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I need a place to gather a couple of essays I wrote in the Homebrew Fighter thread, which for a time sort of acted like Ironblue General on the DDN forum.  Not only was it a dumping ground for every brain I was storming around with at the time, it lead to several not insignificant trains of thought and game design conclusions that I need to analyze further and whip into a reasonable semblance of shape.

Am I even kidding myself that anybody is reading this and cares?  Haha, nope.  Pro bono, biatches!  I'm just doing this for me.

Okay, here's the stuff:

[spoiler=Ability Frequencies]At-will abilities are roughly 1x the power of a basic attack.  Cantrips are meant to be the equivalent of weapons, and with a little less damage and a little more utility they succeed quite...

Finals at my college and final papers. Ugh. I got a part in a summer festival musical though. Looking forward to performing again in July.

Regarding monster design for my game in construction:

Whenever I DM'd for the local DnD Meetup Group, I got some of my most positive responses from players when I added narrative to the actions taken by enemies rather than just a simple "it hits you for X damage".

This reminded me of when I was first introduced to DnD through ADnD 2nd edition, when my brother would spout out awesome descriptions of what was going on during combat (it was always gridless when we played).

What if sample narratives were built into the design of monsters, for DMs to describe the action? This could benefit new and old DMs greatly and enrich the experience for the entire table....

Under the bounded accuracy system, an attack roll, a skill check, an ability check or whatever else has got three possible modifying points:

-Ability Modifier: from +1 to +5
-Class Bonus: from +1 to +5
-Proficiency Bonus:  Anything from +1d6 to +1d12, or in my dream +2 to +5 (prof. bonus from 4e weapons but more range to account for more diversity)

Now, each of those modifying points has its own idiosyncracies, but the very first important take away is this:

The bounded accuracy system can only handle TWO of those three at any time.  For ease of comprehension, they ought to be the same two.

Now, some points of interest about each:

Ability Modifier is the one the designer has far less control over.  Especially if those terrifying ability score bump feats get implemented, but lets...

[spoiler=Hit Points]Each creature has a hit point maximum, which is the total of its Hit Die rolls (or the average of those rolls), its Constitution score, and any other modifiers.[/spoiler]
[spoiler=Actions in Combat]Block:
When you wield a weapon you are proficient with, you can use your reaction to block an incoming melee attack.  Roll your skill die and subtract its result from the damage against you.  If the damage drops to 0 or lower, you are still subject to any other effects of the attack.  When you wield a shield you are proficient with, you can use block against ranged attacks as well.
 
Bull Rush:
You try to shove a creature, provided it is no more than one size category larger than you, by making a Strength check against that creature’s Strength or Constitution...

If a traditional party of 4 (Cleric, Fighter, MU, Thief) were to kill their way to 2nd level, preying upon only that weakest of traditional D&D monsters, the lowly Kobold, how many deaths would they have on their collective conscience by the time they all hit 2nd level?  The answer in 5e, is 100, even (cool, huh?), but I wondered how that compared to other eds:



So, I know I'm a notorious 4venger and all, but this one is just out of curiousity, and it led to some surprises.  

For one thing, I couldn't find the 0D&D 'collector set' I received as a gift in 1989 - big surprise there, but if anyone wants to do the same for that, it might be fun.  

For another, going through the numbers for 1e, I was forced to consider treasure types, because 1e gave exp for collecting money, 1 per...

Things are progressing a bit slowly since I've had a lot on my plate with my studies and being in a musical.

I figured out an "advanced concept" of accuracy which builds upon the concept of bound accuracy. Not going to reveal it yet since it still requires some major tweaks for testing. My inspiration for this "new accuracy" comes from the combination of some old ideas that I've experienced in different games. It will be simple, streamlined, and -------- (last adjective omitted so as not to give it away).

I've decided to keep monster design separate from PC design. It will be similar to 4e design up to a certain point but the differences will be very noticeable.

Designing adventures will be easy with a very facilitated ability to add depth to storytelling. Tools will be made to compensate ...

Let's start by paraphrasing Winston Churchill: hitpoints are the worst possible system for tracking health except all others that have been tried.

Hitpoints are terrible for verisimilitude and an awful reflection of reality. They’re also not particularly good at emulating cinematic combat.

This old argument has come up again and again (and again and again), most recently resurfacing on various message boards due to the continued warlord debates and the option of martial healing. This seems like a topical discussion to write about.

Are Hitpoints Fatigue or Health?

Yes.

And no. Here’s an amusing flowchart on the topic.

Jumping right into the debate, are hitpoints a measure of energy, fatigue, luck, and skill? No. No amount of skill can stop a fire from burning you, or acid

...

Something I've been meaning to talk about for a while that should lay the groundwork for a more elaborate reworking of class designs (as I intend to do).

There is a larger debate on the size and utility of discrete units of character design as they appear in the current packet, and how exactly balanced are feats in comparison to class abilities, and so on and so so.  I'm not really going to open any of that up for discussion.  Suffice that I have my solution to the problem, and these are the assumptions I will be working off here:

-Ability checks, a general list of possible actions springing from the six ability scores, improvised actions, and contests are the CORE of the game.

-A feat is roughly analogous to a major trait from race or background, and those are all benefits that...

The purpose of this poll is to get an idea of the comparative popularity and support for each of the possible manifestations of the Fighter in 5e.  I've listed in brief all the mechanics we've seen in previous Fighters, suggested on the forums, or irresponsibly dreamed up by yours truly.

Here's how it works:  Choose one, two, or three of the following options that appeal to you.  Perhaps you think just one type of 'power' or move is enough for the Fighter?  Good, just pick one then.  More than three is almost definitely too much for one class, so that's the upper limit.

In the comments, or the related forum thread I've created, please feel free to explain your choices, and argue endlessly with those who disagree.  It will be like one big fighting Fighter poll...