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Rocket your D&D 5E and Level Up: Advanced 5E games into space! Alpha Star Magazine Is Launching... Right Now!

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Message: <blockquote data-quote="HeapThaumaturgist" data-source="post: 3085730" data-attributes="member: 12332">The book isn't perfect, sure.But it's a full hardbound book that was professionally put together that covers ground that, until that point, had mostly been covered by feats, articles in Dragon, or part of a chapter in a book devoted to other things.  I think it's ahead of what's come before it. The BIGGEST issue, I think, with the book is that it puts something hotly desired by PLAYERS, big cool magical items that grow with their user ... but counters it with something that 90% of players are going to react on a base emotional level negatively to ... nerfing their character (or character costs).Other systems focused on "taking a feat" ... that's a character cost, but one players are more open to because they feel like they are actively taking MORE POWER ... "I take this feat, I get a cool weapon" as opposed to "I take this feat, I can't take another feat".Some have used "Prestige Classes" ... which are, again, a character cost ... you're taking a level in this PrC which doesn't advance your BAB as far as a level of Fighter, or that doesn't advance your save as much as a level of Wizard, or doesn't give you as many HP as a level of Cleric.  Again, players are open to this because they are TAKING MORE POWER ... they "take" a "level" of a class, that's an increase, that's growth ... nevermind that taking this level is a nerf compared to a similar level of another class ... which is the point.  The class itself is the character cost, by providing less-than-optimal advancement as a trade to the more powerful weapon.WoLegacy's problem was they didn't sugar coat it enough to get past the player gag reflex.  You get the item ... sweet ... but penalties are the DONE TO YOU.  The player is no longer the actor here, the item is.  The item is "doing things to" his character ... nevermind that it's actually LESS PENALIZING than a level of a sub-optimal PrC (like those found in Unearthed Arcana, and I did the math).  The fact is the item becomes the actor and INFLICTS character costs on the PC instead of the player being the actor and TAKING something less optimal.Players just aren't going to like it.  It works to their advantage, really.  The PrC method, you're losing out on actual BAB ... taking, for instance, a class with 3/4 BAB instead of 1/1 BAB might net you out the same lower attack bonus as, say, a WoL giving you -2 to attacks.  But that lower BAB slugs your iterative attack progression, the rate you qualify for other feats, etc.  The attack penalty is actually SUPERIOR for character power.I think it's a superior system ... but it was obviously designed in a vaccuum.  It didn't take into account player psychology successfully.  --fje</blockquote>

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