Reply to thread

Message

<blockquote data-quote="Doctor Shaft" data-source="post: 1932143" data-attributes="member: 25737">Well, I'll start off by saying that UA is a great read.&nbsp; Flaws are a mixed bag, however.&nbsp; They are a cool idea, and UA certainly has a nice selection of them. However, as the poster before me has said, you really have to closely DM and monitor the flaws and how they get used in the campaign. Feats are usually easy to control. Look at the rules, look at your campaign, and decide whether a feat is good or bad for the game.&nbsp; Flaws have negative effects, but unless the DM watches and utilizes those flaws in the game, it can get very exploity.I won't give away that whole system that UA proposes, but I will give a short example.&nbsp; They give you two flaws at 1st level. You can choose any two from the list, and in return, you get two bonus feats. It didn't really specify when you take those feats, though I assumed right at 1st level.&nbsp; So basically, any character with a flaw gets two more feats at first then usual. That's pretty strong if a character build is following a certain design.&nbsp; For instance, a wizard could conveniently take the flaws that reduce his fort save and maybe a noncombatant flaw to make him an ineffective fighter.&nbsp; But... he was already an ineffective fighter to begin with, so the flaw, at least statistically, isn't really that bad, so long as he has a party with him.&nbsp; UA also has a &quot;character traits&quot; section. The traits are like the flaws, but you don't get a feat. Instead, it's penalties and bonuses to skill modifiers. So you could have awesome sight and bad hearing, or be kind of crazy but also a great liar.&nbsp; The traits are less dangerous than the flaws.I don't think the flaw system is broken, but if you as a DM take the opportunity to exploit the flaws in-game, it shouldn't become too lopsided a game.&nbsp; Seperating the non-combatant wizard from a party, or getting the queezy stomach character into miserable fort save situations. That should keep players on their toes even though they are two feats heavy.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Doctor Shaft, post: 1932143, member: 25737"] Well, I'll start off by saying that UA is a great read. Flaws are a mixed bag, however. They are a cool idea, and UA certainly has a nice selection of them. However, as the poster before me has said, you really have to closely DM and monitor the flaws and how they get used in the campaign. Feats are usually easy to control. Look at the rules, look at your campaign, and decide whether a feat is good or bad for the game. Flaws have negative effects, but unless the DM watches and utilizes those flaws in the game, it can get very exploity. I won't give away that whole system that UA proposes, but I will give a short example. They give you two flaws at 1st level. You can choose any two from the list, and in return, you get two bonus feats. It didn't really specify when you take those feats, though I assumed right at 1st level. So basically, any character with a flaw gets two more feats at first then usual. That's pretty strong if a character build is following a certain design. For instance, a wizard could conveniently take the flaws that reduce his fort save and maybe a noncombatant flaw to make him an ineffective fighter. But... he was already an ineffective fighter to begin with, so the flaw, at least statistically, isn't really that bad, so long as he has a party with him. UA also has a "character traits" section. The traits are like the flaws, but you don't get a feat. Instead, it's penalties and bonuses to skill modifiers. So you could have awesome sight and bad hearing, or be kind of crazy but also a great liar. The traits are less dangerous than the flaws. I don't think the flaw system is broken, but if you as a DM take the opportunity to exploit the flaws in-game, it shouldn't become too lopsided a game. Seperating the non-combatant wizard from a party, or getting the queezy stomach character into miserable fort save situations. That should keep players on their toes even though they are two feats heavy. [/QUOTE]

Verification