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Message: <blockquote data-quote="pemerton" data-source="post: 9610669" data-attributes="member: 42582">The technical design issue here seems obvious to me: classic D&D adopted a level-relative mechanic for handling the threat posed by combat (namely, hit points based on HD-per-level); and likewise adopted a level -relative mechanic for avoiding/surviving various categories of other threats, like poison, dragons' fiery breath, death spells, etc (namely, saving throws); but did not generalise this mechanical approach to other threats (like, say, disease) which are resolved in a level-independent fashion (in AD&D, via a percentage chance to contract on, and via stat loss in a context where stats do not go up with level). And some threats - like the threat of starvation and thirst - are not even dealt with in the original system, but over the years have likewise often been dealt with in a non-level-relative way (eg via skill checks that are not level-based).This design issue manifests in various ways. One is Tucker's Kobolds-type stuff, that exploits these non-level-relative kinks in the system (eg if Tucker's Kobolds were fire-breathers, the high level PCs would benefit from better saving throws and better hp; but Tucker's Kobolds use mud-filled trenches, and narrow passages that need to be squeezed through, and in classic D&D these threats are not resolved via a level-relative mechanic but via simple adjudication of the fiction or perhaps a stat check).3E D&D also manifested this from time-to-time, in that some effects trigger a Reflex save, which is level-relative at least to a degree; but others trigger a Balance check, which is not level-relative. There's no in-fiction logic, nor any genre logic, to why a high level character is adept at avoiding being burned to a crisp by dragons and fireballs, but is not able to keep their footing on an icy surface; it's just a manifestation of legacy game design.The survival stuff being discussed in this part of this thread is likewise not about in-fiction or genre logic, but simply about this issues of inconsistent application of levelling to the overcoming of threats.</blockquote>

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