Jonathan Tweet denounces Power Attack

[Najo]

APA,ATT is ambiguous, as it does not specify by how much you are Power Attacking.

FPA,ATT is unambiguous.

But to be fair, perhaps the distinction flies over some heads...

Cheers, -- N

I agree with Nifft and the others saying FPT, ATT. Full clearly states the degree to which your "power attacking". All makes it sound like you use it exclusively, and thus is redundant with all the time. You don't power attack for ALL, you power attack for FULL. Heck, saying MAX(imum) power attack, all the time makes even more sense then either of them.

So, MPA, ATT it is then

 

[Kunimatyu]

I'll be happy if Power Attack becomes a Bo9S-style manuever -- I've seen too many times where Power Attack slowed down gameplay, either because someone was trying to calculate it on the fly, or because they couldn't find where on their sheet they'd written their standard attacks.

 

[Abraxas]

Aught5 does not predate Aught2.

(sigh)

Never said it did

You can't leave these things in the hands of average gamers. Put your trust in a professional wordsmith, such as myself. "All Power Attack, All The Time" has an accepted and time-honored symmetry that lesser alternatives lack.

http://www.google.com/search?client...en&q="All+*,+All+the+Time"&btnG=Google+Search

As does Full Power Attack, All The Time

http://www.google.com/search?q="Ful...&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&start=10&sa=N

To be fair, I am sure the distinction flies right over the heads of the typical gamer philistine. As for myself, I am highly trained and highly paid to make these discerning decisions in diction. No word can be left to chance.

You wouldn't invite some average joe to come in off the street to overhaul your engine, would you? Fix your plumbing? Re-wire your house? Of course not. I respectfully suggest that you accord the same respect to the craft of the wordsmith.

I grant you license, on my behalf, to gently but firmly correct the fellow gamers in your neck of the woods:

It's All Power Attack, All the Time.

FPAATT and APAATT appear to be a case of divergent evolution. However, assuming that everyone using Full Power Attack, All The Time actually knew about the APAATT formulation, and knowing that language is fluid and changes to meet the needs of those who use it, I believe, in that case, a migration from APAATT to FPAATT was natural and inevitable. I have never heard a gamer say they power attack All or are All power attacking during an actual game, although it is possible others have. Only a prescriptionist wordsmith would hold onto antiquated phrasing, and I choose to let my philistine gaming friends continue to be unaware of any alternate to their functional FPAATT.

 

[ThirdWizard]

As does Full Power Attack, All The Time

http://www.google.com/search?q="Ful...&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&start=10&sa=N

F*AAT hits: 177,000
A*AAT hits: 1,930,000

 

[Kae'Yoss]

Well, it's official: Wizards' target market for 4e is complete idiots. I guess it's a smart move, since there are an awful lot of those, but for the majority of existing players, this means that the new, dumbed-down, D&D will feel like going from university to "special class".

I guess that this is what you get when you let people who wrote a "...for Dummies" book or two design a game: They just assume that everyone's a dummy and treat them as that.

 

[BryonD]

F*AAT hits: 177,000
A*AAT hits: 1,930,000

Yeah, and the F*AAT appear a lot more random chance word usage as well.

As to "All Power Attack" being ambiguous, I can only reply: "HUH???"

 

[BryonD]

Well, it's official: Wizards' target market for 4e is complete idiots. I guess it's a smart move, since there are an awful lot of those, but for the majority of existing players, this means that the new, dumbed-down, D&D will feel like going from university to "special class".

I guess that this is what you get when you let people who wrote a "...for Dummies" book or two design a game: They just assume that everyone's a dummy and treat them as that.

Now now... WotC does no wrong so just stop that right there.
Besides, it is clear that there are thousands of up and coming power DMs that are going to flock to 4E now that they are no longer shaking with fear. It is a good thing and you WILL like it. Unless you just think bad things about your mom. You don't think bad things about your mom now do ya? huh? huh?

 

[Nifft]

Well, it's official: Wizards' target market for 4e is complete idiots.

Now now... WotC does no wrong so just stop that right there.

C'mon guys. This is the one place left for reasoned discussion. Incoherent rage and pointlessly vindictive sarcasm have lots of other places to call home.

-- N

 

[Najo]

Well, it's official: Wizards' target market for 4e is complete idiots. I guess it's a smart move, since there are an awful lot of those, but for the majority of existing players, this means that the new, dumbed-down, D&D will feel like going from university to "special class".

I guess that this is what you get when you let people who wrote a "...for Dummies" book or two design a game: They just assume that everyone's a dummy and treat them as that.

Streamlining and making a game intuitive does not equal making it for idiots. Games need to be easy to learn, difficult to master. As entertaiment evolves and becomes much more visual, accesible and easy to do, games like D&D need to evolve too or they will die.

D&D 4e is more than likely going to be to 3.5 as 3.0 was to AD&D. Mark my words.

Star Wars saga and D20 Modern both have elements of what D&D 4e is doing, and they are fantastic.

 

[The Little Raven]

C'mon guys. This is the one place left for reasoned discussion. Incoherent rage and pointlessly vindictive sarcasm have lots of other places to call home.

You think they're going to listen to reason when their only intent here is to turn a thread about a 3e's designer's ability to turn a critical eye on his own work into a "fans of 4e are stupid" thread?