Stephen Schubert's Playtest Reports

[Derren]

So instead of having "easier crits which just do max damage" we have "easier crits who are still devestating". So the only thing done to avoid such devestating crits on PCs is apparently saying that monsters can't do crits....

And thats what WotC calls improved balance.......

 

[vagabundo]

We also have such a player, though I sometimes think he is more miscalculating then manipulation dice nowadays. But we decided to no longer watch his rolls (not that it matters - i have a red-green weakness and that are exactly the colors his primary dice set uses), it's just to annoying.

Haha, my guy has impossible to read dice too. I also keep threatening to do a sheet audit, he stacks things indiscriminately. We always joke about how long his bulls strength lasts and he abused his boots of haste to no end.

Still it is all in fun and I keep an eye on what he does as long as it does not ruin the game for anyone else I don't jank the leash too much, just enough to keep him on his toes.

 

[Kwalish Kid]

Hmm... Going off some excel simulation, it would take an average of over 3200 sets of 20 rolls in order to get more than 5 natural 20s. That is, if you rolled 20 times a day every day for 10 years, you should only expect it to happen once.

It is important to place these statistics in their proper context It really only takes six rolls to get more than five natural twenties. There is nothing in probability that says that there cannot be streaks and nothing that says that these streaks cannot appear at any arbitrary place in a sequence of random events.

However, it is important to recognize the rarity of so many rolls by one player in any given encounter.

 

[Piratecat]

Hmm... Going off some excel simulation, it would take an average of over 3200 sets of 20 rolls in order to get more than 5 natural 20s. That is, if you rolled 20 times a day every day for 10 years, you should only expect it to happen once.

Heh. I watched one of my players roll five natural 20s in a row. Damndest thing I've ever seen, and had the whole table cheering. This sort of thing does happen.

 

[TerraDave]

Ok, is there some rule that they have to fight black dragons in every playtest?

 

[med stud]

It is important to place these statistics in their proper context It really only takes six rolls to get more than five natural twenties. There is nothing in probability that says that there cannot be streaks and nothing that says that these streaks cannot appear at any arbitrary place in a sequence of random events.

However, it is important to recognize the rarity of so many rolls by one player in any given encounter.

I read an experiment where a professor in statistics gave one group of students a coin to flip and the students should record heads or tails. Another group of students was given the task to fake such a record so that it looked probable. He exposed the fake- record because it had no improbable streaks in it.

 

[med stud]

Ok, is there some rule that they have to fight black dragons in every playtest?

It's the new rule 0.

 

[jaer]

So instead of having "easier crits which just do max damage" we have "easier crits who are still devestating". So the only thing done to avoid such devestating crits on PCs is apparently saying that monsters can't do crits....

And thats what WotC calls improved balance.......

One of my characters (paladin) now is using a great axe. If he power attacks, uses a smite, and his divine power feat and crits, I'm looking at something like 3d12+165 on one hit. The 3d12 isn't adding too much to that crit. If this warlord is critting for 20+3d12, that 3d12 is much more significant to the total damage (could double the damage of the hit), but that's still not getting anywhere close to the max damage of crits in 3.5.

I was a little surprised to see the 3d12 on top of a crit after hearing how the new crits were handled, but it also sounds like this character has a few tricks to help her crits out (as they said their would be in the report), and these results might not be typical to most players.

Ok, is there some rule that they have to fight black dragons in every playtest?

I would imagine that dragons would need a lot of playtesting to make sure they are balanced as solo creatures...

As for the probability factor...played a one-on-one session with a player last night. He was rolling 4 d20s (3 iterative attacks and 1 haste attack), and 4 rounds in a row, he rolled a 1 on his die (and I think every time it was 1 of his 2 highest attack bonuses, which were at "don't roll a 1" to hit). Weirdness happens...

 

[Intrope]

Heh. I watched one of my players roll five natural 20s in a row. Damndest thing I've ever seen, and had the whole table cheering. This sort of thing does happen.

For that matter, my DM once rolled the attacks for a Marilith: 6 dice hit the table. 6x *1* == Epic Fumble! I think the odds for that are worse than the odds for the lottery...

In any case, if someone has already rolled the dice, the odds of that result are now 100%

 

[Stormtalon]

So instead of having "easier crits which just do max damage" we have "easier crits who are still devestating". So the only thing done to avoid such devestating crits on PCs is apparently saying that monsters can't do crits....

And thats what WotC calls improved balance.......

No, they haven't said monsters can't crit. All they've said is that the weapon abilities which improve crits are only available to PCs. Monsters will still be able to crit and it will still HURT, however.