Titansgrave and why 5E needs a setting (or two) (and another take on a suggested product lineup)

[Yaarel]

Heh. Here is a quote from the Green Ronin website:

"
Since we first released Dragon Age, people have been asking us if we were going to release the game system − known as the Adventure Game Engine − separately from the setting. The answer is yes!

"

Without baked-in cosmology. Without totalitarian setting assumptions. WotC make note.

Help players choose their own setting.

 

[Yaarel]

For anyone else interested in the Titansgrave system - Adventure Game Engine (AGE) - here is a link to the free Dragon Age pdfs that use the same system.

greenroninstore .com/collections/dragon-age-rpg/products/dragon-age-rpg-quickstart-guide-pdf

(links to other pdfs at bottom of that page)

 

[Sloblock]

Thanks for the reference. I will check it out.

In other peoples experience, does this system have decently balanced mechanics?

yes it does have decently balanced mechanics

Before our group decided to pick up DnD 5e we played a lengthy campaign using the AGE system.

 

[Inconnunom]

Heh. Here is a quote from the Green Ronin website:

"
Since we first released Dragon Age, people have been asking us if we were going to release the game system − known as the Adventure Game Engine − separately from the setting. The answer is yes!

"

Without baked-in cosmology. Without totalitarian setting assumptions. WotC make note.

Help players choose their own setting.

Totatiltarian?
1. of or relating to a centralized government that does not tolerate parties of differing opinion and that exercises dictatorial control over many aspects of life.
2. exercising control over the freedom, will, or thought of others; authoritarian; autocratic.

Yea.. Considering how many viable homebrews that out out there and WotC already releasing free pdfs to adapt dragonslance and eberron campaigns, it really sounds like you just have like a hate boner for WotC. The DMG actually talks about creating your own content and rules and gives starting points for guns and futuristic weaponry. They even go over how to create new races and subraces and talk about creating new classes.

Honestly, if anything, the AGE game engine is more totalitarian because of the stunt dice. Now the DM HAS to reject or approve the players' RP decisions regardless of how creative or well thought out it is. There is no freedom to roleplay during combat. Player: "Oh I want to trip him" DM: "Oh sorry you didn't roll doubles, you just cut him. Next player."

It really sounds like you are TRYING to hate on WotC.

 

[Jester David]

Healers are important in the game. Baking setting cosmology into healers is less useful.

There's no cosmology baked into the cleric. There's no references to the Great Wheel or Outer Planes. Just the assumed existence of gods. It even says players should ask the DM about available gods, so it doesn't even assume specific gods are available.

5e was designed to be true to D&D. Removing gods from clerics doesn't help that class be iconic or feel representative of past interpretations of the cleric.

 

[Yaarel]

Please remove gods from D&D. Freedom of choice is the essence of past iterations of the Cleric.

1e Advanced D&D has a picture of a Christian priest with a crucifix to represent the Cleric class, and mentions gods as an other suggestion. The rules persistently encourage the DM to do whatever makes most sense in the chosen setting, and a nontheistic philosophical Cleric is a common choice. A Cleric who is a ‘White Wizard’ without any reference to a spiritual tradition, is also a common choice in D&D experience. Settings without gods have Clerics without gods. Deities & Demigods was a nonauthoritative splatbook that requires the DM who want it to opt in. There is no setting canon in 1e.

The core rules of Basic D&D insist religion stay off-camera.

Healers work well in D&D without gods.

Help the players choose the kind of healer that makes sense in the setting of their choice.

 

[Inconnunom]

Please remove gods from D&D. Freedom of choice is the essence of past iterations of the Cleric.

1e Advanced D&D has a picture of a Christian priest with a crucifix to represent the Cleric class, and mentions gods as an other suggestion. The rules persistently encourage the DM to do whatever makes most sense in the chosen setting, and a nontheistic philosophical Cleric is a common choice. A Cleric who is a ‘White Wizard’ without any reference to a spiritual tradition, is also a common choice in D&D experience. Settings without gods have Clerics without gods. Deities & Demigods was a nonauthoritative splatbook that requires the DM who want it to opt in. There is no setting canon in 1e.

The core rules of Basic D&D insist religion stay off-camera.

Healers work well in D&D without gods.

Help the players choose the kind of healer that makes sense in the setting of their choice.

So rather than give players a variety of options to start from (whether forgotten realms, eberrgon, greyhawk, dark sun, or none of the above), you would rather give them no starting options at all? That's incredibly narrow minded. People should be allowed to choose for themselves and having a base to make educated choices is generally a plus.

It adds to the potential game setting (especially in convention games), serves for examples when explaining rules, and stays out of the way of actual play.

 

[Yaarel]

Gods are less appealing.

It is better when gods stay out of the way of the rules.

 

[Inconnunom]

Gods are less appealing.

It is better when gods stay out of the way of the rules.

I disagree. And in addition, they completely stay out of the way of the rules.
Gods are more appealing because they are whatever you want them to be. Divine manifestations of physical or emotional traits? Coalescence of elemental energy? Petty, bickering beings that merely just have more power than normal people?

Telling people, "No, you don't get gods" is so very short-sided it's crazy. You don't get to add flavor to the game. You don't get to create a more thought out backstory. You don't get to read any of the vast amount of Forgotten realms, Dragon Lance, Eberron, Greyhawk, Dark Sun, or fan works and try to tie a character to a pre-existing world.

The crazy thing is, the DMG talks about making whatever up you want, new classes, races, backgrounds, lands, countries, technology, diseases, weapons, vehicles, and you have a problem that you can make up gods?

It sounds like you have some issues you need to resolve, revolving around gods.

 

[tyrlaan]

Gods are less appealing.

It is better when gods stay out of the way of the rules.

You realize this is 100% personal opinion/taste, right?