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Mike Mearls explains why your boss monsters die too easily
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<blockquote data-quote="Staffan" data-source="post: 9775110" data-attributes="member: 907"><p>First time I encountered a system like that was actually in a TSR game: Advanced Marvel Super Heroes. You wanna buy something, make a Resources check. If the item has the same Resources rating as you, you need a yellow result (fairly hard). If it is 1-3 ranks lower, you need a green result (easy), and if it's lower than that no check is needed. If it's one rank higher you need a red result (hard) and I think there were additional requirements but I can't be hedgehogged to check, and if it's more than one rank higher it's beyond your means (Steve Rogers ain't buying no private jets on an artist's income). And speaking of Marvel...</p><p></p><p>My understanding is that it has sold fairly well but not to actual Magic players. While this works in the short term, it is bad in the long term because it leads to less in-store play which in turn can lead to lower sales in the long run.</p><p></p><p>Spider-Man has had some special challenges, though. Apparently the decision to make UB standard-legal came fairly late in the design process, as was the decision to change it from a small set to a medium one. This required them to come up with a bunch of new cards on short notice, which is why you have like 20-30 Spider-Men in the set. The upcoming "general" Marvel set next year will likely not have the same issue, as that one has the whole MU to play with which should be more than enough to fill out a set.</p><p></p><p>Spider-Man also has another special problem which it will be sharing with the Marvel set. Apparently the Marvel license didn't cover electronic games, which means they can't release Spider-Man on their online platform Arena (or Magic Online, but as I understand it that doesn't see all that much use anymore). Instead they are releasing "Through the Omenpaths", which is a set of mechanically identical cards but set in Magic's own IP. So there's a physical Doctor Octopus, Master Planner:</p><p>[ATTACH=full]419336[/ATTACH]</p><p>But online, there's instead Neach, Pinnacle Pariah:</p><p>[ATTACH=full]419337[/ATTACH]</p><p>This means that it's hard to practice drafting and such on Arena for Spider-Man cards, because you're not building up the knowledge base to be able to instantly look at an IRL card and know "Oh, it's that card, it does X."</p><p></p><p></p><p>D&D does not have a spell point system (unless of course you're playing with those optional rules), and casting spells does not cause exhaustion – at least not on a spell-to-spell basis (I personally rule that spellcasting is a moderately exhausting activity, mainly to discourage out-of-combat breaking the game with cantrip spamming – you can't break down a stone wall by continually casting <em>fire bolt</em> at it anymore than you can by hitting it with your sword). Spells are distinct things in the fiction. You can craft objects that hold a particular spell (scrolls). Wizards can scribe spells into books, and the time and effort this takes corresponds to the spell's level.</p><p></p><p>It is fairly easy to come up with a Watsonian explanation for how magic works that corresponds to how it works mechanically. Preparing a spell imprints a metaphysical pattern onto your mind/soul/spirit. This can either be a near-permanent imprint for classes like sorcerers ("spells known" classes in 5.0), or a more temporary measure for classes like clerics or wizards that can change their spell selection on the daily. Your mind/soul/spirit also holds a number of discrete charges of energy of varying quality/energy levels. When casting a spell, you use one of these charges to energize one of your spell patterns – this charge has to be at least of a quality that corresponds to the pattern's complexity, but you can "overcharge" a pattern. For most spells this just wastes energy, but certain patterns are sophisticated enough to gain greater effects when overcharged.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Staffan, post: 9775110, member: 907"] First time I encountered a system like that was actually in a TSR game: Advanced Marvel Super Heroes. You wanna buy something, make a Resources check. If the item has the same Resources rating as you, you need a yellow result (fairly hard). If it is 1-3 ranks lower, you need a green result (easy), and if it's lower than that no check is needed. If it's one rank higher you need a red result (hard) and I think there were additional requirements but I can't be hedgehogged to check, and if it's more than one rank higher it's beyond your means (Steve Rogers ain't buying no private jets on an artist's income). And speaking of Marvel... My understanding is that it has sold fairly well but not to actual Magic players. While this works in the short term, it is bad in the long term because it leads to less in-store play which in turn can lead to lower sales in the long run. Spider-Man has had some special challenges, though. Apparently the decision to make UB standard-legal came fairly late in the design process, as was the decision to change it from a small set to a medium one. This required them to come up with a bunch of new cards on short notice, which is why you have like 20-30 Spider-Men in the set. The upcoming "general" Marvel set next year will likely not have the same issue, as that one has the whole MU to play with which should be more than enough to fill out a set. Spider-Man also has another special problem which it will be sharing with the Marvel set. Apparently the Marvel license didn't cover electronic games, which means they can't release Spider-Man on their online platform Arena (or Magic Online, but as I understand it that doesn't see all that much use anymore). Instead they are releasing "Through the Omenpaths", which is a set of mechanically identical cards but set in Magic's own IP. So there's a physical Doctor Octopus, Master Planner: [ATTACH type="full" width="260px" size="672x936"]419336[/ATTACH] But online, there's instead Neach, Pinnacle Pariah: [ATTACH type="full" width="257px" size="672x936"]419337[/ATTACH] This means that it's hard to practice drafting and such on Arena for Spider-Man cards, because you're not building up the knowledge base to be able to instantly look at an IRL card and know "Oh, it's that card, it does X." D&D does not have a spell point system (unless of course you're playing with those optional rules), and casting spells does not cause exhaustion – at least not on a spell-to-spell basis (I personally rule that spellcasting is a moderately exhausting activity, mainly to discourage out-of-combat breaking the game with cantrip spamming – you can't break down a stone wall by continually casting [I]fire bolt[/I] at it anymore than you can by hitting it with your sword). Spells are distinct things in the fiction. You can craft objects that hold a particular spell (scrolls). Wizards can scribe spells into books, and the time and effort this takes corresponds to the spell's level. It is fairly easy to come up with a Watsonian explanation for how magic works that corresponds to how it works mechanically. Preparing a spell imprints a metaphysical pattern onto your mind/soul/spirit. This can either be a near-permanent imprint for classes like sorcerers ("spells known" classes in 5.0), or a more temporary measure for classes like clerics or wizards that can change their spell selection on the daily. Your mind/soul/spirit also holds a number of discrete charges of energy of varying quality/energy levels. When casting a spell, you use one of these charges to energize one of your spell patterns – this charge has to be at least of a quality that corresponds to the pattern's complexity, but you can "overcharge" a pattern. For most spells this just wastes energy, but certain patterns are sophisticated enough to gain greater effects when overcharged. [/QUOTE]
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