The "I Didn't Comment in Another Thread" Thread

[eyeheartawk]

Yes, yes you are confused.

I used to put ketchup on my mac and cheese when I was a kid.

I don't do that anymore.

I now, instead, occasionally put curry ketchup on them.

 

[MarkB]

See, at the time 4th edition came out, a refrain among some games theorists was "if only D&D spent as much energy and time describing rules for social and other non-combat tasks as it did for combat!" So, the Skill Challenge was born, which tried to spend as much energy and time describing rules for social and other non-combat tasks as the game does for combat. And the same guys didn't like them, for some reason...

EDIT: I mean, I don't think it's the ideal solution for their complaint, but it was an attempt.

It wasn't that skill challenges were a poor mechanic, it's just that they're rather specific - they work for tasks that have multiple steps to them and require teamwork comprising multiple skillsets. The issue lay in trying to apply them to any and all non-combat challenges.

 

[payn]

I only ever played 4e a handful of times. Never in a campaign. Maybe, after all this, I can convince one of my groups to give it an honest try. I think if you go in with the correct expectations it would be pretty fun.

I thought about this too. I even was putting in effort to rework 4E to run a Mass Effect game. Then I realized I could just play PF2.

 

[eyeheartawk]

I thought about this too. I even was putting in effort to rework 4E to run a Mass Effect game. Then I realized I could just play PF2.

Well, yeah.

They're close enough in feel, if you used minis playing PF2, that I think it would scratch the same itch.

 

[MarkB]

As the party skill monkey (Feylock/Bard multi) I made it my job to find ways to circumvent the majority of skill challenges. I had a massive list of rituals. Why make the party go through the skill challenge to climb a cliff face, when more than half could barely climb a ladder, if I could just levitate everyone to the top?

I was much the same, and it worked just fine in home games. DMs in organised play were just a bit more timid about allowing established challenges to be circumvented. One time my water genasi who could literally walk on water wasn't allowed even an automatic success on a challenge to cross a stream.

 

[payn]

Well, yeah.

They're close enough in feel, if you used minis playing PF2, that I think it would scratch the same itch.

Right, just a much larger available player base and VTT support. Though, I admit I havent seen the 4E module in action in Foundry.

Though, I did have a lot of laid plans for 4E Mass Effect. The hardcoded roles and tactical combat played nicely with the solider/biottic/tech triangle of ME. Healing surges became medi-gel application, and bloodied was shields/armor down.

 

[Ryujin]

I was much the same, and it worked just fine in home games. DMs in organised play were just a bit more timid about allowing established challenges to be circumvented. One time my water genasi who could literally walk on water wasn't allowed even an automatic success on a challenge to cross a stream.

As a DM I first tried to build some RP interaction into the challenges, but it was a huge amount of work. As someone who has run whole sessions completely on the fly it just didn't sit right. There was one occasion, however, when a player who had a character with CHA as a dump stat lucked into saying exactly the right thing, as listed in a social skill challenge, and I just let him take the win.

 

[Gradine]

Well, I have had pizza that didn’t have pineapple on it but Mac and cheese with no ketchup?

I didn’t know you could do that.

Look some people just don't like happiness

 

[payn]

If no ketchup on mac and cheese is sadness, I don't want to be happy.

 

[payn]

Anyone else read "Ray Winninger" and immediately, just for a moment, think folks are talking about Ray Winstone.