Project Black Flag Design Notes #1


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doctorbadwolf

Heretic of The Seventh Circle
D&D definitely does belong to one company. But the game doesn't, in the sense of the rules, so the original quotation seems accurate enough.
Unless you're defining DnD as the literal ability to legally label products with the name, no, it doesn't.
 


Scribe

Legend
They may try and follow all the rules of the NFL-- change a few things here and there-- but they still can't get many people to watch it because the fact is, it's really not the game itself people care about, it's the brand. People watch the NFL because it's the NFL, not because it uses a very specific set of American Football rules that everyone care about.

There's also....a dramatically small percentage of men who can play the NFL game, at a level of execution people want.

Half of the NFL cannot even reach that bar, and its getting worse every year lol.
 


Kobold Stew

Last Guy in the Airlock
Supporter
I think you are overlooking the possibility of an archetype/subclass/PrC/etc granting limited access to other trees as a class feature or to grant a choice of specific selection of talents outside the ones normally available. Also there is good in not allowing any fighter to "take take a magical or technical feat; let Sorcerers take a martial one." When that fighter/sorcerer/etc can't just snag an A or S tier talent from outside their normal pool it keeps the various thematic niches from being combined into a bland soup of "MOAR POWAH" allowing them (and their weaknesses) to be balanced separately in isolation for more interesting choices relevant to a niche's theme.
It's certainly possible -- I would expect e.g. Eldritch 'Knight to have access to some Magic talents, etc. But that becomes fiddly, and (I still believe) less fun overall. Much better would be not to have talents that are so superior to others, right? An S Tier magic talent will almost certainly mean more to a Wizard than to a Rogue, so let the Rogue have access to it.
 

tetrasodium

Legend
Supporter
So Black Flag's Talents are just OneD&D's Feats except split into Martial/Magical/Techinical instead of Warrior/Expert/Priest/Mage/None
As a scholar, you have spent time researching particular academic subjects at an institute of learning or under the tutelage of a knowledgeable teacher. Choose a talent from the following list to represent this experience: Polyglot, School Specialization, or Trade Skills.

As a soldier, you have received special training or honed natural capabilities that have kept you safe during your service. Choose a talent from the following list to represent this experience: Armor Training, Combat Casting, or Combat Conditioning.
Maybe maybe not. It depends on how they are gained. Polyglot Combat casting & School specialization are almost cross.... umm... pool(?)

It's certainly possible -- I would expect e.g. Eldritch 'Knight to have access to some Magic talents, etc. But that becomes fiddly, and (I still believe) less fun overall. Much better would be not to have talents that are so superior to others, right? An S Tier magic talent will almost certainly mean more to a Wizard than to a Rogue, so let the Rogue have access to it.
They very well might, but "access" is a broad range. Having "access" to a selection of them at any talent gain interval vrs being allowed to more broadly choose any qualifying magical talents but only at certain points rather than being able to choose them during any talent choice level are slightly different. We already know how that can be expanded in future supplements by looking back at 3.x too where it wasn't uncommon to see "this feat can be selected as a $class bonus feat"" or whatever the wording was
 
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There's also....a dramatically small percentage of men who can play the NFL game, at a level of execution people want.

Half of the NFL cannot even reach that bar, and its getting worse every year lol.
But Black Flag isn't about setting up the Patriots. It's about putting together a team that wants to play the same style together. It doesn't have to be a billion dollar company to be a success.
 


Scribe

Legend
But Black Flag isn't about setting up the Patriots. It's about putting together a team that wants to play the same style together. It doesn't have to be a billion dollar company to be a success.

Indeed, I didnt think it was a great comparison in the first place, not least of which, I dont equate Wizards version of D&D with the Patriots either, but I'm trying to regulate my snark after a long week/day. ;)
 

Laurefindel

Legend
“This game has meant too much to us for too long to let it remain owned by just one company.”

- A team member at Kobold Press

I'm sorry, but this has to be one of the silliest reasonings for creating a new game such as this that I have ever heard.

What is this? If you love something just SOOOOOOOOO MUUUUUUUUUUUCH then you should get a chance to own it and the person/company who does own it shouldn't get to own it anymore? That is... I'm sorry, that is just... I can't even.

"Hey! I've love my New England Patriots football team! This team has meant too much for me for to long for it to remain owned just by Robert Kraft! I should be able to own the New England Patriots too!"

"I love Disney! Been going to Disneyworld since I was a kid! I think that obviously entitles me to owning a piece of the Disney pie! It doesn't matter that it's actually someone else's! I just love it THAT MUCH that I now get to have it!"

Wow. Heh heh... that's some... that's certainly a thing. Whelp... best of luck to Kobold! Hope it all works out for them.
I’m not sure the allegory is quite apt. 5e is a ruleset, like football is a ruleset. Keeping with the football allegory, Savage World might be rugby, or perhaps soccer (which everyone around the world call football except for us North Americans).

So KP’s statement is more like “we love football too much to leave it in the hands of only one league.” This is a real sentiment in many sports actually.
 


DEFCON 1

Legend
Supporter
There's also....a dramatically small percentage of men who can play the NFL game, at a level of execution people want.

Half of the NFL cannot even reach that bar, and its getting worse every year lol.
Heh heh... well based upon all the complaints we always hear about people refusing to use 3rd party products because they don't think they've been playtested... apparently there's only a small percentage of people who can make effective D&D rules too. :D
 

Scribe

Legend
Heh heh... well based upon all the complaints we always hear about people refusing to use 3rd party products because they don't think they've been playtested... apparently there's only a small percentage of people who can make effective D&D rules too. :D

Certainly true, but only heart ache is at the conclusion of this analogy. ;)
 



Minigiant

Legend
Supporter
Pretty much exactly, yes.
I was hoping for something more.

I was hoping for some publisher to feat a whole system of various feat replacement mechanics by now. Guess I have to learn how to make clean pdfs, hire an artist, and distrubute my system myself.
 

Pathfinder 5E confirmed.
It's a shame Paizo isn't in a position to capitalise on the 5e/DnDone switchover. With pathfinder 2e being both its own thing, and extremely new, they're not going to be snapping up many of the players in the switchover. But they're not going to drop 2e for a new system either.
 

I was hoping for something more.

I was hoping for some publisher to feat a whole system of various feat replacement mechanics by now. Guess I have to learn how to make clean pdfs, hire an artist, and distrubute my system myself.
I've been following you on this forum for a long time. I like your posts and your opinions a lot, even when we disagree.

I say this to you from a friendly place. You personally will never find a system that appeals to your tastes, because you have a strong vision and that vision isn't known to or shared by everyone. I think it would be great for you to actually start working on your own game stuff (which I'd love to talk with you about) and I know you'll be good at it once you start formalizing your ideas into publishable content.

But you literally will never be satisfied with another person's game. You might play it, you might take it for what it's worth, but you are one of those creators who needs to realize their own vision instead of hoping someone else does it for you. I say this because I'm literally the same kind of person, as many of us are on this forum.
 

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