L4W Discussion Thread IV

[CaBaNa]

I can be on the list now!

Enemies Among Us just wrapped, and Veruzak qualifies for level 2 now!

I have a horse in the race Yay!

seriously though, it's not likely that I will currently be making a 3rd character. That said, if I make someone to fall in love with, the 3rd character will be born. Just a bit to busy as of now to start/maintain another.

From the DM side of things, LAoL: Obolus has had a rocky start as per PC participation. Half the group left due to "lack of information", were subsequently replaced, and now the only Leader has disappeared. A larger pool of PC's would really help in this case.

As per character checking, it seems to be doing alright. If we could get more help from character checkers, it would probably be even easier. I know my character checking has slipped lately, but that is more to do with RL, than my inherent laziness.

Can't wait until my schedule opens up again!

 

[evilbob]

Hi - I'm completely new to all this, and I haven't read through all this thread's posts (much less I - III), but in regard to getting new players to come in: as someone who just started looking at all this a few days ago, I will say please keep in mind that currently there's a quite a huge barrier to entry. Don't get me wrong: you've got some great stuff in place, and I sure couldn't do better. But right now you have a single forum and a wiki that proclaims on its main page (as of Aug. 09) that no one should use this wiki anymore. The whole process of just creating a single character took me a full day to figure out, and that was using the character builder on the side. I just wanted to mention that for anyone who has forgotten: someone REALLY has to want to play in order to actually start to play. I have no suggestions on how to really fix this, however.

 

[BenBrown]

you're absolutely right, though. we do need to make it easier. there are plenty of cases of people backing out when confronted by the templates. Perhaps one day in a fit of boredom, I'll write an illustrated guide to using the templates. Especially when we know what the future will bring for the wiki.

 

[CaBaNa]

I like the Living Eberron sheets.

 

[stonegod]

I like the Living Eberron sheets.

So do I.

 

[Oni]

Reason I also brought it up is that there's very few level 1's out there and we seem to have had a decent amount of disappearing players recently. Without any backfill coming in through organic means (new players), it's probably best that we keep having new PC's come in, otherwise you'll end up where there's a handful of players at high level and then if someone new comes in, there's nobody to adventure with, they get discouraged and then leave. It seems LEW has that issue now so I'm trying to plan ahead so it doesn't happen here. It doesn't even have to be when PHB3 comes out (just seemed a good time) it can be sometime later this year as well.

Speaking for myself I'm not sure I'm interested in doing yet another level 1 character. I'm getting a little bored with the limited power selection of lower levels. If you're worried about the increasing gap between L4W veterans and new players why not raise the starting level?

 

[ScorpiusRisk]

If DMs are looking to fill I have a lvl 1 Paladin, whose sheet is finished, who is just waiting for Bell to officially level up to level 2 before being submitted.

As far as 3rd PCs are concerned, I don't see it as a good or bad thing as long as people try and recognize their limits.

I don't think raising the starting level is a great idea. The higher level characters earned that space. There's no need for new characters to be on the same level as veterans. LEB already allows people to start at 4 and I think it's a good difference to keep between the two forums.

With the double experience starting to really kick in characters are leveling at a healthy pace regardless.

 

[Dunamin]

I must admit, I'm much more keen on playing up, developing, and fleshing out Woe and Rhole, than starting to conceptualize a third personal character. Since my studies demand more time now than they did when L4W started out, I'd just rather focus the PBP-time I have on established characters. Of course, these are all "just" roleplaying concerns - I'm sure others are better at managing multiple PCs both mechanically and flavor-wise.

I don’t really mind one way of the other, I just likely wouldn’t be starting up a 3rd right off the bat. Then again, that dragon in Ring of the Fey Lord still makes Rhole’s survival look pretty dicey.

 

[On Puget Sound]

The Character Builder summary exports text in a consistent format. Is there any reason a template can't be made that will take that format pasted directly, at least to cover most of what we currently do with the templates? For that matter, given that marvelously concise format, why do we need the templates at all?

Yes, not everyone has a subscription to the CB, but I bet everyone who wants to play an online 4E game knows someone who does. As it is now, every player needs either Compendium access or a paper copy of the PHB available to make a character anyway, so "requiring you to buy or borrow something published by Wizards" is not really an issue.

I'd also be inclined to vote against third PCs, unless we are having trouble filling low level adventures. I'd like to see the low level adventures remain open and available to new players, not just "alts". From the little that I have seen, players and GMs have been good about giving newcomers priority in seating, but that will get harder as time goes on if everyone always has a low level in their stable. People who love low level play that much should retire their older character to make room for a new one. Another option might be to choose to play without gaining xp or treasure, to stay at the power level you like best.

 

[Theroc]

Yes, not everyone has a subscription to the CB, but I bet everyone who wants to play an online 4E game knows someone who does. As it is now, every player needs either Compendium access or a paper copy of the PHB available to make a character anyway, so "requiring you to buy or borrow something published by Wizards" is not really an issue.

I am the only person I know with any interest in 4th Edition. I do not have the Character Builder. Therefore, I can't do much but copy/paste the output of the CB and hand edit in information.

I really like the templates in the long run, despite the pain they are to get. With the aforementioned method I mentioned, I have a bad problem of having to go recalculate things all the time, while the sheets keep things updated and all in one place for me.