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General Tabletop Discussion
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"Hot" take: Aesthetically-pleasing rules are highly overvalued
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<blockquote data-quote="Lanefan" data-source="post: 8112054" data-attributes="member: 29398"><p>And if that something is always to exactly the same effect when it happens, yes. (excluding die-rolled numbers)</p><p></p><p>M:tG did the same thing, changing "remove from the game" to "exile". I far prefer "remove from the game", personally; it keeps the same flavour but also tells you exactly what to do.</p><p></p><p>Consistency in presentation (e.g. the cost : effect formula) is very useful in card games.</p><p></p><p>In D&D, though, where timing can be all over the place? Perhaps not so much, as IMO the timing needs to be defined almost case by case. (to clarify, I'm not at all a fan of the timing of everything in combat being shoehorned into action, reaction, or bonus - fine for melee but awful for spells; I also want combat movement to use up time in getting from A to B rather than it being like a micro-teleport)</p><p></p><p>Also, while D&D has always had the concept of slash-pierce-bludgeon as damage types there no need at all to force every possible damage source into one of those categories. Ditto for spell damage: while fire, cold and acid are obvious and agree (one hopes!) with what's being narrated, things like necrotic and radiant are to me just damage - it hurts for no obvious reason. Why bother with these types?</p><p></p><p>Saving throw, yes; though it means many different things depending on situation (is it referring to a character saving vs dragon breath, or an item saving vs destruction, or what?). Replace 'ability' with the name of the specific ability e.g. Strength check and I'll agree on this one. Melee attack and grapple aren't so much keywords to me as they are simple descriptors of what someone's doing (or trying!) in the fiction.</p><p></p><p>Further, other than 'saving throw' all of those are very clear as to what they're referring to, which to me somewhat takes them away from keyword status and more toward simple common use of language. <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" /></p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Lanefan, post: 8112054, member: 29398"] And if that something is always to exactly the same effect when it happens, yes. (excluding die-rolled numbers) M:tG did the same thing, changing "remove from the game" to "exile". I far prefer "remove from the game", personally; it keeps the same flavour but also tells you exactly what to do. Consistency in presentation (e.g. the cost : effect formula) is very useful in card games. In D&D, though, where timing can be all over the place? Perhaps not so much, as IMO the timing needs to be defined almost case by case. (to clarify, I'm not at all a fan of the timing of everything in combat being shoehorned into action, reaction, or bonus - fine for melee but awful for spells; I also want combat movement to use up time in getting from A to B rather than it being like a micro-teleport) Also, while D&D has always had the concept of slash-pierce-bludgeon as damage types there no need at all to force every possible damage source into one of those categories. Ditto for spell damage: while fire, cold and acid are obvious and agree (one hopes!) with what's being narrated, things like necrotic and radiant are to me just damage - it hurts for no obvious reason. Why bother with these types? Saving throw, yes; though it means many different things depending on situation (is it referring to a character saving vs dragon breath, or an item saving vs destruction, or what?). Replace 'ability' with the name of the specific ability e.g. Strength check and I'll agree on this one. Melee attack and grapple aren't so much keywords to me as they are simple descriptors of what someone's doing (or trying!) in the fiction. Further, other than 'saving throw' all of those are very clear as to what they're referring to, which to me somewhat takes them away from keyword status and more toward simple common use of language. :) [/QUOTE]
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"Hot" take: Aesthetically-pleasing rules are highly overvalued
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