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[Warlords] Should D&D be tied to D&D Worlds?
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<blockquote data-quote="Neonchameleon" data-source="post: 6143477" data-attributes="member: 87792"><p>Almost no magic in fiction that isn't D&D derived is like Vancian Casting - it doesn't even bear more than the most superficial resemblance to mages written by Jack Vance. But far, far less even than the resemblance of D&D wizards to D&D worlds is the D&D Cleric to ... just about anything. Looking through <a href="http://www.digital-eel.com/blog/ADnD_reading_list.htm" target="_blank">Appendix N</a>, I've read about half the sources - and can't recall one single character who looked like a Cleric.</p><p></p><p>Clerics got their start with <a href="http://forum.rpg.net/showthread.php?264684-Historical-Where-did-the-Cleric-Mage-split-come-from&p=5787205#post5787205" target="_blank">a Peter Cushing inspired vampire hunter</a>, intended to take down a vampire PC called Sir Fang. And then the healing got added to them. And since then the cleric has been central to a lot of D&D settings - with this being possibly at its most obvious in the way Dragonlance had to contort itself early on with methods like the Obscure Death Rule to make up for not having one. </p><p>And Clerics were an incredible gamist success. von Moltke's The First Law of Battles states "No plan survives contact with the enemy." Or, more prosaically, "<img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" /><img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" /><img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" /><img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" /> happens." Rolls go badly, people get hurt unexpectedly - and games would be boring without this. And part of <a href="http://eudaimonaiaclaughter.wordpress.com/2013/03/05/embrace-chaos-or-how-to-plan-lightly-and-act-effectivelyl/" target="_blank">managing the sort of chaos adventurers meet</a> is having expedients to handle predictable problems, something Clerics with their healing are superb at. Quite simply a party without fast healing, able to get someone (a) back on their feet and (b) keep someone who's suffered bad luck or focus fire in the fray so they can take the enemy down is going to suffer much, much more from the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune than a party that has at least the ability to mitigate focus fire.</p><p></p><p>Which is why Everquest then World of Warcraft took the cleric as a priest, and Final Fantasy turned it into the White Mage. All excellent from a gamist perspective, but almost nothing to do with the inspiration provided by appendix N, or the overwhelming range of fantasy worlds.</p><p></p><p>So 4e took a slightly different route. As an alternative to the Cleric it gave a character class that provides the tactical benefit of healing, but to do so without actually healing people. Instead, as well as tracking immediate impact by hit points, 4e tracks inner strength and resillience through healing surges (lousy name). And provides a class that encourages people to draw on their inner strength - something that is in line with a lot of fiction and especially Appendix N.</p><p></p><p>Which means that with the Warlord we finally had the ability to run a low magic campaign, or a campaign not set in a D&D specific universe (or a CRPG universe) without crippling the party's ability to compensate for misfortune. Or we could play a party without significant magic (like, for example, Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser) in a magical setting, and not be looking round desperately for a healer to join the party.</p><p></p><p>And this is why 4e fans want a Warlord resembling the 4e Warlord in D&D Next. So we can continue to play the vast range of settings and campaigns into which D&D Clerics simply don't fit. And do it without the gap in our abilities sticking out like a sore thumb.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Neonchameleon, post: 6143477, member: 87792"] Almost no magic in fiction that isn't D&D derived is like Vancian Casting - it doesn't even bear more than the most superficial resemblance to mages written by Jack Vance. But far, far less even than the resemblance of D&D wizards to D&D worlds is the D&D Cleric to ... just about anything. Looking through [URL="http://www.digital-eel.com/blog/ADnD_reading_list.htm"]Appendix N[/URL], I've read about half the sources - and can't recall one single character who looked like a Cleric. Clerics got their start with [URL="http://forum.rpg.net/showthread.php?264684-Historical-Where-did-the-Cleric-Mage-split-come-from&p=5787205#post5787205"]a Peter Cushing inspired vampire hunter[/URL], intended to take down a vampire PC called Sir Fang. And then the healing got added to them. And since then the cleric has been central to a lot of D&D settings - with this being possibly at its most obvious in the way Dragonlance had to contort itself early on with methods like the Obscure Death Rule to make up for not having one. And Clerics were an incredible gamist success. von Moltke's The First Law of Battles states "No plan survives contact with the enemy." Or, more prosaically, ":):):):) happens." Rolls go badly, people get hurt unexpectedly - and games would be boring without this. And part of [URL="http://eudaimonaiaclaughter.wordpress.com/2013/03/05/embrace-chaos-or-how-to-plan-lightly-and-act-effectivelyl/"]managing the sort of chaos adventurers meet[/URL] is having expedients to handle predictable problems, something Clerics with their healing are superb at. Quite simply a party without fast healing, able to get someone (a) back on their feet and (b) keep someone who's suffered bad luck or focus fire in the fray so they can take the enemy down is going to suffer much, much more from the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune than a party that has at least the ability to mitigate focus fire. Which is why Everquest then World of Warcraft took the cleric as a priest, and Final Fantasy turned it into the White Mage. All excellent from a gamist perspective, but almost nothing to do with the inspiration provided by appendix N, or the overwhelming range of fantasy worlds. So 4e took a slightly different route. As an alternative to the Cleric it gave a character class that provides the tactical benefit of healing, but to do so without actually healing people. Instead, as well as tracking immediate impact by hit points, 4e tracks inner strength and resillience through healing surges (lousy name). And provides a class that encourages people to draw on their inner strength - something that is in line with a lot of fiction and especially Appendix N. Which means that with the Warlord we finally had the ability to run a low magic campaign, or a campaign not set in a D&D specific universe (or a CRPG universe) without crippling the party's ability to compensate for misfortune. Or we could play a party without significant magic (like, for example, Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser) in a magical setting, and not be looking round desperately for a healer to join the party. And this is why 4e fans want a Warlord resembling the 4e Warlord in D&D Next. So we can continue to play the vast range of settings and campaigns into which D&D Clerics simply don't fit. And do it without the gap in our abilities sticking out like a sore thumb. [/QUOTE]
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