Daggerheart General Thread [+]

[Faolyn]

It gives all this advice and then it's tip for a player having trouble picking an experience in a standard battle campaign is to select their first one to make them better in combat... how is that not pushing them quite clearly towards mechanical optimization? It's weird because I agree the advice is there but then the mechanical incentives as well as the practical examples sometimes just don't align.

Well, there's still a cost to use it (it's not a free +2 all the time), and if you go for strict optimization, you're going to be missing out on using it elsewhere.

Honestly, Experiences are almost exactly like Fate's Aspects, so it's probably a good idea to read things like What Makes A Good Aspect.

 

[Imaro]

Well, there's still a cost to use it (it's not a free +2 all the time), and if you go for strict optimization, you're going to be missing out on using it elsewhere.

Honestly, Experiences are almost exactly like Fate's Aspects, so it's probably a good idea to read things like What Makes A Good Aspect.

I don't disagree that there are controls in place to lessen the impact of optimization here... I just find the narrative focus and the suggestion a strange pairing. I thunk it sends a mixed message... but I also feel critically looking at the mechanics and advice is being frowned on in this thread so I'm discussing it elsewhere for now.

 

[Aldarc]

Well, there's still a cost to use it (it's not a free +2 all the time), and if you go for strict optimization, you're going to be missing out on using it elsewhere.

Honestly, Experiences are almost exactly like Fate's Aspects, so it's probably a good idea to read things like What Makes A Good Aspect.

If I had a criticism of Experiences in Daggerheart, it's that they read a little plain and one note when compared to Character Aspects in Fate or Backgrounds in 13th Age, precisely for this reason.

"Ninja" is an okay Experience but "Silent Blade of the Shadow Clan" is better. It gives us details about the world. It tells us that the Shadow Clan exists and that the character is a member. It tells us that a Silent Blade is a rank. It can be used to interact with the world in more cases: e.g., "As a member of the Shadow Clan, I likely know..." As such, I will always recommend Experiences that flesh out the world and character in more concrete ways.