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RPGs / Re: Monster Mash Game
« on: March 06, 2010, 10:58:35 PM »player monsters must build additional pylons
You look like a man who needs more vespeen gas
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You look like a man who needs more vespeen gas
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RPGs / Re: Monster Mash Game
« on: March 06, 2010, 10:00:47 PM »
Something fun could be the adventures have been captured and are in a dungeon. Your intrepid "heroes" could be tasked with guarding them, and the adventures attempt the classic escape attempts, pretending to be sick, going on a hunger strike, trying to dig a tunnel, etc. They have to disrupt their escape plans could be fun.
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General Chaos / Re: I just realized something.
« on: March 06, 2010, 08:19:29 AM »
Follower of the God of Butter, Flabulus, with her faithful ranger companion Bobby Paula Dean roams the kingdom of Fudn'twok...
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RPGs / Re: favorite RPG
« on: March 04, 2010, 01:31:13 PM »
Dread, the only RPG to use Jenga as a conflict resolution mechanic. Most creative and fun game I've ever played.
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General Chaos / Re: A Note from your Loving Moderators
« on: March 04, 2010, 12:19:58 PM »
Oooh! Can I be Reagan!
*Begins translating Contra II into Iranian*
*Begins translating Contra II into Iranian*
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RPGs / Re: My Gripe with 4th Ed.
« on: March 03, 2010, 03:01:43 PM »Shadowrun takes a ballistic approach to class balance because it doesn't have classes. Nitch protection of in game roles is in massive force between the real world, the Matrix, and the Astral world. Without a mage, you can't work Astrally. Without a hacker or a Technomancer (or a Desker, depending on your edition), you can't work in the Matrix. I'm not defending that approach in the least. I just love shotting guns.
But what's you're describing as the goal is the d20 skill system: virtually disconnected from combat mechanics. Is it just that the specific skills don't appeal to you, or is it the implimentation of their subsystem that you don't like?
I dislike the implementation, basically, because the system doesn't really support degrees of success or failure easily, and in a few levels, a task that is an automatic win for one PC is an auto failure for another. I also really dislike armor check penalties I know they're "realistic" but this is a fantasy game. You never see the heroic knight stop and take off his armor to climb a rope in a movie. He just does it.
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RPGs / Re: My Gripe with 4th Ed.
« on: March 03, 2010, 01:12:27 PM »To be fair, I'm not satisfied with the skills in 3.x or 4th, or any D20 system for that matter. My preference tends to lean to those systems that abstract it a bit more. I don't think I've found a mechanic heavy skill system I've been satisfied with.
Have you tried one of the systems build entirely around skills? Shadowrun and World of Darkness both put their skill pools at the creamy center of their systems.
Combat skills are handled, by and large, the same as every other skill.
I actually take the opposite view here. Combat and skills should have nothing to do with each other mechanically. I played in a long running Shadowrun campaign, and while the dice pools were a nice way to smooth out the rolls statistically, I don't think combat and skills should be connected at all. Basically you force the player to make a choice between being optimized in either combat, or outside of it. Mostly likely, someone is going to optimize one way or the other, so taking the middle ground is the quick road to irrelevance in either situation. For example, in the Shadowrun game, our street samurai troll pretty much handled combat with the help of the mage. Then when a social situation came up, the face did all the rolling, and when we had a hacking issue, the hacker did all the rolling.
Shadowrun is really a good example of bad balance.
That said, a 4th ed game with Shadowrun type skills tacked on for the skill system might be neat
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RPGs / Re: My Gripe with 4th Ed.
« on: March 03, 2010, 11:24:09 AM »
To be fair, I'm not satisfied with the skills in 3.x or 4th, or any D20 system for that matter. My preference tends to lean to those systems that abstract it a bit more. I don't think I've found a mechanic heavy skill system I've been satisfied with.
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RPGs / Re: My Gripe with 4th Ed.
« on: March 03, 2010, 07:32:01 AM »
I could see this working in a campaign if it was handled this way (remeber steal from the best, leave the rest). Let everyone have there normal power progression. At some point they're off adventuering and they hear rumors of something evil. They return home to find the temple/the school/the town/the frat house destroyed. They hunger for revenge (hopefully), but a wise old NPC tells them they arn't ready yet and they should seek training at this far away location.
Basically give them the normal power progression, but after they complete their training, allow them to create a new daily power all their own. Perhapse pick a level and say nothing more powerful than any of these.
Basically, I'm saying it not a good idea to take stuff away from PCs that they expect to have. You'll have better results from making them work harder to get better than normal
Basically give them the normal power progression, but after they complete their training, allow them to create a new daily power all their own. Perhapse pick a level and say nothing more powerful than any of these.
Basically, I'm saying it not a good idea to take stuff away from PCs that they expect to have. You'll have better results from making them work harder to get better than normal
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RPGs / Re: 3E Balance thread
« on: March 02, 2010, 11:34:49 PM »What ever happened to casting time? If higher level spells took two or more rounds to cast the magik types would be a bit more balanced with others?
This could lead to some boredom around the table. It really sucks when you have a turn when you don't do anything. Imagine if you had to skip every other round.
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RPGs / Re: My Gripe with 4th Ed.
« on: March 02, 2010, 11:03:07 PM »I would run my games the same way in either system. In 4.0 it would be alot harder I think to explain to the wizard, you have to quest for that daily ability, but the fighter doesnt... I didn't think that one through...
Isn't a troupe of the martial arts genre (e.g. Drunken Master, Karate Kid, hell, Dragon Ball Z even) that the fighty guy has to go on a quest to find a mentor or teacher to teach him that new ultimate technique? I'd think 4th ed would make this style of play even easier.
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RPGs / Re: 3E Balance thread
« on: March 02, 2010, 10:56:36 PM »QuoteOn a more practical level, if you want to play a fighter, play a paladin, they are pretty much mechanically better in every way.
that's not true a fighter has bonus feats
in my eye there =
what feats are better than smite evil, divine grace, lay on hands, aura of courage, special mount, spell casting, turn undead and remove disease?
Skill focus: basket weaving you ROLLplayer :smug:
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RPGs / Re: D&D 4.0 - Interesting house rule idea, defenders and Damage Reduction
« on: March 02, 2010, 05:50:58 PM »
Instead of a rule, maybe you could take an existing approach. This sounds a lot like a utility power, a stance in particular. Maybe something like
Daily , stance
you must he in heavy armor
While in this stance, reduce your damage by X. You gain DR Y while in this stance. You can end this stance as a free action.
Daily , stance
you must he in heavy armor
While in this stance, reduce your damage by X. You gain DR Y while in this stance. You can end this stance as a free action.
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RPGs / Re: D&D 4.0 - Interesting house rule idea, defenders and Damage Reduction
« on: March 02, 2010, 03:39:00 PM »
I'm not sure I like it, and here's why. Generally, the main goal of a defender is to make the enemy make a hard decision on either to attack the defender or one of his allies. Defender do this in two main ways
1. Applying an debuff to the enemy, usually a mark which gives them -2 to hit other people
2. Making them take damage when they attack other people.
All of the current defender classes do this in various ways. By reducing your damage to increase your damage resistance, you make it more likely that your allies will be attacked. Sure, the enemy has the -2 to hit your allies still, but you've reduced the damage they might take if they attack someone else, and you've made yourself a less attractive target to attack because of the damage resistance.
A class role I do think this is appropriate for would be a controller or leader, who don't enjoy being attacked, and want to discourage this as much as possible, and aren't focused on dealing damage but applying status effects and debuffs.
1. Applying an debuff to the enemy, usually a mark which gives them -2 to hit other people
2. Making them take damage when they attack other people.
All of the current defender classes do this in various ways. By reducing your damage to increase your damage resistance, you make it more likely that your allies will be attacked. Sure, the enemy has the -2 to hit your allies still, but you've reduced the damage they might take if they attack someone else, and you've made yourself a less attractive target to attack because of the damage resistance.
A class role I do think this is appropriate for would be a controller or leader, who don't enjoy being attacked, and want to discourage this as much as possible, and aren't focused on dealing damage but applying status effects and debuffs.
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RPGs / Re: 3E Balance thread
« on: March 02, 2010, 03:08:04 PM »My players have managed to get all the way frlom 3rd to 12th level in 3.5 without a wizard. The party is:
Knight 12 (PHB2)
Rogue 12
Duskblade 12 (PHB2)
Cleric 9 Radiant Servant of Pelor 3
The Duskblade typically does the most damage, but ends up with low HP regularly
The Knight anchors the group soaking up damdge and dealing okay damdage too.
The Rogue is hit or miss with damdage depending if he can sneak attack
The Cleric heals, buffs, and now occasionally blasts.
Its not that you can't do without a wizard, but lets say a level 12 wizard shows up to your group.
He can probably outdamage the Duskblade, as well as being more sneaky
He can summon something (or become something) that can soak more damage than the knight
He can detect traps and unlock doors, at least as good as the rogue
He can't heal, but he can buff and blast
He's better mechanically than 3 of the 4 party members, and the 4th is also a caster.