D&D 5E Justin Alexander's review of Shattered Obelisk is pretty scathing

[Micah Sweet]

Unless you know which logistical questions your players are going to ask, you either need an infinitely long list, or the ability to create answers on the spot.

I'd go for as long a list as possible. More answers is generally better than less.

But we have very different views on this subject, and we aren't going to agree.

 

[Micah Sweet]

Not only does he not like it, he literally straight-up said that what it offers is the antithesis of roleplaying.

And then he gushed over mechanics which do exactly the same thing in Numenera, because somehow those dissociated mechanics are actually good, while 4e's dissociated mechanics are bad. Even though when he complained about the use of dissociated mechanics in 4e, he explicitly said that using them was incompatible with roleplay. Somehow, magically, Numenera's GM Intrusions (which cannot even in theory be mapped to character decisions, unlike 4e powers) are actually the best thing ever and everyone should use them even if they hate dissociated mechanics.

In fairness to your point, I don't like 4e or Numenera's disassociated mechanics.

 

[Parmandur]

Thinks back to the books published in the 12 months prior to November 1, 2023.

Sick burn.

Not really: of the four in question, I'd say all were worth a metric 2 Super Burritos of my money. Shadow of the Dragon Queen, Golden Vault and Turn of Fortune's Wheel are all bringing something a bit more innovative to the table, though.

 

[FallenRX]

I skimmed it briefly and was able to remember it like a month later here. A couple paragraphs to communicate some very basic information about a single room is nothing.

My problem is, is this not just worse then normal keying, or doing something much simpler then just writing down the label on the map? Because it is, the fact you need to read through 2 paragraphs to even understand the basic map thing, when you didnt really need to do that before in the entire book, is just kinda worse then just labelling it, keying it as normal, or doing anything else.

Do you think we should encourage them organizing their books worse? Is what your saying?

 

[Parmandur]

My problem is, is this not just worse then normal keying, or doing something much simpler then just writing down the label on the map? Because it is, the fact you need to read through 2 paragraphs to even understand the basic map thing, when you didnt really need to do that before in the entire book, is just kinda worse then just labelling it, keying it as normal, or doing anything else.

Do you think we should encourage them organizing their books worse? Is what your saying?

Two paragraphs takes what, 10 seconds to read and process?

I don't see any reason to be concerned that they describe a single room in a couple of brief paragraphs rather than keying it, no. I have trouble sympathizing that one could theoretically have a problem with that.

 

[mamba]

In the context of an entertainment game product, "have to" is merely a "want to" that's on the road to hyperbole.

let me rephrase it then, want to = I want to add things that I think benefit the game, have to = I do not want to run what is written because I think it is detrimental to an enjoyable game.

I understand that where the exact line is differs from person to person, some people might be perfectly happy with what is presented, just like some people like funhouse dungeons or jazz, while others don’t. The question is how many are happy vs how many are not, or more easily determined, do I agree with the issues a review raises or are they not important to me

 

[Gradine]

How about the designers explain that their philosophy has changed, so people know what they're getting into?

Must each new edition of a game carry with it an essay explaining their philosophy for every change from the previous edition? Or just D&D?

 

[mamba]

D&D is a very DIY game, and even WotC Adventure products are still DIY.

but the amount of DIY differs. Saying that DMs make adjustments no matter what is not an excuse for a poor product (talking in general terms)

It's like reading reviews of a cookbook complaining thst it tastes like paper and ink.

or maybe they complain about the cookbook saying to have the cookies in the oven at 15 degrees for 300 minutes when it clearly should be the reverse…

 

[FallenRX]

Two paragraphs takes what, 10 seconds to read and process?

I don't see any reason to be concerned that they describe a single room in a couple of brief paragraphs rather than keying it, no. I have trouble sympathizing that one could theoretically have a problem with that.

Yea and referencing the layout on the map takes 3 seconds, and is immediately easy to reference always, with less time wasted.

Again, why are you defending worse in a 30-70$ product, like arguing its a minor issue fair, but it is just kinda worse, and it doesnt happen once it happens quite a few times, so its obviously a trend of just worse organizational references for no good reason, other then...idek laziness? Incompetence?

 

[Parmandur]

but the amount of DIY differs. Saying that DMs make adjustments no matter what is not an excuse for a poor product (talking in general terms)


or maybe they complain about the cookbook saying to have the cookies in the oven at 15 degrees for 300 minutes when it clearly should be the reverse…

In this case, it is luke complaining that the cookbook says to have the cookies in the oven at 15 degrees for 300 minutes, when the cookbook actually says to have the cooking in the oven at 300 degrees for 15 minutes.