangerous, unpredictable, and although you might be able to master world-shattering magic, you might just be better off not doing so. -On the other hand, 3E does better at having fewer "save or die" mechanics. They've been toned down, though not enough for my liking. I don't like having my character's life depend on the roll of one die. Or the lives of the foes I face, either. -Taking Raise Dead out of the game requires rebalancing the risk of death. Action Points are one good way to manage this - you can spend them to make saves, etc. I also like the concept, in Skull & Bones, of "rolling the bones" - I don't have the book, but I've had the concept explained to me, so forgive me if I'm in factual error - when you "die" you roll on a table, and various bad things happen to you, but then you're basically stabilized and alive. Kind of a "nine lives" concept - you don't die, but you might lose a limb, or an eye, or gain an impressive scar, or a limp... the list goes on. You get a negative effect, but effect hopefully adds character to your PC, instead of ending him. -Another point about Raised Dead - I limit it in my games via role-playing considerations. Think about it: If you're a cleric being asked to raise someone, why would you? If he's been acting counter to your religions beliefs, he's not worthy. If he's been acting in accordance to your beliefs, he's in heaven, and who would want to be brought back from there? If he's not a believer in your religion, why would you even consider it? All taken together, this means Raise Deads should be rare. [/QUOTE]
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