This is the first interesting L&L column in some time for me. They are at long last publishing game mechanics for the core of the game. These structures should help define what D&D Next will be. My own thinking is the particulars presented are not the right way to go, not the least because they both appear to be based on skill systems / narrative resolution mechanics rather than other kinds of game mechanics. At least from my perspective they have dropped all notion of the referee map and player mapping (trial and error learning) aspect from the game. The article is a major step forward, I can't deny. I simply would have preferred it with less abstraction of exploration and communicating with creatures. It tends towards the "thousands of feats + one roll" model of design and not the "few key mechanics with their extrapolations generated into maps" model. There are benefits and drawbacks to both game design philosophies of course, but it still feel like too much of the same as a few years ago. Small steps though, right?
Here are some offerings to perhaps break out of the overly abstracted "resolution" design theories:
Possible exploration stats for locations:
-area volume [size]
-location surface area (searchable area leading to time required)
-gravity (with direction)
-previous activity log
-projected activity calendar
-noise levels (if occupied)
-visibility (if required)
-scent map (if required)
-recognizable trails
-etc
All of these are in addition to the usual shape, substantial make up, occupants, items, their arrangement (e.g. traps), light, magical auras, maybe challenge rating, and so forth.
The ability to control the clock is one of the key differences between tabletop RPGs and MMORPGs. Attempting to "travel to Rome" from hundreds of miles away can be a declared action, but the DM is going to ask for clarifications and present each of the challenge-level encounters (plus the usual description) of the journey. Maybe no one challenges, maybe there is a battelion of orcs in your way. Either way play speeds up until the point where game content requires it be dealt with. This can mean tactical dungeon exploration, reassessing daily chores, long-term strategic decisions, simultaneous time usually spent dialoguing, or even very short tactical rounds for combat and traps. (We even use speed of thought rounds for psionic combat).
NPCs alignment, race/monster abilities, and possibly class abilities, determine much of their behavior in the game. These are summarized in NPC maps, which, while dynamic, are every bit as explorable as the more traditional dungeon map / mazes and all without the necessity of dice rolls. Remember: Dice rolls are never there to resolve whose "story" is used, but to express the odds and determine the result of a pre-set relationship. These could be linear, curvilinear, or what have you, but the dice are rolled when an appropriate amount of chance comes into play. This is more boundary design and shouldn't be too hard to take the next step into. Exploring what NPCs know, how they behave, and how they change is almost always a matter for the map. It is when the players/characters attempt sufficient exertion to influence the NPCs that dice become involved.
