Worst 3.5 Change

[Numion]

You may be able to sneak up behind someone in the real world, but in D&D-land everybody is always looking in every direction at all times. Yet another reason for adding facing to the game...

If you are using some sort of facing house rules, just consider people out of LOS as being concealed.

In combat people are turning around and looking in different directions. Makes more sense if you consider that even though the rules work like "PC 1 acts, others stand still then PC 2 acts, others stand still, Monsters act .. etc", the action really is simultaneous, just like in real life.

Thus it's makes sense that it's impossible to sneak on someone on the grounds that he was standing still facing the other way for 6 seconds. Who would really do that in melee combat, stand there frozen?

 

[rangerjohn]

They may not be standind still, but are you telling noone has ever been caught by surprise? Since Hide and Spot are the only rules we have for surprise situations now, I guess your saying unless your blind its impossible to be surprised now.

 

[Numion]

They may not be standind still, but are you telling noone has ever been caught by surprise? Since Hide and Spot are the only rules we have for surprise situations now, I guess your saying unless your blind its impossible to be surprised now.

You guessed wrong. I was talking about combat situations, when people are generally paying attention. Outside combat it's a different story, IMO. I was just trying to illustrate the difficulties involved in facing and 6-second rounds.

It wouldn't make sense to use facing rules and "6-seconds moving, frozen when others move" thinking.

 

[Piratecat]

Weird. How come I like the idea of the paladin mount summoning so very much, and so many other people hate it? I mean, I don't love Pokemon, I don't especially like video games, and I think I run a plot- and character-driven game. I do note that my game isn't low magic, which certainly influences my opinion.

Maybe it's just that I can see so many cool plot hooks inherent in the new rule.

 

[Fenes 2]

I don't know either. Back in 2000/2001 when we had just converted to 3E and our paladin got her bonded mount she also found a magical ring in which the mount could be placed in or called forth from 1/day. (The mount had been captured in the ring for some time until it was found by her.) We did that in order to facilitate transport of the mount, and we don't have many dungeon encounters.

 

[hong]

Weird. How come I like the idea of the paladin mount summoning so very much, and so many other people hate it? I mean, I don't love Pokemon, I don't especially like video games, and I think I run a plot- and character-driven game. I do note that my game isn't low magic, which certainly influences my opinion.

Well, see, it's a mount, right. So think of what a mount is. It's a car, that's what it is. Okay, it eats hay and craps turds, but it's a medieval car. And what do you have to do with cars? You have to find a parking space for them. If you can't find a parking space, you can't use your car. Simple as that. You walk, or take the train. Or hijack the train, or something. Anyway, if you can't park the car, you can't use it. So it's not right to be able to hide the car up your ass just because you can't find a parking space. Because cars just don't fit up one's ass, man. Certainly not my ass. Maybe in D&D asses are different, I dunno. Maybe in D&D people can have extradimensional spaces up their asses. Maybe you _could_ hide your car up your ass in D&D. But it still doesn't make it right, man.

Maybe it's just that I can see so many cool plot hooks inherent in the new rule.

A hack that might make it more acceptable is, if instead of it being a "mount", the paladin got a "divine servant" or "divine companion". It could be a mount if they wanted, or a celestial of some sort. It might be be less jarring to be able to call on an astral deva (or whatever) for aid X times/day, as opposed to just a horse.

 

[(Psi)SeveredHead]

Since Hide and Spot are the only rules we have for surprise situations now, I guess your saying unless your blind its impossible to be surprised now.

Do characters in your campaign not have ears? Did you ban Listen as a skill?

 

[Arnwyn]

"Hide: The Hide skill now requires cover or concealment to attempt a Hide check. A torch now provides 20 feet of bright light, and another 20 feet of shadowy light, which gives a creature concealment. A creature in an area of bright light can only hide if it has cover. Additionally, a creature can't hide within the visibility range of a creature with darkvision unless it has cover. Invisible creatures get +20 on their Hide check, +40 when immobile."

Wow. That's pretty much exactly how I've been running it since 3e came out...

Hide in bright light without cover? Whatever...

 

[James McMurray]

Well, see, it's a mount, right. So think of what a mount is. It's a car, that's what it is. Okay, it eats hay and craps turds, but it's a medieval car. And what do you have to do with cars? You have to find a parking space for them. If you can't find a parking space, you can't use your car. Simple as that. You walk, or take the train. Or hijack the train, or something. Anyway, if you can't park the car, you can't use it.

Of course, if my car was a gift from God I wouldn't find it out of line for it to be able to park itself.

Lets look at a fairly typical paladin character from modern (ish) TV: the Lone Ranger. He had a mount, but was that mount ever around when it wasn't important for it to be? Heck no, it just mosied into the shot whenever it was whistled for.

I personally like the flvor of having a paladin able to let out a whistle, causing a momentary portal to Celestia to open, through which steps his mighty white charger, the gift to hm from his god for years of faithful service.

 

[drnuncheon]

A hack that might make it more acceptable is, if instead of it being a "mount", the paladin got a "divine servant" or "divine companion". It could be a mount if they wanted, or a celestial of some sort. It might be be less jarring to be able to call on an astral deva (or whatever) for aid X times/day, as opposed to just a horse.

Alternately, they could have just added 'mount' to the Paladin's spell list. If they had phrased it that way, I'll bet 90% of the complainers wouldn't have blinked an eye.

Me, I love it. Probably because I look at it and say "Wow, that will definitely let the paladin in our game have a lot more fun." But I guess I'm weird that way.

J