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Mike Mearls comments on design
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<blockquote data-quote="Lonely Tylenol" data-source="post: 3929897" data-attributes="member: 18549"><p>Totally with you there. You can add and subtract discrete elements easily. The problem is when things are embedded in elements you want to use, and removing them is more difficult. Golden Wyvern is the case in point. If you want to use wizards, they come packaged with Golden Wyvern. You can remove the reference from your campaign, but it'll be there in the core books, and presumably in future publications. If you want to call them "Spellmaster Mages" or something, the likely response is "which ones are they again? Do you mean Golden Wyvern?" I expect that it'll be an uphill battle to strip it out.</p><p></p><p>However, this isn't the case with names like Mystic Theurge, which sound like they mean something, but don't. Golden Wyvern refers to an implied (but apparently not detailed, according to Mearls), organization. Mystic Theurge refers to the game element, and doesn't carry any baggage that you either have to shoehorn into your campaign or cross out and rewrite. Even if they replaced Golden Wyvern with "Gold Wizards" or "Wyvern Mages" (as part of a series of metal-themed or monster-themed names) and dropped all the references to an implied organization, it would be easier to overwrite the given name with your own organization name. The less implied baggage, the better. </p><p></p><p>That's why the Mystic Theurge was a better DMG inclusion than the Red Wizard was. The Red Wizard comes with a bunch of organization baggage that takes more dedicated effort to remove, since many players think they know what a Red Wizard is supposed to be like, having played or read FR material. And that organization isn't even a core organization. If Golden Wyvern is in the core books, it'll be more difficult to divest them of the association with the implied setting organization.</p><p></p><p></p><p>It's kind of like if you buy a table saw, and plan to use it to cut metal rods. You take off the wood cutting blade it came with, and put on a metal cutting blade; but every time you go away and come back, the metal blade is gone and the original wood blade is back on, so you have to take off that blade and put on the one you want. It would be a great tool, if only you didn't have to worry about it reseting to the default all the time. To borrow, and misuse, an R&D-ism, Golden Wyvern has too much inherent traction. It needs less traction, so that you can scrape it off if you don't want it.</p><p></p><p>Obligatory Simpsons reference to finish:</p><p>"Spellmaster mage."</p><p>"Golden Wyvern?"</p><p>"No, Spellmaster."</p><p>"Golden?"</p><p>"S. P. E..."</p><p>"G. O. L..."</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Lonely Tylenol, post: 3929897, member: 18549"] Totally with you there. You can add and subtract discrete elements easily. The problem is when things are embedded in elements you want to use, and removing them is more difficult. Golden Wyvern is the case in point. If you want to use wizards, they come packaged with Golden Wyvern. You can remove the reference from your campaign, but it'll be there in the core books, and presumably in future publications. If you want to call them "Spellmaster Mages" or something, the likely response is "which ones are they again? Do you mean Golden Wyvern?" I expect that it'll be an uphill battle to strip it out. However, this isn't the case with names like Mystic Theurge, which sound like they mean something, but don't. Golden Wyvern refers to an implied (but apparently not detailed, according to Mearls), organization. Mystic Theurge refers to the game element, and doesn't carry any baggage that you either have to shoehorn into your campaign or cross out and rewrite. Even if they replaced Golden Wyvern with "Gold Wizards" or "Wyvern Mages" (as part of a series of metal-themed or monster-themed names) and dropped all the references to an implied organization, it would be easier to overwrite the given name with your own organization name. The less implied baggage, the better. That's why the Mystic Theurge was a better DMG inclusion than the Red Wizard was. The Red Wizard comes with a bunch of organization baggage that takes more dedicated effort to remove, since many players think they know what a Red Wizard is supposed to be like, having played or read FR material. And that organization isn't even a core organization. If Golden Wyvern is in the core books, it'll be more difficult to divest them of the association with the implied setting organization. It's kind of like if you buy a table saw, and plan to use it to cut metal rods. You take off the wood cutting blade it came with, and put on a metal cutting blade; but every time you go away and come back, the metal blade is gone and the original wood blade is back on, so you have to take off that blade and put on the one you want. It would be a great tool, if only you didn't have to worry about it reseting to the default all the time. To borrow, and misuse, an R&D-ism, Golden Wyvern has too much inherent traction. It needs less traction, so that you can scrape it off if you don't want it. Obligatory Simpsons reference to finish: "Spellmaster mage." "Golden Wyvern?" "No, Spellmaster." "Golden?" "S. P. E..." "G. O. L..." [/QUOTE]
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