Set Defense vs Saving Throws should be a modular option

[am181d]

Do you propose to give every monster "Reflex as saving throw" and "Reflex as defense" stats?

Is 13/+3 really that confusing? For that matter, is it that hard to take 10 with a +3 modifier and figure out that that's a 13?

This isn't the kind of math I worry about in the game. I worry about all the idiosyncratic "I get a +3 to my +2 in this situation and a +4 to my +2 in this situation." It's one of the reason I don't like buff spells. As long as you can cleanly list all of your modifiers on your character sheet, adding any one number to a die roll shouldn't be too taxing for anyone.

 

[Dausuul]

Is 13/+3 really that confusing? For that matter, is it that hard to take 10 with a +3 modifier and figure out that that's a 13?

First, you just handed out a free +1 bonus. The defensive equivalent of +3 is 14, not 13. That in itself should illustrate that it's not quite so simple.

But, that aside: Yes, it is confusing. I have a couple of players in my 4E group who struggle constantly with Perception versus passive Perception. I say "Roll Perception" and they can never remember which number to add to the die. I really, really do not want a game that makes newbies and casual players fumble around any more than they already do trying to figure out what number goes where.

I like playing with folks who aren't obsessed with the rules--they're often better at engaging with the fiction, and more laid-back in general. But the down side of that is that they don't always know the rules very well. The more complicated and fiddly the rules are, the more of a problem that becomes.

 

[P1NBACK]

Well minimal rolling is the way to go...

Eh. I don't think this is true universally. I like rolling dice.

 

[P1NBACK]

So when the dragon blasts the entire party with fire, if we're using 3E, each player rolls a single die and calculates the result. If we're using 4E, the DM has to roll all the dice and do the calculation for each, and keep track of which die applies to which PC, and it takes ages. Parallel processing FTW.

On top of that, I just find it's better when players roll dice for bad things that might happen to them.

As a DM, I want to roll as little dice as possible. When I'm playing, I want to roll as much as possible.

 

[GX.Sigma]

Remember, saving throws are ability checks. The default is "roll a spellcasting check, then he rolls a CON save." I'm not sure if the math would work, but you could instead have it as "roll a spellcasting check and hit or exceed his CON score."