OMG Fireball, Noooooooooooo!

[T. Foster]

I really don't like the "everything scales at the same rate" feel of games like C&C, where a 1st level character fighting a 1st level monster, saving against a 1st level spell, or trying to disarm a 1st level trap has the same chances of success as a 5th level character fighting a 5th level monster, saving against a 5th level spell, or trying to disarm a 5th level trap, who has the same chances as a 9th level character fighting a 9th level monster, saving against a 9th level spell, or trying to disarm a 9th level trap does (and so on). It makes the game boring, predictable, and samey and at least somewhat defeats the purpose of having levels at all.

I greatly prefer the game changing feel as characters level up -- low level characters pretty much suck and have bad chances at just about everything and have to depend on luck or wits to survive, mid-level characters are in the 'sweet spot' where they've got a little better than 50% chance of doing most things, and high-level characters can reliably count on succeeding at most die rolls -- and rather than seeing the designers get rid of that aspect of play and make it so "everything is mid-level," I'd rather they had provided ways for the GM to customize the game to prolong whatever aspect he prefers (i.e. if the GM wants to run a "gritty" campaign where the players are always on the brink of disaster he could do so without having to worry about the feel of the campaign changing once the characters hit 5th level; likewise a GM who wants a super-heroic campaign could start right off with it without having to first play through 5 levels of gritty and 5 levels of heroic).

 

[Aus_Snow]

It makes the game boring, predictable, and samey and at least somewhat defeats the purpose of having levels at all.

So, what is "the purpose of having levels at all", out of interest?

Needless to say perhaps, I disagree that it makes the game any of those things. More to the point, I haven't found it to be so, IME. In fact, I don't quite comprehend how it could be, even hypothetically. Colour me confused.

 

[Geron Raveneye]

They went on sale the moment the countdown page went up at WotC's site. Within 24 hours, 3E went from a sometimes creaky it's-the-best-we've-got system to being perfect.

Hey, you know what they say...hindsight is always 20/20. (Kidding, obviously ).

The more interesting question is if those are 3.X, 3.0 or 3.5 rose-colored glasses.

 

[Plane Sailing]

It would be interesting to know whether they have decided to do something about healing spells too - why does a CLW bring a 1st level character up to full health, but barely restores some scratches on the poor 10th level hero!

I wonder whether they might do something to harmonise the 'wounds' and the 'healing' (if it is even possible to do that in the land of hit points).

I'm just thinking that if fireballs are not doing xd6 damage but maybe use some other mechanism... perhaps healing might too.

 

[Mouseferatu]

I'm just thinking that if fireballs are not doing xd6 damage but maybe use some other mechanism... perhaps healing might too.

Do we know that, though?

By my reading, James didn't say "fireballs don't do xd6 damage." He said they don't do "1d6 damage/level."

That could just mean they do 1d6 damage per two caster levels.

Not saying your interpretation is necessarily wrong; just that I don't think we can take it as a given.

 

[Ry]

Tonight, brothers... we dine on sacred cow.

Glorious!

 

[Olgar Shiverstone]

It would be interesting to know whether they have decided to do something about healing spells too - why does a CLW bring a 1st level character up to full health, but barely restores some scratches on the poor 10th level hero!

I wonder whether they might do something to harmonise the 'wounds' and the 'healing' (if it is even possible to do that in the land of hit points).

I'm just thinking that if fireballs are not doing xd6 damage but maybe use some other mechanism... perhaps healing might too.

Here's an idea for healing: you only need it in combat, for which (level)d6 or similar spells are fine. After an encounter, characters will automatically heal right up to full strength to be ready for the next encounter. Then the cleric won't complain about having to heal everyone. His in-combat skill will be an at-will sort of thing, too, so he doesn't have to sacrifice other cool powerz to heal the party.

 

[Glyfair]

Do we know that, though?

By my reading, James didn't say "fireballs don't do xd6 damage." He said they don't do "1d6 damage/level."

That could just mean they do 1d6 damage per two caster levels.

Not saying your interpretation is necessarily wrong; just that I don't think we can take it as a given.

Or xd6 damage where x is a new ability tied into magic use.

 

[Plane Sailing]

Weird. Why is is that the 1d6 per caster level on a fireball seems to me to be the sacredest of all cows, the most D&D thing about D&D?

Actually, I'd love to see Fireball rebalanced.

Since in OD&D where everyone had d6's for hp and no CON bonus (certainly not for monsters), a 5d6 fireball was pretty fearsome.

In 3e it is pretty laughable.

So here's hoping for fearsome fireballs once more (and if that means going back to filling 33,000 cubic feet when they explode... all the more fun )

 

[WhatGravitas]

It would be interesting to know whether they have decided to do something about healing spells too - why does a CLW bring a 1st level character up to full health, but barely restores some scratches on the poor 10th level hero!

I hope a healing system, based on the recipient, instead of the user... like:

CLW: 1d4 per 2 HD (min. 1d4)
CMW: 1d6 per 2 HD (min. 1d6)
CSW: 1d4 per HD
CCW: 1d6 per HD
Heal: 10 per HD

That would help with the rapid scaling of hit points, though it would make low-level healing spells far better for 1 HD targets, due to the break from 1 per 2 HD to 1 per HD... but it that's only my quick idea... so a serious implementation of this would be far better.

EDIT: Perhaps one could do that for damage too... that would be a relative damage system - but then, 4E is about speeding up play, individual damage with area spells would... suck. And make many spells very zany, because you can only do that many spell levels with d4 tp d12.

Cheers, LT.