Supporting Diablo-style Gameplay

[Blackwarder]

I think that it's much easier adding tons of magic items on a system that divorce magic items from progression than doing it the other way around, personally I think it's a no brainer, just make the enemies tougher, a warrior with a +5 flaming sword would be competiable to a warrior 8 levels higher so through a demon his way .

Warder

 

[GX.Sigma]

I think that it's much easier adding tons of magic items on a system that divorce magic items from progression than doing it the other way around, personally I think it's a no brainer, just make the enemies tougher, a warrior with a +5 flaming sword would be competiable to a warrior 8 levels higher so through a demon his way .

Warder

Yes, but with the "bounded accuracy" of D&D Next, how many pluses do you need before you always auto-hit and can never be hit?

 

[Blackwarder]

Yes, but with the "bounded accuracy" of D&D Next, how many pluses do you need before you always auto-hit and can never be hit?

Sigma, this is not a computer game, it's a table top RPG, if the DM is throwing our magic items like candy and he wants the game to be challenging combat wise to the players, he should raise the bar.

For example, I got a seed of my first D&DN campaign, and it will involve lots of demons and outsiders, obviously your average demon is going to be much stronger than a 1st/2nd/3rd or even 4th level group so I intend to give the group two insanely powerfull magic items against demons a demon bane sword and a staff of the magi.

Most of the demons are going to be demon tainted creatures (demonic roaches FTW! Woot Woot) but there are going to be a bunch of true demons pulling the strings.

Hmmm... Now that I think about it seems like I've been channeling diablo without noticing

My point is, if magic items aren't assumed in the base math, it's much easier to add them to a campaign without breaking the underlying math even if only by the quick method of throwing tougher opponents at you players, and if your ranger managed to lay his hand on a +3 bastard sword of goblinoid slaying let him rock! Magic items should be a reward and they should feel like that, you ranger could slice his way through handfuls of orcs and goblin with ease but dozens of them could still bring him down, so in an hypothecate scenario the group could be running away from hordes of orcs in a mountain tunnel with the ranger bringing the rear and holding the orcs back, simply because while fighting against them he is the king of the group.

Warder

 

[Minigiant]

Yes, but with the "bounded accuracy" of D&D Next, how many pluses do you need before you always auto-hit and can never be hit?

So?
In Diablo (if my memory serves me), you get hit twice and you die anyway. 3 times if you are a melee class.

"Boom 2 down. Bang another. Another bites the dust. I'M INVINCIBLE! Oh no Lightning Enchanted. Crap. Crap. CRAP!*"

*Not actually saying "Crap".

 

[Klaus]

With Diablo 3 coming out this month and D&D Next coming soon, I can't help wondering whether D&D Next will be able to support Diablo-style gameplay: running around murdering entire populations of monsters with ease, while collecting (and promptly selling) metric tonnes of randomly-generated magic items.

Diablo 2 had an AD&D adaptation and a 3e adaptation, as well as a starter box set which was included in the D2 Collector's Edition. This thread isn't here to ask for a D&D Next Diablo 3 book (though that would be awesome, hint hint WotC and Blizzard); it's more about modularity.

D&DN seems like it won't have trouble doing monster-genocide (what with the "higher-level characters fight more and more orcs" goal, and faster combat), but what about the tons of magic items thing? What if my ideal D&D game has the players get all sorts of magic items?

The D&DN developers have said multiple times that they want to divorce magic items from character development; to make them more rare and less mundane. But what if I want magic items to be everywhere in my world? Will it break the game balance? Will it break the economy? Will there be an awesome random magic item affixes table in the DMG?

Basically, do you think the game can be modular enough to support "magic items are rare and special" and "magic items are everywhere so go kill monsters and get them"?

Just give out more magic items. Maybe even a Horadric Cube, where you dump in gems and nonmagical items and SPROING! out pops a new magical item.

 

[TarionzCousin]

I played the spots off of Diablo 2. But I don't know how to (or necessarily want to) put more "click-click-clickety click clicker click clicking click-click" in my tabletop games.

 

[Libramarian]

I imagine you could have a module like the reverse of inherent bonuses: strip out all level-based bonuses and add more magic items.

 

[Greatwyrm]

I hope the promise of being able to get mileage out of old D&D material holds up. I always liked bringing out some Diablo monsters for an encounter or two.

 

[AngryMojo]

I imagine you could have a module like the reverse of inherent bonuses: strip out all level-based bonuses and add more magic items.

I think this along with extensive use of "minion" rules would do wonders to support that style of play.

 

[Darkness]

I always liked bringing out some Diablo monsters for an encounter or two.

Right, Diablo monsters can be pretty great - e.g., Fallen, Goatmen, Fetishes, etc.