WotC mistakes that cause you headaches -


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I'll second Brian Gibbons' opinion on saving throws. I don't like the fact that they auto-fail on a 1. As I posted in the other thread just now: Having an insanely high save is supposed to represent that you're essentially immune to whatever effects; the notion of still failing on a bad roll ignores that representation.

I'd like to add another "mistake" that bugs me, although I might be the only one: Action Points.

Don't get me wrong, I like the reasoning behind APs but they don't do enough for me. It becomes a contest of trying to meta-game the DC so you know when to use one, rather than use it to do something heroic. Adding a paltry d6 to a roll usually does nothing as you can fail even if you burn one. Plus, they only get used in the "boss fight" because you know that you're probably going to gain a level and restore all of them. I would have preferred something more akin to White Wolf's Willpower system; you can burn one and automatically succeed on something. So it really does let you do heroic things like swing across the 80' pit with the rope or make a running leap off of a tower onto an airship that's starting to pull away.
 

No WotC mistakes cause me headaches.

Why?

Because if I ever see a stat or rules mistake in any WotC book, I simply create the correct stat or rule myself and keep right on playing.

It is the difference between thinking of WotC books and products as resources to aid in my (and my fellow gamers') mental worlds and personal mental creations vs. bibles of unchanging law.
 

My group doesnt use autofail on a 1.. I dont think its a bad rule if you're playin a 1 shot game, but in a campeign it ends up meaning that eventually, you're going to be autodying 1 in 20 attacks when fighting something large that is capable of dealing massive damage on the average strike, like an older Dragon or something.

Same with spellcasters.. 1 in 20 high level spells will either have an autodeath effect, either due to it being something like massive damage from a spell, or a death effect like a finger of death.

I just.. hate instakill effects with a passion. Theres nothing fun for a player when they roll initiative and then drop dead due to a 1.

As for the rest.. i dont particuarly mind any of the others.

Except timestop.. In a very high level game, i was in a party in an Online campeign that were battling a group of mages who were chronomancers and were trying to gain control of time. They.. all had.. more than one timestop prepared... And.. the game.. it just stopped. My Minotaur fighter just stood there. Along with the rest of the group, as they all cast timestop in succession and beat us down without any way for our group to do anything. (poor initiative rolls on our part, but i cant see it happening any other way even without those factors.)

I have hated timestop with a passion since. It was my first experience of the timestop spell, and i'm hoping its my last.
 

Gerion of Mercadia said:
What WotC errors have caused you the most problems with regards to maintaining game balance and/or player understanding of the rules?

5. Arcane Casters don't get healing spells - yet Bards have CLW

That's part of what allows there to be game balance, or at least a clear division of labor between the arcane and divine casters. If wizards could research cure spells then there would be little reason to have the cleric as a class. If clerics would learn the mass damage spells, there would be little reason to have the wizard class.

Normally, I just consider Bards to be practicing another kind of magic altogether; they're more like artificers in my book. They access a more basic form of magic.

If players have a tough time accepting that, they just have to be aware that it's a holdover from versions of the game that existed probably before they were born. It'll most likely go away in 4E or 5E.

2. I'm a good guy, I can't cast Inflict spells - Lir (Pelor) will be mad at Me.

As he should be. You've taken a healing gift and literally perverted it to cause harm. the only mistake here is that there is not an [Evil] descripter after it.
 
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Except...by the rules...nothing a mage does in Timestop can affect beings outside of it. He can only skedaddle, buff himself, or summon some help, really. Any offensive attack or spell basically hits objects that are frozen in time, and do no damage.

3.5 rules, admittedly.
 


Draxo said:
My group doesnt use autofail on a 1.. I dont think its a bad rule if you're playin a 1 shot game, but in a campeign it ends up meaning that eventually, you're going to be autodying 1 in 20 attacks when fighting something large that is capable of dealing massive damage on the average strike, like an older Dragon or something.
This was my first ever 3rd edition houserule.

I'm pretty sure there is a feat somewhere which doesn't make a 1 an automatic fail on fortitude saves (along with some other benefits), for those of you who prefer not to houserule.
 

Hydras are a walking contradiction, 11 headed headaches.
Does Improved Natural Attack work with Monks? Give us an answer already.
Do mithril and twilight bring things down full categories so that characters proficient in light armor can wear them? Seems too good that bards can waltz around in mountain plate penalty free for an extra 10 grand.
What exactly does a Monk's Belt do?
 

Fishbone said:
Hydras are a walking contradiction, 11 headed headaches.

How so?

Does Improved Natural Attack work with Monks? Give us an answer already.

FAQ said:
Can a monk take Improved Natural Attack (Monster
Manual, page 304) to improve his unarmed strike?

Yes. As stated on page 41 of the Player’s Handbook, a
monk’s unarmed strike “is treated as both a manufactured
weapon and a natural weapon for the purpose of spells and
effects that enhance or improve either” which includes feats
such as Improved Natural Attack.
Barring multiclassing, the earliest a monk could take this
feat would be at 6th level (due to the base attack bonus
prerequisite), at which point her unarmed strike damage would
improve from 1d8 to 2d6 (which represents an average increase
of +2.5 points of damage). The same monk at 20th level would
deal 4d8 points of damage with her unarmed strike.

How's that? That FAQ entry has been around for alooooong time.

Do mithril and twilight bring things down full categories so that characters proficient in light armor can wear them? Seems too good that bards can waltz around in mountain plate penalty free for an extra 10 grand.

Don't have the stats for twilight handy, but mithril definitely does. If it's too good for your campaigns, you should house rule it, but it's not a mistake.

What exactly does a Monk's Belt do?

Here's one I can agree on. I'd like a clarification that the belt doesn't give you their wisdom to AC bonus, just the per level bonus.
 

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