Reply to thread

Message

<blockquote data-quote="Hillsy7" data-source="post: 7161980" data-attributes="member: 6689191">As with all design systems, the ideal thing to do, I'd say, is to find an ideal or common end point with which everyone can work towards. In this instance: What do you want ability scores to do.There are a number of factors at play: Mechanical, realism, player choice, description via numbers, fun, crunch (heavy/light).....and probably more. All of these can change and mix and cause problems and provide solutions. However, if you don't have an overarching concept of what is 'Good' or what is undesirable (mixed with What is D&amp;D), you're just going to end up throwing a lot of spaghetti at a wall with no real measure.So for an example, you mention SIZE right off the bat.Some questions here could be:Why does only SIZE affect damage? If I'm skilled enough to stab an eye or an armpit, why does it matter if i'm small?Does SIZE negatively affect DEX skills? In a game where dealing damage is a large part of survival, are you penalising Small player choices?If the calculus is supposed to be hit hard OR hit often, does that actually mean splitting damage into 2 stats is ultimately pointless? Damage output is going to be relative to the total points in SIZE and DEX?How does SIZE relate to &quot;strong&quot; in a way that accurately describes my character concept. A dwarf warrior is small and powerful, my 7-foot tall, fat, old Half-Orc with a bad back and a trick knee can barely lift a stein of ale........and so on and so on.....A cohesive core design intention will answer a lot of those questions straight away.....</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Hillsy7, post: 7161980, member: 6689191"] As with all design systems, the ideal thing to do, I'd say, is to find an ideal or common end point with which everyone can work towards. In this instance: What do you want ability scores to do. There are a number of factors at play: Mechanical, realism, player choice, description via numbers, fun, crunch (heavy/light).....and probably more. All of these can change and mix and cause problems and provide solutions. However, if you don't have an overarching concept of what is 'Good' or what is undesirable (mixed with What is D&D), you're just going to end up throwing a lot of spaghetti at a wall with no real measure. So for an example, you mention SIZE right off the bat. Some questions here could be: Why does only SIZE affect damage? If I'm skilled enough to stab an eye or an armpit, why does it matter if i'm small? Does SIZE negatively affect DEX skills? In a game where dealing damage is a large part of survival, are you penalising Small player choices? If the calculus is supposed to be hit hard OR hit often, does that actually mean splitting damage into 2 stats is ultimately pointless? Damage output is going to be relative to the total points in SIZE and DEX? How does SIZE relate to "strong" in a way that accurately describes my character concept. A dwarf warrior is small and powerful, my 7-foot tall, fat, old Half-Orc with a bad back and a trick knee can barely lift a stein of ale.... ....and so on and so on..... A cohesive core design intention will answer a lot of those questions straight away..... [/QUOTE]

Verification