D&D (2024) What type of ranger would your prefer for 2024?

[Vaalingrade]

Trading having to occasionally tick off a used Arrow

That's where you lost me.

If I'm being asked to track something additional, I'm already Audi 9000. I accelerated away so fast I broke atmo.

 

[Yaarel]

What you and they have an issue with is that what you're used to with these sorts of mechanics is them being arbitrary numbers you track because the system tells you to, and not because they actually matter to anything in the system.

And thats fine. Arbitrary resources that have no bearing on anything else in the game isn't good design.

That isn't what my game does.

I agree any gaming efforts need to be part of an overall purpose, beyond mundane maintenance.

If I want to do chores, I have plenty of opportunities in reallife to fulfill such a desire.

 

[Yaarel]

If the problem was "accounting" then surely your opinion is to abstract things like health, slots, etc out of the game entirely.

If it isn't, then the reason why you want those things retained is the same thing Im telling you sets the mechanics in my game apart.

They matter.

Regarding hit points. The only hit points that actually matter are "zero hit points". Everything else is near misses and fatigue or (below half max) sloppiness, scrapes and bruises.

To be fair, I like spell points. But each spell point is for something dramatic, consequential, meaningful, and purposeful.

 

[Reef]

What you and they have an issue with is that what you're used to with these sorts of mechanics is them being arbitrary numbers you track because the system tells you to, and not because they actually matter to anything in the system.

And thats fine. Arbitrary resources that have no bearing on anything else in the game isn't good design.

That isn't what my game does.

Every time someone say their experience doesn’t match yours, you always respond that it’s because we’re doing it wrong. If only we were using your game, we could all be as happy as you.

Can you not accept that your game may be exactly the sort of fun you are looking for, that it might fit you to a tee, and yet not work for others? That it’s not some failing on our part that we enjoy different styles of game?

 

[Vaalingrade]

Skipping Hail of Thorns as that would be a combat technique and not a bit of woodcraft.

Hunter's Mark: As a bonus action, you choose a creature you can see within range and mark it as your quarry. As logn as that creature is your quarry, you deal an extra 1d6 damage to the target whenever you or an effect you control deal damage to it, and you have advantage on any Wisdom (Perception) or Wisdom (Survival) check you make to find it. If the target drops to 0 hit points, you can use a reaction to mark a new creature.

If you use this ability while you have a creature marked as your quarry, you may choose to forget your current quarry to choose a new one.

You may choose this woodcraft more than once. Each time you choose it, you may have one additional creature marked as your quarry at a time. Using the ability still only marks one creature at a time.

 

[Incenjucar]

Exploration probably needs to work more like a monster encounter given D&D is all hammers.

 

[Reef]

Exploration probably needs to work more like a monster encounter given D&D is all hammers.

I would certainly like to see more guidance on using wilderness based set pieces as non-combat encounters. Like, skill challenges. That sort of thing I could get behind, much more than the idea of constant foraging as a regular part of adventure.

 

[le Redoutable]

This all reminds me…does anyone remember The Wilderness Survival Guide? Man, I wanted that book so bad. And when I finally got it, I loved it. Rules for weather, terrain, temperature, and how it all would affect travel and combat. Rules for foraging and hunting in different terrains, and even for how much food and water a halfling needed versus a half-orc. It was glorious, and I immediately implemented all of it.

It lasted all of about two sessions before we realized it was nothing but a huge amount of book keeping, and half the players were bored silly every time it came up. We quickly went back to “You stock up on rations on your way out of town and a day later reach the dungeon”.

Anyway, my point being, that this sort of thing has been tried before, and I’m pretty sure that if it had been more popular with the general community than it was with my group, it wouldn’t have disappeared into the mists of time.

I think you have reached the top !
Everyone should be ok this far

 

[Yaarel]

Exploration probably needs to work more like a monster encounter given D&D is all hammers.

Something like that.

Even a puzzle-like survival challenge needs to be sparing or gets ignored.

 

[Incenjucar]

I figure you have an event that allows you to establish a resource that lasts about a week to a season depending on difficulty, like clearing a mountain pass of loose boulders and hostile birds so you can get to a berry-laden grove.