Podcast up

[Walking Dad]

The Girdle of Giant Strength will most likely give you a bonus to hit & damage with melee weapons, and possibly some other strength-related bonus.

This means that you're not suddenly recalculating all the strength-dependent stats... just a knowable subset.

They could make a Girdle of the Mule that only effects encumbrance.

I still like the "powerful build" idea the most. A "bonus to hit & damage with melee weapons" sounds much like the effect of a +x weapon. Effective but boring...

 

[Mustrum_Ridcully]

I'm not sure magic items won't give stat boosts in 4e. After all they're almost as permanent as level up boosts so won't cause the same problems as temporary buffs such as bull's strength.

Alternatively they could provide boosts that are more limited in scope such as +2 to hit/damage. The problem the designer called out in the podcast was the 'cascade effect' of attributes - they affect so many other stats. For instance if your dexterity changes then armor class, ranged to hit, initiative, skill checks and reflex saves all change. So buffs to stats with a more limited scope should still be okay.

On the other hand we've been told the 'Xmas tree' is gone with regards to both spells and magic items. So now I don't know what to think.

What might be worth mentioning that the Magic Item Compendium is apparently not a significant preview of 4E magic item rules. Some aspects we might see again, but the MIC items were pretty fiddly and required some experience with 3.x to use. Items that grant conditional bonus if you have a certain ability x/times per day seem unlikely as the standard items for 4E.

I wouldn't be surprised if the 4E items work also along the per day/encounter/at will scheme.

You could have items like
"Chalk of Teleportation": Paint a teleportation circle (takes 1 hour) to create a teleportation effect. [Ritual, could also be per day]

"Gloves of Ogre Power":
You can wear twice the usual amount of weight before becoming encumbered. [At Will]
Once per encounter, you can make an unarmed attack that grants you a +10 bonus to damage. If your attack beats the targets fortitude defense, it is knocked back one square. [Per Encounter]
Once per day, you gain a +10 bonus to a Strength Check to beat down a wall or door. [Per day]

 

[MerricB]

They could make a Girdle of the Mule that only effects encumbrance.

I still like the "powerful build" idea the most. A "bonus to hit & damage with melee weapons" sounds much like the effect of a +x weapon. Effective but boring...

Indeed. It could be a number of things. The one thing it *won't* be is a bonus to strength, because that causes a cascade of changes down the sheet.

Cheers!

 

[Hussar]

Based on the limited information we have in regards to things like critical hits and the disdain for power attack, I would bet money that in 99.9% of the cases, if two options are providied, one that reeks of 'cool' and another that smells of simplification, they'll go for the latter. (Oddly enough when they could've simplified the stats = bonuses I think they keep the 3-18 for cows sake.)

I think you've misinterpreted things there. In the two examples you've listed, it's not actually the case. Crits are still in, so, it's not like they've removed anything. All they've removed is the statistical spikes that tend to jump into the spokes of the bicycle wheels of campaigns. In other words, minor encounters won't slaughter PC's unexpectedly anymore simply through weird dice combos.

Power Attack never did what it was supposed to do. Scratching it and making something that does fit with the "Hulk Smash" concept isn't a simplification, it's making the mechanics actually fit the concept.

Given what we have seen - lots of class abilities, significant combat movement tactics, and the inclusion of multiple monsters per encounter as the baseline, I don't think you can really talk about this being a simplified game in play.

 

[TerraDave]

The Girdle of Giant Strength will most likely give you a bonus to hit & damage with melee weapons, and possibly some other strength-related bonus.

This means that you're not suddenly recalculating all the strength-dependent stats... just a knowable subset.

I thought the same thing, but then this raises the question: stacking.

Are those stacking with your hit&damage from your magic weapon, and from the warlord being a good cheerleader, and so forth and so on?

 

[Daniel D. Fox]

Sounds like that GoOS will affect bonuses to strike with melee, damage and Strength-based Skills and Powers.

I like this option much better than it affecting the base ability. I assume those temporary stat bonuses granted by spells will work the same, too.

 

[Steely Dan]

and from the warlord being a good cheerleader

I just got a great image of a heavily armoured cheerleader brandishing pompoms.

 

[Walking Dad]

I thought the same thing, but then this raises the question: stacking.

Are those stacking with your hit&damage from your magic weapon, and from the warlord being a good cheerleader, and so forth and so on?

I this case, I really hope they simplifyed and fixed the stacking rules.