Legends & Lore: What Worked, What Didn't

[DEFCON 1]

The only reason I liked the idea of Weapon Powers was because the weapons table always included weapons which were statistically worse than others in the same category, resulting in rarely anyone taking them (beyond just flavor). At least with Weapon Powers or weapon properties, they would give you some other reason to consider it.

I mean if we look at the Martial Melee Weapons table in the last playtest packet... there are 7 weapons that are 1d8 in damage. For three of those eight that's it (flail, morningstar, warpick)... whereas the other four get some special property on top of that. Battleaxe, longsword, and warhammer are Versatile, and Rapier is a Finesse weapon. What reason is there for anyone to take flail, morninstar or warpick over any of the other four? We can't even use cost, weight, or damage type, because there's no real benefits in those categories for those three either. Had flail helped with trip or disarm attacks, warpicks gave a bit better crit, and morningstars were moved back into the Simple category, maybe you'd have something. But right now? Nothing, other than a character fluff decision.

Personally... I don't like relying on just that though. Every choice should get something, because otherwise there's no real choice.

 

[Argyle King]

advantage/disadvantage... seems to work pretty well, so I agree

weapon powers... I think I'd like 5th Edition far more if this was included. Having a few minor benefits to help differentiate the D&D weapon list more would be a good thing. As Defcon 1 said, there are too many weapons in D&D that never get used. I think making more of the choices matter is a good thing. I also think it makes the game more interesting to give choices which don't just boil down to straight damage, but instead offer interesting tactical choices. Though, unfortunately, based upon prior experience with previous D&D editions, I'd worry that this would leave a door open through which power creep would start to be designed into the game, and we'd see later books publish weapons with better 'powers.' Still, I like the idea.

Concentration... in theory it's a good idea, and I'd never say it was a bad idea (it's not,) but, in actual play, it hasn't appeared to really hinder casters all that much.

Auto Success... no strong feelings one way or the other. I like rolling dice, but I also believe there are tasks so trivial that a DM shouldn't ask players to roll.

 

[ExploderWizard]

It's been my experience that rolling the dice for common place things not only slows the game down due to constant die rolls but ends up making the PCs look like bumbling idiots.

I've played a couple of games like this and when we're rolling for EVERYTHING it just gets silly: "Roll to see if you open the door or if you miss the door, slip over your own feat and smash your skull against the pavement."

Yes, accidents do happen, but they happen so rarely that you can't use a d20 to determine whether they happen. You need a d10,000 for most of these accidents. My general rule of thumb is if I don't see an average person failing at least 1 time in every 20 times they try something, I don't bother with a roll. Glad to see a similar philosophy is part of D&D Next.

Ayup. Adventurers should be considered at least as competent as regular people. Climbing a ladder in ordinary circumstances shouldn't require a roll. Trying to climb a ladder out of the 8th plane of Hell with an ice devil clinging to you would be an action worthy of a roll.

 

[am181d]

Ayup. Adventurers should be considered at least as competent as regular people. Climbing a ladder in ordinary circumstances shouldn't require a roll. Trying to climb a ladder out of the 8th plane of Hell with an ice devil clinging to you would be an action worthy of a roll.

I feel like most of us can climb a ladder out of the 8th plane of Hell with an ice devil clinging to our backs AT LEAST 95% of the time. I don't think we should require a roll unless there are 2-3 ice devils involved. (Or, obviously, if we're talking about the 6th or 7th plane of Hell.

 

[ExploderWizard]

I feel like most of us can climb a ladder out of the 8th plane of Hell with an ice devil clinging to our backs AT LEAST 95% of the time. I don't think we should require a roll unless there are 2-3 ice devils involved. (Or, obviously, if we're talking about the 6th or 7th plane of Hell.

That would be a STR dependent DM call I think.

 

[Klaus]

I'd love to see weapon properties being included as an optional benefit you can unlock with a feat. Seems like the perfect spot for Weapon Specialization...

 

[Minigiant]

Well one thing that is good about limited autosuccess is it nudges DMs away from being "Roll for every single thing" DM.

 

[Jester David]

The only time you should be rolling is when failure matters.
If you're not on a time constraint when climbing the ladder you don't need to roll. You don't need to roll to avoid tripping when running through the forest normally, but you should make the check when being chased by a knife wielding psycho.

Every second counts and you're try to scamper up a ladder? Check to see if you slip or slow town.Trying to open a door to escape an orc horde? Better roll. Sometimes doors stick.

 

[Gundark]

I would be okay with weapons powers as an optional rules mod. I have played other RPGs that have included them in their core rules. These rules have bloated the game and made combat a long drag fest as everybody had to check the powers of their weapons they were using.

optional yes. RAW no

 

[1of3]

Weapon powers might have worked. They just weren't willing to go all the way.

Legends of the Wulin does it, but there are only 8 types of weapons on the list (Sword, Heavy, Spear, Flexible, Ranged, Paired, Unarmed), with the options of buying special proficiency to combine the effects of two types. That certainly is manageable. If the list is as detailed as the D&D list... not so much.