D&D 5E Krynn's Free Feats: setting-specific or the future of the game?

[Parmandur]

You're right, of course. My problem is, I have a hard time narrating combat as a series of near-misses, topped with Schrodinger's "dying" PC. The clash in nomenclature, where hits aren't hits but persist in being called hits, hurts my brain.

It's a war game abstraction.

 

[Jer]

You're right, of course. My problem is, I have a hard time narrating combat as a series of near-misses, topped with Schrodinger's "dying" PC. The clash in nomenclature, where hits aren't hits but persist in being called hits, hurts my brain.

Yeah game terminology stinks. "Hit" meaning both "hitting the target value to succeed" and "hitting the target in the game fiction" depending on context is annoying and it shows up in so many games. Mostly I assume through the common ancestor of D&D.

It also leads to one of the most misunderstood mechanics in D&D - the "damage on a miss" mechanic, which is damage that is done when you don't hit your target value, not damage that is done when you don't hit your target in the game fiction. But calling it a "miss" just conflates the two ideas even more when it would really help if there was more to separate them instead.

 

[GMforPowergamers]

When a DM describes a critical hit that stabs a PC in the gut or breaks a bone, and is frustrated that the player heals up after a long rest, the DM is the one at fault if that messes with their own verisimilitude. If a DM does not like that narrative, they can house rule healing all they want so that it does.

I used to play Mortal Kombat (In the arcade... I'm old... thats a place full of video games kids) but my nephew plays the new one (11 I think) and mid fight you see X ray shots of bones snapping to show how brutal the blows are... but the fighters are in no way staggered or limited by the fresh broken bones.

that is what EVERY edition of D&D is like that with a DM who describes wounds that way...

"The orc swings his club and crits breaking 3 ribs" sounds deadly, but when the crit "Then I rolled snake eyes on my d10s so 8 bludgeoning damage" does 1/5 your hp you keep fighting like nothing happened... now you can RP it.

I once RPed dislocated shoulders and twisted ankles and cracked ribs for months on a character... even when they were at 100% HP could move full speed and had no penelties... I would groan and say how I was still recovering... but pushing through. but that was MY CHOICE not any mechanic requirement

 

[GMforPowergamers]

You're right, of course. My problem is, I have a hard time narrating combat as a series of near-misses, topped with Schrodinger's "dying" PC. The clash in nomenclature, where hits aren't hits but persist in being called hits, hurts my brain.

yup... I have felt that way since day 1 in 2e... just had to kinda wing it

 

[Wyckedemus]

You're right, of course. My problem is, I have a hard time narrating combat as a series of near-misses, topped with Schrodinger's "dying" PC. The clash in nomenclature, where hits aren't hits but persist in being called hits, hurts my brain.

You have a very valid point about the nomenclature clash. Because of this, my narrative style tries to capture the combat and injuries as they might be seen in an ongoing serial tv show centered around violence (like cop or crime shows, where non-PCs can get violently injured, but the hero comes back next episode just fine.) In comparison, many movies are generally one-shots that allow the heroes to be seriously injured and they'll heal up off screen after the movie is over.

Another narrative rule I use is that any magical healing (even spare the dying or a goodberry), completely knits any (non-severing) trauma caused by being dropped to 0 hp, and the hero can therefore heal up normally in a long rest. That is why a healing potion is worth 50 gp.

 

[Li Shenron]

3.5 broke most of my characters instead of making them more powerful.

My alchemist rogue literally couldn't stir things anymore because he didn't have spellcasting, to say nothing of my stealth bomber fly/haste sorcerer and anyone that used the stat buff spells for anything but combat.

Ah well you're right on this... I played several Sorcerers in 3ed and indeed the class was totally left behind by 3.5 updates. But I think it was basically the exception, all other classes were buffed to make buying the revision hard to resist. That one class got the shaft big time was probably again the result of that dread majority mentality "most people choose Wizard over Sorcerer anyway". If designers reason like that, instead of caring for every option and playstyle as if they're all important, the game is impoverished.

 

[GMforPowergamers]

my narrative style tries to capture the combat and injuries as they might be seen in an ongoing serial tv show centered around violence

yeah I do this alot... an arrow crit for 30 damage to a wizard with 12 hp might be a shot right through his side as he passes out... an arrow crit for 30 damage to a barbarian rageing (so 15 from half) that has 84hp... that shot just nicked his arm drawing abit of blood...

if the wizard rolls a nat 20 on his first death save and stands up (spend a HD) he just somehow got himself up and is still bleeding and hurt... if instead a warlord yelled "Not like this get up sparky" and the wizard spend a healing surge and got up same thing... either way after the fight the assumption is they bind teh wound and keep going.

 

[Micah Sweet]

It's a war game abstraction.

Knowing why they did it doesn't make it any easier to deal with.

 

[Micah Sweet]

Honestly, I'd rather just houserule some simulation into damage and healing than continue to action that is largely meaningless outside of narration after the fact.

 

[Parmandur]

Knowing why they did it doesn't make it any easier to deal with.

But they did it in 1974...?