RangerWickett
Legend
Just here to brainstorm stuff.
I think combat takes too long. On the other hand, when combat was shorter it was swingier, which increased the risk of PCs dying randomly. I like good narratives, and dying randomly is not interesting to me. I recognize the importance of players and their characters feeling threatened, but it doesn't need to be by random death.
However, it's only important to have the perception of danger and swinginess. This is where 4e is kinda clever, because PCs get healing surges and monsters don't. So once or twice a fight when things look bad for the PCs they'll suddenly get better and turn the tide. Also, 4e makes it pretty hard for you to die from just plain damage. You've got a lot of safety net.
So what do I want?
Well, right now PCs get lots of powers, so monsters are designed to last long enough for PCs to get to use all those powers. If we cut out encounter and daily powers, combats can run faster. Of course, that change risks making combat less interesting.
At-Will Powers. Every power is at-will, though some might have a prerequisite, like "You have to 'Invoke Fire' before you can 'Fireball.'" Also, try to make powers less fiddly.
For instance, a fighter would get two at-will attacks chosen from a list, and two at-will 'defender' powers chosen from a list (like fighter's challenge or that new Martial Power 2 grabby power, plus new options like 'jump in the way of an attack').
A wizard would get two at-will attacks chosen from a list, and two at-will 'controller' powers (like 'illusion' or 'summon monster' or 'wall' or 'damage zone' -- of course with the balanced economy of actions).
No Encounters or Dailies. Replace those with 'add-in' options.
I mean, most all 4e powers come in some flavor of "inflict damage" + "maybe move/cause condition" + "maybe grant bonus or penalty" + "maybe make extra attacks." So all you really need are a good selection of core at-wills that fit the theme of each class, and then extra options all come from a relatively easy-to-memorize list.
I'm not sure if there'd be a limited number of add-ins you can use per encounter, or if . . . I dunno, you earn 1 add-in each round, but you can store them up and then spend them all on one power for a big showy hit.
Maybe you could also let folks trade 'add-ins' for stuff like "reroll," "get an auto-hit," or even stuff like "run away really fast," or "force obviously outmatched foe to surrender/flee" in order to reduce grind.
Ooh, and when you're bloodied, or your whole team is bloodied, you get more add-ins, as a sort of built-in "dramatic comeback" mechanic.
Well, that's a thought, but I've got to let it percolate before it'll be ready.
I think combat takes too long. On the other hand, when combat was shorter it was swingier, which increased the risk of PCs dying randomly. I like good narratives, and dying randomly is not interesting to me. I recognize the importance of players and their characters feeling threatened, but it doesn't need to be by random death.
However, it's only important to have the perception of danger and swinginess. This is where 4e is kinda clever, because PCs get healing surges and monsters don't. So once or twice a fight when things look bad for the PCs they'll suddenly get better and turn the tide. Also, 4e makes it pretty hard for you to die from just plain damage. You've got a lot of safety net.
So what do I want?
Well, right now PCs get lots of powers, so monsters are designed to last long enough for PCs to get to use all those powers. If we cut out encounter and daily powers, combats can run faster. Of course, that change risks making combat less interesting.
At-Will Powers. Every power is at-will, though some might have a prerequisite, like "You have to 'Invoke Fire' before you can 'Fireball.'" Also, try to make powers less fiddly.
For instance, a fighter would get two at-will attacks chosen from a list, and two at-will 'defender' powers chosen from a list (like fighter's challenge or that new Martial Power 2 grabby power, plus new options like 'jump in the way of an attack').
A wizard would get two at-will attacks chosen from a list, and two at-will 'controller' powers (like 'illusion' or 'summon monster' or 'wall' or 'damage zone' -- of course with the balanced economy of actions).
No Encounters or Dailies. Replace those with 'add-in' options.
I mean, most all 4e powers come in some flavor of "inflict damage" + "maybe move/cause condition" + "maybe grant bonus or penalty" + "maybe make extra attacks." So all you really need are a good selection of core at-wills that fit the theme of each class, and then extra options all come from a relatively easy-to-memorize list.
I'm not sure if there'd be a limited number of add-ins you can use per encounter, or if . . . I dunno, you earn 1 add-in each round, but you can store them up and then spend them all on one power for a big showy hit.
Maybe you could also let folks trade 'add-ins' for stuff like "reroll," "get an auto-hit," or even stuff like "run away really fast," or "force obviously outmatched foe to surrender/flee" in order to reduce grind.
Ooh, and when you're bloodied, or your whole team is bloodied, you get more add-ins, as a sort of built-in "dramatic comeback" mechanic.
Well, that's a thought, but I've got to let it percolate before it'll be ready.
