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6 months ago ::
Dec 05, 2012 - 4:59AM
#181
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Mostly good stuff. Thanks for listening, WotC!
One thing I really dislike, though: the idea that a Rogue's player should choose between Advantage and Sneak Attack before rolling his attack. This is not a tactical choice, it's a pure gamble. Instead, do something else: perhaps tie the Rogue's bonus damage dice to getting a critical hit. This way he's encouraged to seek Advantage, since Advantage gives almost double the expected number of critical hits, but he's not penalized for guessing how his dice will roll, and most of the time he'll only get to deal normal damage even if he has Advantage.
Tying Sneak Attack damage to Critical Hits also emphasizes the Rogue's "skillful" nature, since he's able to exploit openings best, and turn a bit of luck into an overwhelming attack.
Not a terrible idea, though WotC would have to be careful with future feats and abilities that modify critical chance, as those would be pretty paramount for a rogue built like this.
What you don't like the 3.xE Rogue that dual weilds improved keen rapiers +5 and basically crits if they hit?
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6 months ago ::
Dec 05, 2012 - 9:25AM
#182
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Date Joined:
May 25, 2012
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... because tradition ...
... valid...
Agreed.
edit:
And 5E... gets... you... new D&D things... have fun...
Sweet.
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6 months ago ::
Dec 05, 2012 - 10:55AM
#183
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Date Joined:
Mar 26, 2007
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And 5E fails, gets shelved, and you can say bye bye to any new D&D things that aren't action figures or cartoons...have fun...
I already am, best edition to date, IME.
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6 months ago ::
Dec 05, 2012 - 11:12AM
#184
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Not sure 100% on this but even early on in 4h ed (when I actually cared about it circ 2008) I thought the power swap feats were awful. You more or less had to find another power that worked off your primary stat (strength really in the PHB) and the same implement. THe power you were swapping for did not usually offer any advantages over a power you already had. Put sumply you would be better off just spending that feat on something else even if it was just the toughness feat or leather armor for wizards.
FOr the most part it seemed to me MC was really blow a feat and poach a paragon path. Saga had the best d20 multiclassing but it was a bit abusable in regards to skills.
Power swaps where aweful. They compleatly overreacted to 3.5 and went too far.
What they really needed was...
MC Feat: You get part of the class feature (they did this ok, if not great).
Power Swap: You can take any powers. (as suggested above).
Stat Swap: You can use another stat with the powers (bards eventually got this).
The power swap feats were awful. I houseruled a fix for them where a character that selected a multiclass feat automatically got the three power swap feats for free with it.
Why Mechanics-Alignment Integration is Bad
Show
so why even play a fighter if you can play the paladin the exact same way behaviorally and get added power to boot. "Paladin" is about accepting better game-enhancing mechanics at the price of more rigid in game behavior.
Really? So it goes something like this?
Fighter: "I want to be a paladin."
NPC: "Really?"
Fighter: "Yes."
NPC: "Very well." Starts reading from a holy book while still in-character "Do you accept having to choose and stick to the lawful good alignment, eventhough neither of us actually knows that it exists or what it is?"
Fighter: "I do."
NPC: "Do you reject good game balance because you accidentally rolled a high Charisma?"
Fighter: "What?"
NPC: "I don't know what it means either."
Fighter: "Oh. Umm, ok I do."
NPC: "In the name of all that is metagamey and broken, accept these better game enhancing mechanics."
Fighter: "These what?"
NPC: "Just get out there and try to fulfill a million different people's notion of good while not violating and part of any of them."
So the system is designed such that every single hit needs to be described to avoid confusion? Here's a scenario. The players are nudists, everybody in the world are nudists, it's not weird, it's totally normal in this land. They are naked and they fight drakes taking damage throughout, but healing up with surges. Later they meet the guy who raised the drakes.
Part 1: I didn't describe any of the hits. What does he see?
Part 2: Lets say I described the drakes as biting the players, yet they healed up. What does he see?
D20 Modern Toon PC Race.
Mecha Pilot's Skill Challenge Emporium.
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6 months ago ::
Dec 05, 2012 - 12:50PM
#185
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Date Joined:
Apr 15, 2001
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Mostly good stuff. Thanks for listening, WotC!
One thing I really dislike, though: the idea that a Rogue's player should choose between Advantage and Sneak Attack before rolling his attack. This is not a tactical choice, it's a pure gamble. Instead, do something else: perhaps tie the Rogue's bonus damage dice to getting a critical hit. This way he's encouraged to seek Advantage, since Advantage gives almost double the expected number of critical hits, but he's not penalized for guessing how his dice will roll, and most of the time he'll only get to deal normal damage even if he has Advantage.
Tying Sneak Attack damage to Critical Hits also emphasizes the Rogue's "skillful" nature, since he's able to exploit openings best, and turn a bit of luck into an overwhelming attack.
Not a terrible idea, though WotC would have to be careful with future feats and abilities that modify critical chance, as those would be pretty paramount for a rogue built like this.
What you don't like the 3.xE Rogue that dual weilds improved keen rapiers +5 and basically crits if they hit?
This is actually a problem in Pathfinder. The 18-20 crit weapons and 19-20/X3 crit weapons are just better than the other weapons. The longsword and bastard sword and simialr weapons are enerally regarded as weak options unless you have a class that gets them for free (cleric favoured weapon etc). Doesn't bother me in the slightes that 4th ed and D&DN do not use 3.5's weapon system.
Improved critical and keen do not stack though and they haven't since 3.0.
Reducing a character to a list of dice rolls and modifiers is not role playing*
*pg 30, AD&D 2nd Ed DMG, 1989.
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6 months ago ::
Dec 05, 2012 - 1:42PM
#186
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Mostly good stuff. Thanks for listening, WotC!
One thing I really dislike, though: the idea that a Rogue's player should choose between Advantage and Sneak Attack before rolling his attack. This is not a tactical choice, it's a pure gamble. Instead, do something else: perhaps tie the Rogue's bonus damage dice to getting a critical hit. This way he's encouraged to seek Advantage, since Advantage gives almost double the expected number of critical hits, but he's not penalized for guessing how his dice will roll, and most of the time he'll only get to deal normal damage even if he has Advantage.
Tying Sneak Attack damage to Critical Hits also emphasizes the Rogue's "skillful" nature, since he's able to exploit openings best, and turn a bit of luck into an overwhelming attack.
Not a terrible idea, though WotC would have to be careful with future feats and abilities that modify critical chance, as those would be pretty paramount for a rogue built like this.
What you don't like the 3.xE Rogue that dual weilds improved keen rapiers +5 and basically crits if they hit?
This is actually a problem in Pathfinder. The 18-20 crit weapons and 19-20/X3 crit weapons are just better than the other weapons. The longsword and bastard sword and simialr weapons are enerally regarded as weak options unless you have a class that gets them for free (cleric favoured weapon etc). Doesn't bother me in the slightes that 4th ed and D&DN do not use 3.5's weapon system.
Improved critical and keen do not stack though and they haven't since 3.0.
Ahhhh 3.0. Scimitar+Keen+Improved Critical+Sharp Note= 4-20x2 crit range...wierd times.
My two copper.
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6 months ago ::
Dec 05, 2012 - 2:02PM
#187
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Date Joined:
Apr 15, 2001
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Scimitars are popular in PF due to that 18-20 crit range and they are the easiest weapon to add dex to damage so one can weapon finesse them. They may as well be the default weapon for the Magus (PF duskblade/swordmage) class.
Not familar with Sharp Note but we did have a smiting charging 3.0 scmiitar using Paladin on a dire lion in 3.0 with a 12-20 threat range.
Reducing a character to a list of dice rolls and modifiers is not role playing*
*pg 30, AD&D 2nd Ed DMG, 1989.
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6 months ago ::
Dec 05, 2012 - 2:05PM
#188
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Scimitars are popular in PF due to that 18-20 crit range and they are the easiest weapon to add dex to damage so one can weapon finesse them. They may as well be the default weapon for the Magus (PF duskblade/swordmage) class.
Not familar with Sharp Note but we did have a smiting charging 3.0 scmiitar using Paladin on a dire lion in 3.0 with a 12-20 threat range.
Sharp Note was a class ability of the Virtuoso prestige class in Song and Silence. It was a bard song that made all allies' bladed weapons have double crit range. At first this was a lone bonus, but later it was errataed to not stack with keen.
My two copper.
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6 months ago ::
Dec 05, 2012 - 2:26PM
#189
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Date Joined:
Apr 15, 2001
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Wouldn't that make the threat range 9-20 instead of 4-20? Either one was silly and its one of the changes I liked from 3.0 to 3.5. I liked 3.0 at the time as 2nd ed was dated but it is probably down there with 1st ed in my least preferred editions of D&D to play.
Reducing a character to a list of dice rolls and modifiers is not role playing*
*pg 30, AD&D 2nd Ed DMG, 1989.
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6 months ago ::
Dec 05, 2012 - 10:08PM
#190
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... because tradition ...
... valid...
Agreed.
edit:
And 5E... gets... you... new D&D things... have fun...
Sweet.
Yeah for like 3 books and then it gets shelved because it doesn't have the income Hasbro demands...
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