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

[Thomas Shey]

Which is still hilarious to me as the Paizo people did Pathfinder because they hated 4E so much. Then a decade or so later came around on the idea and copied many parts of 4E with Pathfinder 2E.

Sometimes even if you think something is a bridge too far you can decide it has something to bring to the party with further thought.

 

[Thomas Shey]

It still baffles me that RPGs insist on doing really detailed crunchy systems for things that video games handle infinitely better. Like say combat. A 30-second fight in a video game is at least a 30-minute fight in most RPGs. I dunno. Maybe use more abstract mechanics to quicken the handling time and/or focus on things that video games can't already do better.

That only works when you place speed as a virtue over engagement. Not everyone does.

 

[Deset Gled]

I will not get into an alignment thread. I will not get into an alignment thread. I will not get into an alignment thread.

 

[Autumnal]

I will not get into an alignment thread. I will not get into an alignment thread. I will not get into an alignment thread.

That’s a pretty facially neutral kind of law you’re laying down.

 

[overgeeked]

That only works when you place speed as a virtue over engagement. Not everyone does.

I think engagement is important. Long, drawn out, D&D-style combat is the opposite of engaging. That's part of the point. That old saw of 30 minutes of fun packed into 4 hours of gaming is spot-on accurate. Combat is the single most boring part of most RPGs because it takes so long to manage. Make one roll to see if you get to act this round, if yes...make another roll to see how effective you were this round, then sit there and wait 15-30 minutes before you get to do it again. Decreasing the time spent waiting and doing nothing will bring more engagement, not less.

 

[MarkB]

Take it to another thread, folks.

 

[RealAlHazred]

Sooooo tired of clickbaity titles on astronomy videos. No, JWT didn't just show us the end of the universe.

Do you know which of Jupiter's moons forms a "flux tube" with the giant planet, carrying the electrical energy of 1,000 nuclear plants? The answer may SHOCK YOU!

EDIT: It's Io, in case you were wondering!

 

[billd91]

I think it was more they weren't allowed to participate in 4E so fell back on what they were already doing...

A bit of column A and a bit of column B, I'd say. There were aspects of 4e that they didn't like when they got wind of it - having to roll to hit with magic missiles being an example as well as not being sure they could tell the kind of stories they had been to that point with 3e. But they were also cut out of being able to have anything ready for 4e's launch because WotC was bungling the hell out of the licensing.

 

[Thomas Shey]

I think engagement is important. Long, drawn out, D&D-style combat is the opposite of engaging.

But being detailed and "long and drawn out" are not synonymous PF2e combats are pretty detailed and mechanic-intensive, but they're on the whole vastly faster than D&D 3 or 4, or PF 1e ones. Its how you implement the complexity.

And on the whole, even slower combats are better (IMO) than ones that either don't allow much meaningful decision making, or do so only at the discretion of the GM.

That's part of the point. That old saw of 30 minutes of fun packed into 4 hours of gaming is spot-on accurate. Combat is the single most boring part of most RPGs because it takes so long to manage

Where when its boring, I usually find it has far more to do with the lack of useful choices.

. Make one roll to see if you get to act this round, if yes...make another roll to see how effective you were this round, then sit there and wait 15-30 minutes before you get to do it again. Decreasing the time spent waiting and doing nothing will bring more engagement, not less.

OD&D had relatively fast combat. It was also dull as could be if you weren't a spellcaster.

 

[trappedslider]

GURPS has entered the combat