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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Campbell" data-source="post: 6295813" data-attributes="member: 16586">I think criticism of any game needs to start from its intended play experience. Pathfinder is a procedural game that depends on GMs sharply defining situations and providing players with the means to discover information needed to divine solutions to presented situations. If a player has no means to discover what a hill giant would usually do or what their most charitable interpretation of the wizard's words might be there is no game there. That doesn't make it a bad game - it just means that there are more demands placed on the GM.Likewise 4e is a game that as written focuses on broad thematics, rather than specific details. Criticism that comes from parsing out specific passages without regard for the style in which the game is written largely misses the point. There are multiple ways to interpret the mentioned passage and we need not divine one specific right interpretation. Thematically no martial power that I know of says anything about mysticism. It's all grit, skill, and determination. Are some of the things a 4e fighter or rogue can do beyond human norms? Sure. Thematically they operate in the same space as Badass Normal superheroes, Conan, or Roland. They are simply That Good.As far as Pathfinder goes here's what I would do to fix some of my issues without fundamentally changing the nature of the game:<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Have feats with fewer prerequisites, but make sure the prerequisites actually set a power bar. More BAB - less empty feat requirements.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">More fighter only feats and more higher level feats. Make sure class features gained at higher levels actually reflect the general power level of the game.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Use Trailblazer solutions to fix issues with full attack that hinder melee manueverability.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Readjust fighter and paladin skill points and lists. Combine Climb, Swim, and Jump into Athletics so warriors can be more well rounded athletes.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Fix spell save progression math so casting spells isn't fairly obvious Rock Paper Scissors.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Give Monks full BAB.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">More transparency on adventure design constraints.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Discussion of the effects that particular spells can have on the overall play experience.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">More poignant discussion on how to use monsters.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Divorce a host of special qualities from creature type and assign them directly to relevent creatures. Fighting zombies should feel meaningfully different from fighting skeletons and vampires.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Rebalance HD types.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Make Dragon CRs reflect actual difficulty of the creature. In general reduce gaming CR rules.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Cull SLA lists.</li> </ul></blockquote>

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