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Pathfinder BETA - Some Sizzle, Not Much Steak
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<blockquote data-quote="Spatula" data-source="post: 4428325" data-attributes="member: 2198"><p>The OP is useful criticism. I don't need to playtest to know that I don't agree with the basic design goals of PF. Playtesting is for working out the bugs in the implementation of the design.</p><p></p><p>People aren't going into it probably because it's all been hashed out before... a lot of the issues with 3e are laid out in some of the 4e preview articles as well.</p><p></p><p>For me, I would rate the major issues with 3e as:</p><p>DMing at high levels requires way too much prep work.</p><p>High level combat takes too long to resolve and only lasts 2-3 rounds.</p><p>Monster design, specifically that HD scales faster than CR, is seriously flawed given the number of game effects based on HD. Most notably, BAB and saves. It also makes turn undead pretty useless past level 5, and renders spells with HD caps or ceilings not so great for players, but potentially quite broken for monsters (see: <em>blasphemy</em>).</p><p>The same is true of class design. Poor hit points, saving throws, and (if you need to roll to hit) non-fighter BAB start out as minor inconveniences and turn into crippling problems. This and the monster issue above are what led to the so-called "sweet spot" of D&D.</p><p>Spellcasters cannot multiclass effectively. I was really surprised that 3.5 didn't fix this and even more surprised that PF hasn't touched it, since there's at least one simple solution (unifying caster levels and giving classes a "base caster level" bonus).</p><p>EDIT: Buffs/Debuffs are too powerful, and too cumbersome to adjucate. This is part of the reason high-level combat takes so damn long. A fully buffed group vs unbuffed is like night and day in terms of power levels, which means that if you can prepare for a fight it will probably be a cakewalk, and if you're ambushed by NPCs that are themselves buffed you're probably going to get slaughtered.</p><p></p><p>I would also throw in: skills too granular, skill points & feats too scarce; as a minor issue. But that one is pretty easy to houserule, I don't need to spend money to consolidate the skill list or give people more skill points / feats.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Spatula, post: 4428325, member: 2198"] The OP is useful criticism. I don't need to playtest to know that I don't agree with the basic design goals of PF. Playtesting is for working out the bugs in the implementation of the design. People aren't going into it probably because it's all been hashed out before... a lot of the issues with 3e are laid out in some of the 4e preview articles as well. For me, I would rate the major issues with 3e as: DMing at high levels requires way too much prep work. High level combat takes too long to resolve and only lasts 2-3 rounds. Monster design, specifically that HD scales faster than CR, is seriously flawed given the number of game effects based on HD. Most notably, BAB and saves. It also makes turn undead pretty useless past level 5, and renders spells with HD caps or ceilings not so great for players, but potentially quite broken for monsters (see: [i]blasphemy[/i]). The same is true of class design. Poor hit points, saving throws, and (if you need to roll to hit) non-fighter BAB start out as minor inconveniences and turn into crippling problems. This and the monster issue above are what led to the so-called "sweet spot" of D&D. Spellcasters cannot multiclass effectively. I was really surprised that 3.5 didn't fix this and even more surprised that PF hasn't touched it, since there's at least one simple solution (unifying caster levels and giving classes a "base caster level" bonus). EDIT: Buffs/Debuffs are too powerful, and too cumbersome to adjucate. This is part of the reason high-level combat takes so damn long. A fully buffed group vs unbuffed is like night and day in terms of power levels, which means that if you can prepare for a fight it will probably be a cakewalk, and if you're ambushed by NPCs that are themselves buffed you're probably going to get slaughtered. I would also throw in: skills too granular, skill points & feats too scarce; as a minor issue. But that one is pretty easy to houserule, I don't need to spend money to consolidate the skill list or give people more skill points / feats. [/QUOTE]
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