Dragon Editorial: Fearless

[Roman]

For me: Bodaks.

True that! The D&D session before last, I killed one PC with the Bodak's gaze attack (he rolled a natural 1 on the saving throw roll...). It actually proved to be one of the best sessions I ever ran. The party was lucky that there was a major monastic temple in the relative vicinity located on holy ground in the Sky Mountains. In my campaign, resurrection can only be cast in major temples and on major holy sites of the given religion and the party had to race to the temple in the mountains to revive their fallen friend and naturally had to face many obstacles on the way, gradually wearing them down. The tension and sense of urgency were great and tingled with the right kind of desperation as the party was running lower and lower on resources. I loved it and so did my players, as they confirmed post-facto!

Resurrection also has a number of other 'features', such affecting the character mechanically depending on the deity that was petitioned for the resurrection - for example the fighter was resurrected by Ariran, the god of the sky, and as a result he cannot voluntarily hold his breath and deny himself air (the element that gave him a second chance at life), but that is for another discussion.

 

[Spatula]

Basically, this article, to me, just reinstates the balanced math of the new system.

Reinstates the balanced math? What does that even mean? Sounds like something out of an old Dilbert strip. Synergize the paradigms!

 

[Clavis]

They sold hundreds of thousands of copies of 3e. And *millions* of copies of 1e, when you rolled for hit points at first level and were often killed by small weasels.

I for one maintain that the specifics of the rules have nothing to do with whether or not people will buy D&D. They buy the game beacuse its branding is so strong that is synonymous with Role Playing Games. There could be a race of intelligent dinner plates in the PHB, and the game would still sell. In marketing terms, it's probably irrelevant how WOTC changes the rules. People don't but D&D for its rules. People who care about rules buy GURPS or HERO. People get into D&D because everybody plays D&D, so its easy to get introduced to it and find a group to play with.

 

[Haffrung Helleyes]

I for one maintain that the specifics of the rules have nothing to do with whether or not people will buy D&D. They buy the game beacuse its branding is so strong that is synonymous with Role Playing Games. There could be a race of intelligent dinner plates in the PHB, and the game would still sell. In marketing terms, it's probably irrelevant how WOTC changes the rules. People don't but D&D for its rules. People who care about rules buy GURPS or HERO. People get into D&D because everybody plays D&D, so its easy to get introduced to it and find a group to play with.

I have heard this argument before, but my own experience is a good counterexample.

I started off playing D&D in the 70's, but in the early 80's my friends and I (about 10 of us) switched to RuneQuest because we thought the rules were better. We never went back to D&D; during that time I played a lot of RuneQuest, plus some Traveller, Torg, and Ars Magica.

It wasn't until 2000, when 3E was released with a radically better ruleset, that we went back to D&D. All of us, in fact.

Ken

 

[Plane Sailing]

Yes, I know what the Travel domain is, and what the Erase spell does (nothing useful). But thanks for the condescension.

I don't want subpar choices. That doesn't change that there will be subpar choices, despite the game designers' best efforts. To claim otherwise ("Don't get me wrong: I like 3E as much as the next guy, but the unifying math behind the game tended to, well, allow for a range of options, to put it delicately") is either a sign extreme hubris, or of extreme ignorance of how games are played.

You are reading any condescension into it yourself - I thought you had genuinely misread or misunderstood the article from your earlier comment, and was pointing that out in a mildly humourus manner.

You'll have a much happier time on ENworld if you assume that people are nice and have your best interests at heart. In the mean time, if you *do* think that anyone is acting snarkily towards you, I'm sure that you know the appropriate thing to do is to report the post (using the triangle thingy) rather than be snarky back towards them.

Cheers

 

[Plane Sailing]

1e, when you rolled for hit points at first level and were often killed by small weasels.

Man, you had a weird DM!

 

[Spatula]

This also mystifies me. (I guess I'm a mystified fella these days.) I can only remember offhand a couple effects that cause instant death with a failed saving throw: Slay Living (of course) and Wail of the Banshee. I haven't run games at super high level yet, though, so that may be my problem.

So what causes instant death in D&D v.3.5?

Tons of stuff. The assassin's death attack is one that hasn't been mentioned yet. And like Psion mentions, at high levels death from insane amounts of hit point damage can be a common occurance.

 

[Spatula]

You are reading any condescension into it yourself - I thought you had genuinely misread or misunderstood the article from your earlier comment, and was pointing that out in a mildly humourus manner.

I was quoting a snippet of the author's text for reference purposes. Edited my post.

 

[Thaumaturge]

at high levels death from insane amounts of hit point damage can be a common occurance.

The massive damage rules ensure a "save or die" DC 15 at least once a round at higher levels. 5% of those are auto-failed.

Thaumaturge.

 

[Mustrum_Ridcully]

Reinstates the balanced math? What does that even mean? Sounds like something out of an old Dilbert strip. Synergize the paradigms!

"Full energy to frontal deflectors. Torpedos to maximum spread. Reverse the polarity of the Tractor beam. Helm - Warp Factor 8. Energize!"

They sold hundreds of thousands of copies of 3e. And *millions* of copies of 1e, when you rolled for hit points at first level and were often killed by small weasels.

What were the alternative games out there then?