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<blockquote data-quote="Remathilis" data-source="post: 9575193" data-attributes="member: 7635">Is it?How many D&amp;D players know what a &quot;ribbon&quot; feature is? What percentage do you think have never heard of it. 80%, 70%, 60%? We know about it because once upon a time WotC mentioned it with discussing how to make a subclass on their website. Every Uber fan, game designer and optimizer picked up on the term, but the rank and file players don't know. Most of them don't think about the weight of a mechanic, they say &quot;oh cool, I get martial weapons and proficiency in a skill/tool/language&quot; and move on. They don't care how or why the system works, they just go along with it. Those monster creation rules in 2014 act like you don't need any understanding of the design philosophy of 5e monsters, but that is a lie. You absolutely need to know what works and what doesn't to create a viable monster. You have to understand why creatures are built the way they are. Why an 18th level archmage is only CR 12. Why basilisk's aren't one hit kills. Why dragons are hit much harder than other creatures of their CR. You need to learn concepts like average damage per round and tactical complexity to determine CR. And even things that look &quot;simple&quot; (giving legendary actions and resistance to a goblin boss to make a bbeg) requires rebuilding from the ground up. How many players do you think have that kind of knowledge? 80%, 70%, 60%?You and I will miss those rules because you and I are the DMs who like to tinker. Build new subclasses, design new monsters. We understand theory, design and balancing. Lots of people don't. Imagine a piano book that teaches you how to play the piano having a second called &quot;how to compose a sonata&quot;. Buddy, I just learned where to put my hands on the keyboard, don't go asking me music theory!Flawed tools are bad because they make a complex and complicated task seem easy when it's not to the average player. Us above average players may balk, but I can tell you bad rules frustrate DMs more than they help.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Remathilis, post: 9575193, member: 7635"] Is it? How many D&D players know what a "ribbon" feature is? What percentage do you think have never heard of it. 80%, 70%, 60%? We know about it because once upon a time WotC mentioned it with discussing how to make a subclass on their website. Every Uber fan, game designer and optimizer picked up on the term, but the rank and file players don't know. Most of them don't think about the weight of a mechanic, they say "oh cool, I get martial weapons and proficiency in a skill/tool/language" and move on. They don't care how or why the system works, they just go along with it. Those monster creation rules in 2014 act like you don't need any understanding of the design philosophy of 5e monsters, but that is a lie. You absolutely need to know what works and what doesn't to create a viable monster. You have to understand why creatures are built the way they are. Why an 18th level archmage is only CR 12. Why basilisk's aren't one hit kills. Why dragons are hit much harder than other creatures of their CR. You need to learn concepts like average damage per round and tactical complexity to determine CR. And even things that look "simple" (giving legendary actions and resistance to a goblin boss to make a bbeg) requires rebuilding from the ground up. How many players do you think have that kind of knowledge? 80%, 70%, 60%? You and I will miss those rules because you and I are the DMs who like to tinker. Build new subclasses, design new monsters. We understand theory, design and balancing. Lots of people don't. Imagine a piano book that teaches you how to play the piano having a second called "how to compose a sonata". Buddy, I just learned where to put my hands on the keyboard, don't go asking me music theory! Flawed tools are bad because they make a complex and complicated task seem easy when it's not to the average player. Us above average players may balk, but I can tell you bad rules frustrate DMs more than they help. [/QUOTE]

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