What new rules did you like?

[MoogleEmpMog]

Between the frenetically hyperbolic choices and the rather limited list of mechanics discussed, I didn't actually answer the poll.

To address the mechanics listed here:

AFFILIATIONS
Could go either way.

DEVOTION FEATS
Don't have Complete Champion.

DIVINE FEATS
Should die, along with turn undead as it currently exists. Redesigned as the core of the per-encounter maneuvers for the cleric class, most would be fine.

MANEUVERS
Are actually way too clunky and exceptions-based for my tastes, much like D&D spells and Exalted Charms. But, they're less clunky and exceptions-based than either of those two, and seem to occupy a similar design space to spells. So, I hope the maneuver system replaces the spell system, since D&D is pretty much always going to have a clunky, exceptions-based mechanic of some type.

Other new mechanics:

INVOCATIONS AND ELDRITCH BLAST (Complete Arcane)
Meh. They seemed really cool in contrast to what had come before, but between CM Reserve Feats, Bo9S Maneuvers and SWSE Force powers, there have been too many better implementations of per encounter and at will casting.

RESERVE FEATS (Complete Mage)
Awesome and win. Admittedly, they're being incorporated into the core rules without the need for a feat patch.

RETRAINING (PHB2)
Excellent idea and very helpful, especially for players who prefer 'organic' character growth to planning in advance.

DAMAGE SAVE (True20, Mutants and Masterminds)
MASSIVE fail. I love M&M to death, but this system makes me hesitate when I take it off the shelf and think about using it for a campaign.

SAGA-STYLE SKILLS (Star Wars Saga Edition)
Big improvement. Cleaner and faster for the GM, allows for heroic action rather than one person riding awesomely and the rest just failing, allows for nonheroic characters to actually be good at skills.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

You missed reserve feats, which seem to now be directly integrated into the spellcasting classes.

 

[Toben the Many]

I missed one of the boats. What are Affiliations?

 

[Andor]

You missed reserve feats, which seem to now be directly integrated into the spellcasting classes.

Doh. I did forget them as a new mechanic.

Between the frenetically hyperbolic choices and the rather limited list of mechanics discussed, I didn't actually answer the poll.

The choices are Good, Neutral and Bad. You're confusing the choices with the flavor text.

 

[Andor]

I missed one of the boats. What are Affiliations?

They are a set of rules for dealing with NPC organizations. They includes details of the organizations motives and resources. Also guidelines for how well the organization thinks of your character based on abilities and deeds, and mechanical benefits for different levels of affiliation with the organization. These can be anything from Temples or Thieves Guilds to a town or Cabal of Ecofreaks.

 

[MoogleEmpMog]

The choices are Good, Neutral and Bad. You're confusing the choices with the flavor text.

Flavor text matters!!! OMG111!!

Seriously, though, I don't think I can get behind ANY of those statements. I don't feel that strongly about the various mechanics under discussion.

 

[Andor]

Seriously, though, I don't think I can get behind ANY of those statements. I don't feel that strongly about the various mechanics under discussion.

"X is okay" is too strong for you? I can just picture you shopping. "No, that's too tan for me. Do you have sort of a light beige? That? No. I'm not comfortable with that extreme a taupe."

 

[Greg K]

Other new mechanics:

INVOCATIONS AND ELDRITCH BLAST (Complete Arcane)
Meh. They seemed really cool in contrast to what had come before, but between CM Reserve Feats, Bo9S Maneuvers and SWSE Force powers, there have been too many better implementations of per encounter and at will casting.

I really don't like these. I hate per encounter as much as per day.

RESERVE FEATS (Complete Mage)
Awesome and win. Admittedly, they're being incorporated into the core rules without the need for a feat patch.

Again, don't like them.

RETRAINING (PHB2)
Excellent idea and very helpful, especially for players who prefer 'organic' character growth to planning in advance.

Again, meh.

DAMAGE SAVE (True20, Mutants and Masterminds)
MASSIVE fail. I love M&M to death, but this system makes me hesitate when I take it off the shelf and think about using it for a campaign.

I think that the damage save is one of the best things to happen to d20. Unfortunately, the handling in Unearthed Arcana was utter crap.

SAGA-STYLE SKILLS (Star Wars Saga Edition)
Big improvement. Cleaner and faster for the GM, allows for heroic action rather than one person riding awesomely and the rest just failing, allows for nonheroic characters to actually be good at skills.

As a player, I despise Saga style skills. I consider them a step backward and refuse to play in a game that uses them. The people I game with feel the same way. If player wants to have their character ultra specialize (i.e., max out) several skills for the character, they should suck in other areas- that's the penalty for over specializing.

Thankfully, the people with whom I game are are not adverse to investing in a half point or single rank to round out their characters backrounds or to do so later to reflect things their character have learned or picked up. Furthermore, they are not adverse to attempting skill when they have 0 ranks and they have no other options if they want to prevail. I've even seen them attempt actions untrained in Rolemaster where having no ranks is a -25 penalty and critical fumbles are possible.


However, as a GM, I think that there should be a faster option for generating NPCs .

 

[Asmor]

I liked affiliations when I first discovered them, but didn't really put any thought into using them.

However, for some reason as of late I'm really enamored with Karrnath in Eberron (though I'm not, currently, running an Eberron campaign), and that's in part because of the Order of Rekkenmark affiliation.

So I'm thinking about introducing affiliations into my usual game.

I don't really think the devotion feats are anything specifically new... if anything, I'd say they're what feats were designed to do in the first place: provide characters with new, thematically-appropriate abilities.

Maneuvers are absolutely awesome, and I'm in love with Star Wars Saga Edition. They could pretty much take a sharpie, write "DUNJINS AND DRAGGINS FORTH EDISHUN" on it, and I'd totally eat it up.

 

[Mercule]

I'm neutral on most of the above, which generally means "good in concept, bad in execution".

Affiliations are something I just haven't gotten to in depth. I like the idea that you can get some benefits from being true to an order.

Divine feats (and turn undead) are the sort of powers a cleric should be wielding... kinda. Basically, each cleric should have worthwhile domain granted powers and be able to tree off those. Divine feats have the worthwhile down (sometimes), but nothing in 3E really got the execution right.

Dunno about devotion feats. I didn't buy any of the second round of "Completes".

ToB maneuvers are interesting in that they provide a fighting style for each fighter, which is something that's been missing from D&D for too long (like, forever). I loath the per-encounter mechanic, though, as well as wuxia and the spell-like feel of the maneuvers. More fencing, less wirework.

Others:

Skill Tricks: Kill them know. This is one of the worst ideas to show up in 3E. D&D is not a point based game and can't be converted into one without rewriting it from the ground up. Not to mention the particular tricks listed were flat.

Retrain: Not bad. Sometimes, the scarcity of resources in D&D advancement can really catch up to you in a bad way. A parachute is nice.

Rebuild: Not so much. Nothing a GM shouldn't be able to come up with on his own. It should be rare enough to not warrant space in a book.

Binders: Wicked cool. One of my favorite add-ons.

DR by material: This was an innovation of 3.5. It also matched up almost perfectly with the house rule I'd been using since the mid 1980s.

Warmage, Beguiler, etc.: This is what a specialist should be. Someone who studies a topic so deeply that they know pretty much everything about it, but little else. I would love to see the 4E sorcerer be a customizable specialist along these lines. Wouldn't be a bad model for a cleric, either.