New Chris Perkins podcast up on Gaming Steve

[Shazman]

Mixed feelings about this approach. Creating characters is my favorite part of the game, so I don't mind spending an hour or two building the stats for a mid- to high-importance NPC. How NPCs are made in 4e has been high on my want-to-know list for a number of weeks now.

Great! Let's step back a few edtions. No more interesting or unique NPC's. They are all just cookie-cutter PC fodder. I guess that's to be expected when you are supposed to fight 30 of them at a time. This is supposed to be progress? All confirmed info about 4E reeks.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Great! Let's step back a few edtions. No more interesting or unique NPC's. They are all just cookie-cutter PC fodder.

This was not true of previous editions.

 

[The Little Raven]

You sure thrive on confrontation, don't you?

Indeed. But I also stand by what I said. An article is more limited than a podcast, since I have to focus my whole attention on it. A podcast can be enjoyed while doing other activities, which makes it a more flexible medium for scheduling time to listen, since I can be taking care of bills and whatnot.

 

[MerricB]

Great! Let's step back a few edtions. No more interesting or unique NPC's. They are all just cookie-cutter PC fodder.

I think there's a long way between simpler NPCs and cookie-cutter PC fodder.

What I expect we'll get is a pretty simple baseline for NPCs, which can then be quickly customised. As Chris notes, you really, really don't need an NPC to have 60 spells for most encounters. Instead, you choose four or five that they'll actually use, and possibly grant them a special ability or two that distinguishes them from other NPCs.

Abilities that they use on other NPCs rather than PCs can be assumed.

Cheers!

 

[Badkarmaboy]

Great! Let's step back a few edtions. No more interesting or unique NPC's. They are all just cookie-cutter PC fodder. I guess that's to be expected when you are supposed to fight 30 of them at a time. This is supposed to be progress? All confirmed info about 4E reeks.

Wow...since when does simplified = cookie cutter? One of my main gripes with 3.5 as a DM and as an author for the RPGA is statting up my NPCs. I can understand investing lots of time and energy in creating a PC-but that level of complexity is not need for your average NPC. I am fully capable of creating interesting NPCs that are not as mechanically complicated as a PC.


I welcome this change with open arms (and baited breath).

 

[Badkarmaboy]

In Magic Online, you buy virtual boosters. Same price as real boosters, same contents... except they're virtual cards. You can use the cards to play games online, you can trade with them, sell them, etc.

If you get a complete set of virtual cards (that is, one of each card from a particular set), you can redeem them for a real set of cards - you lose access to the virtual cards, and get sent actual physical cards. I've friends that have done this. It is really, really cool.

For me, Magic Online would be much, much better than trying to find real games of Magic. You can always find games, there are always tournaments starting up. Very nice indeed.

If the DI has virtual minis that use the same scheme, it may be successful. I'm somewhat suspicious because the DDM game is much weaker than the Magic game in terms of sales - most of the DDM sales are for RPG purposes, and players who play both in real life and online would be more common than just players who play online.

Cheers!

Thanks Merric! I, for what it's worth, think this approach will fail in regards to minis. Two very different audiences. I buy minis for RP only and the thought of having to buy them a second time...for RP...makes me ill.

 

[Mercule]

Multiple types of beholders, that's good I didn't like having to get another book like Monsters of Faerun just to have those beholders, it's good to see that some variation on the Deathkiss, Lensmen, Hive Mothers and the others will exist in the MM.

Meanwhile, I was thinking, "More stuff to cull from the MM." I've never been a fan of beholders -- somehow they push my suspension of disbelief past the point of even stuff like the flumph.

In other news: It still looks like I'm not going to be using digital minis. But that's fine because my group meets at my house.

 

[Wolfspider]

Indeed. But I also stand by what I said. An article is more limited than a podcast, since I have to focus my whole attention on it. A podcast can be enjoyed while doing other activities, which makes it a more flexible medium for scheduling time to listen, since I can be taking care of bills and whatnot.

But that's not what you said earlier. What you said here is much more rational than what you said before, which was:

Articles are a pointless and limited format, since they require me to pay attention to nothing else while reading, unlike podcasts which can play in my ear while surfing forums or writing material.

Instead of responding to a ridiculous statement (that podcasts are pointless) with a logical and thoughtful answer (like the recent one), you responded with an equally ridiculous statement (that articles are a pointless format). I think articles can be rather pointy myself.

Stick with reason and thoughtfulness, my friend. You have some really good things to say. Don't let your mind get clouded by The Dark Side (even if it does make a snappy comeback).

 

[Umbran]

All confirmed info about 4E reeks.

If all of it is really that bad to you, perhaps it is time for you to stop poking yourself in the eyes with it by visiting this forum?

Statements like this are not conducive to discussion. If you want to discuss, by all means continue in a tone that is more appropriate to an exchange of information. If you want to blow off steam and threadcrap, please stop, and do something else. Thank you.

 

[zoroaster100]

I like the idea of simplified NPC stats, as long as the NPCs are still a worth challenge, and there is an option for more complex NPCs when the DM wants a really unique and special archvillain, etc. But there should be a way for PCs to face a variety of interesting, yet easy to generate, stat and run NPCs that can perform all the monster "roles". It should be possible to challenge the PCs with NPCs without having the PCs get hordes of magic items from each NPC encounter, and without requiring the DM to spend hours and hours selecting spells and magic items for each NCP.