D&D 5E (2024) Mike Mearls explains why your boss monsters die too easily

[Crimson Longinus]

That's only because we insist on either giving you a ton of high powered rifle bullets or an infinite ammo dart gun.

Why are you fully rested with 2 fireballs and 3 scorching rays at level 5?

I don't follow...

 

[Maxperson]

Space issues? What did they put in instead?

A lot of art. Greyhawk. And so on.

 

[Maxperson]

I have played Lotd of the Rings and Conan video games...? My first exposure to Lord of the Rings was actually the Interplay CRPG.

Sure. I'm not saying that there are not also video games of those two. I'm saying that the stories lend themselves more towards RPGs than to video games.

 

[Maxperson]

All this talk of rest.

I know! Give it a rest already.

 

[Parmandur]

It has been explained several times. Yes, video games in theory could have robust fiction/rules connection. They rarely don't. And because they don't, they can do all sort of things a tabletop RPG can't. Like in WoW you can just respawn on the graveyard and retry the battle if you die. So you can scale a start-at-full-resources fight to be challenging, as you can try it several times. In a tabletop RPG which needs to maintain at least some sort of connection between the fiction and the rules you cannot do that without the game becoming insanely lethal.

But you can see video games that do, same as you see TTRPGs that don't...?

Why do you think video games must have dissociative mechanics...? What about Oreagon Trail, one of the elder examples of the medium...?

 

[Parmandur]

Sure. I'm not saying that there are not also video games of those two. I'm saying that the stories lend themselves more towards RPGs than to video games.

But...why?

I'm so sorry, I am honestly befuddled...why?

 

[Crimson Longinus]

But you can see video games that do, same as you see TTRPGs that don't...?

Why do you think video games must have dissociative mechanics...? What about Oreagon Trail, one of the elder examples of the medium...?

They don't have to. But they usually do. And the ones used example here earlier do. WoW was specifically mentioned. That some videogames might not is completely besides the point.

 

[Maxperson]

But...why?

I'm so sorry, I am honestly befuddled...why?

When you read the books or watch the movies, it takes time. Uses the imagination. In the case of the movies, involves acting(roleplaying). The fights are handled closer to RPG combat is handled than video game combat. Boromir didn't respawn after the orcs shot him. Gandalf did respawn, but he was special. The risks are different than in video games, also better represented by RPGs.

Video games are generally given different goals and mechanics, such that even the "RPGs" aren't really RPGs. You can only pick from a very narrow band of choices. RPGs are more open ended, like the characters in the books have available to them when the writers are writing.

I'm not saying video game versions are bad. I'm saying that RPGs represent these things differently, and adhere more closely to what the authors were doing/thinking than video games do.

 

[Minigiant]

I don't follow...

A level 5 wizard.

A level 5 wizard has 4 1st level spells, 3 2nd level spell, and 2 3rd level spells along with the ability to regain 3 levels of spells.

They wake up from a long rest with that. This is under the expectation of having 20 combat rounds.

But nothing stops them from burning all that magic in 8 rounds.

We are all focused on fixing the rest

But no one questions why we start they with 9 magic bullets in the first place.

Why not start them with 3 then give the other 6 later.

 

[Crimson Longinus]

A level 5 wizard.

A level 5 wizard has 4 1st level spells, 3 2nd level spell, and 2 3rd level spells along with the ability to regain 3 levels of spells.

They wake up from a long rest with that. This is under the expectation of having 20 combat rounds.

But nothing stops them from burning all that magic in 8 rounds.

We are all focused on fixing the rest

But no one questions why we start they with 9 magic bullets in the first place.

Yes, they could have different amount of resources. And that probably should be less if they refresh daily. But I'm not sure where that gets us. What's your point?