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Message: <blockquote data-quote="I'm A Banana" data-source="post: 3959951" data-attributes="member: 2067">The core...the first PHB, DMG, and MM, are key to this in a way that the supplements definitely are not. The core is "what you need to play the game," what defines the game. And racial feats in and of themselves are not necessarily problems, if the weight of design is placed on the generic, archetypal elements of the race (elves live a long time, elves like magic, elves live in forests, tieflings are evil, tieflings skulk in darkness) rather than on the setting-specific elements of the race (elves are nomads, tieflings are cursed by devils) because those archetypal elements are more portable.Meaning, what? Is this an example of fluff tied to mechanics in 3e? If so, it's kind of a weak example, because it has very little to do with the fluff of elves in 3e (okay, so elves wield swords and bows, this is hardly very iconic of their race). And besides, it doesn't really defeat the position I hold, which is that it's a reasonable fear to have that 4e may make homebrewing difficult with a stronger implied setting than 3e.  That's not the ONLY difference, but it's one of those that can make the fluff have a greater impact on mechanics. If I need to disentangle 30 levels' worth of "tieflings had an empire," then it's harder to make tieflings any thing other than imperial creatures. Assume nothin'. I'm giving an if-then statement. IF the setting is strongly tied, THEN it will be harder to homebrew. There is evidence that the setting will be strongly tied, but we are only getting part of the story, so maybe the evidence is misleading. For that one example? Sure. But let's say you wanted to make tieflings some sort of angelic figures. What about the racial feats that give them bonuses to lying, cheating, and stealing? Or the epic destiny that turns them into a specific kind of devil at level 30? Or the one that gives them a bonus to hit dragonborn? And what about the one that gives dragonborn a bonus to hit them? All of those things tie the tiefling to the setting more closely, but each one is something that I'd have to change if I wanted to change the tiefling into something angelic. And each one could have unforseen ramifications -- what do I give tieflings instead? Or do they just have less options? And then, have I made the race weaker? In-depth comparison is pointless, all I'm doing is recognizing that the more flavor is tied to mechanics, the harder it will be to disentangle the two. This isn't a revolutionary realization, and it isn't a condemnation of 4e necessarily (we don't have the game, after all), but it is a valid fear to have given evidence that the flavor will be more closely tied to mechanics in 4e than in 3e. The evidence is limited, but ALL evidence we have is limited at this point, which is why I'm making if-then statements, not absolute declarations. Why should they be persuaded to adapt it? One of D&D's greatest strengths is that you can tinker with it, and if 4e works against this strength, they're working against one of the things that D&D has done best for 30 years. I don't think they would knowingly do it; more likely, they loose sight of the fact that a strong setting material, especially tied to mechanics (which is good to play right out of the box) treads on the toes of those that want to do their own setting material, especially that which is tied to mechanics (which is good for the modibility of the game). Fluff-based mechanics are inevitable, the difference being in quantity, type, and tenacity of those mechanics. If there are not many of them, they are very archetypal, and they are easy to disentangle (halflings don't wear shoes being one of the best examples of this), then they are the least onerous for the homebrewer. The more there are, the less they cleave to generic fantasy tropes, and the more involved with other game elements they are (the "bards can cast spells in light armor" trope being perhaps the wierdest of your examples), the more difficult they are for the homebrewer (if my bards are religiously-sanctioned choir boys, maybe they cast divine spells in all armor...does that make the bard too powerful? does the lowered dependance on Dex affect the skill list? What about the PrC's, does this mean he can't qualify for one or more that he should be able to qualify for?). GWA is evidence that WotC is intentionally stepping toward their world influencing mechanics, which is great to run the game out of the box, but not so great if you want to make your own box.</blockquote>

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