The biggest issue with the new Character Builder:

[Theo R Cwithin]

I'm not sure I think they need to support house rules past stat differentials and feat allowances. The tool is probably best served for supporting their stuff and not trying to be able to add much house rule goofiness in.

Right, because the best games are standardized, non-customizable ones that cater to notoriously uncreative people like roleplayers.


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[Obryn]

I just wanted to reply to a rep comment...

Yay, although I think the message you send by subscribing is more harmful than making a character by hand.

As a general rule, I don't buy something to send a message. Or, for that matter, refrain from buying something.

Briefly, I resubscribed because, while I think the new CB is substandard and a huge step backwards, and parts of the UI are just execrable, it is still a useful enough tool for my money. Barely.

So yeah. I don't really buy or not-buy something as a form of direct communication and/or protest. I buy or not-buy something based solely on whether or not I think it's worth the money charged for it.

-O

 

[Ketjak]

THIS guy is in charge?

This is the head of the WotC digital studios:

Christiaan Champagne - LinkedIn

After his stint as a systems engineer at a casino game (slot machine) company, he was the "games and gaming lead" of a team that "stalled out before really getting started." Then he was laid off for 8 months, or at least concurrently while being a reservist signal officer.

This guy is well out of his depth. He's never led a software development team, let alone several teams making different products. He's maybe worked on some deliverable products as a system engineer (read: core tech developer), but those are short-cycle slot machines (I have friends who work for IGT and other former coworkers whose company subs to IGT), not applications as complex as character builders. The machines he worked on have to pay out slightly less than they take in, is all.

And he wasn't the project lead.

 

[TheClone]

Not trying to be snarky, bu what part of "No Divine Power Source on Athas" surprises you about not having paladins in Dark Sun at roll-out? Will they add it in? Possibly, but this one doesn't surprise me at all until house rule support is in.

I'm not sure I think they need to support house rules past stat differentials and feat allowances. The tool is probably best served for supporting their stuff and not trying to be able to add much house rule goofiness in. I'd say if you want to allow a paladin in Dark Sun, just make it a PHB one and re-skin it since that's what you'll have to do with a Paladin anyway.

Yep, that's it. The house rules are not available. They were in the old CB. Yehaw, give a new version, reduce features and make me.. what? happy? No. I know there are no divine being on Athas. But I even can't do it with the "Home Campaign" thing. But it's MY game dammit! I want to use the rules I like and not the ones WotC likes me to use. Not everybody is using it this way, but many are. RPG is about freedom of play and not about moods of the publisher. For me it's absolutely a showstopper. It breaks the whole damn thing.

This is the head of the WotC digital studios:

Christiaan Champagne - LinkedIn

After his stint as a systems engineer at a casino game (slot machine) company, he was the "games and gaming lead" of a team that "stalled out before really getting started." Then he was laid off for 8 months, or at least concurrently while being a reservist signal officer.

This guy is well out of his depth. He's never led a software development team, let alone several teams making different products. He's maybe worked on some deliverable products as a system engineer (read: core tech developer), but those are short-cycle slot machines (I have friends who work for IGT and other former coworkers whose company subs to IGT), not applications as complex as character builders. The machines he worked on have to pay out slightly less than they take in, is all.

And he wasn't the project lead.

Thank you for digging this out. It explains a lot (but not everything). And let's me think the WotC "human resources" department is not doing its job properly.

 

[Jhaelen]

This guy is well out of his depth.

Says who?

And he wasn't the project lead.

So?

 

[Herschel]

Are you kidding? That's a total dealbreaker for a lot of their customers. They'd be insane not to try to integrate house rules support, at least on a minimal level.

Even if all "house rules support" means is I can write up my own power cards, add bonus feats and inherent bonuses.

I think you misunderstood what I meant. I'll expound a little.

Basically, you can write custom power cards or feat lines, but I don't think they should try to say, integrate the math in to the system. For example, say you wanted to give a player an old school Frost Brand. Take a basic power card for a +3 magic sword, then write in the properties "Gain resist 10 fire while wielding. Additional +3 attack & damage bonus aganist creatures with Fire, Demon or Devil keyword". The math on the card for attack and damage displays the properties for the +3 sword. No math is done for the custom element.

For a feat, you can againt write in what you want a feat to do, but if you want to put in a feat for 'uber-fortitude' that gives a +4 bonus to Fort then it should be in text only, not bother with trying to have it reflect in the actual stat blocks.

Inherent bonuses, stat "rolling" and additional/fewer feats are basics also, even though I think divine boons were introduced to alleviate extra feat need.

All these I think are ones that will be in the builder that aren't already.

 

[Holy Bovine]

Yep, that's it. The house rules are not available. They were in the old CB. Yehaw, give a new version, reduce features and make me.. what? happy? No. I know there are no divine being on Athas. But I even can't do it with the "Home Campaign" thing. But it's MY game dammit! I want to use the rules I like and not the ones WotC likes me to use. Not everybody is using it this way, but many are. RPG is about freedom of play and not about moods of the publisher. For me it's absolutely a showstopper. It breaks the whole damn thing.

I had to check this out myself as I didn't actually believe it. Sadly it is true that even if I select 'home campaign' I cannot use things like Themes or those psionic powers for Dark Sun. This is just stupid.

 

[Piratecat]

Sadly it is true that even if I select 'home campaign' I cannot use things like Themes or those psionic powers for Dark Sun. This is just stupid.

I'm hoping this changes when (if?) they add control of what content you're allowed to access. It reduces the program's utility for me. I want themes for my home game!

 

[Scribble]

I had to check this out myself as I didn't actually believe it. Sadly it is true that even if I select 'home campaign' I cannot use things like Themes or those psionic powers for Dark Sun. This is just stupid.

Seeing as it IS kind of dumb to not have that stuff, and certain other campaign modifying/personalizing things are missing (ie the missing items kind of have a similar theme) my guess is it's intentional because they're planning to release that ability in a DM side utility... Possibly in conjunction with the VT...

Just- as usual they're being tight lipped about it.

 

[Herschel]

You make a good point, Scribble. With magic item rarity now I'm guessing customization will go over to the DM tool side, although being able to copy the custom item in to the character builder for those who don't cut their power cards individually would be nice. It's something I never got to work right in the old CB either.