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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....

Hi,

Some of you might know that I've been running a 4e campaign set in the cosmopolitan city of Parsantium for some time. Since January I've been working on turning this into a decent-sized city sourcebook suitable for use with D&D Next, 4e, Pathfinder and any other D&D edition/variant you like. I'm about two weeks from finishing the first draft and have written over 70,000 words so far. I am planning to self-publish the book later this year, all being well.

If you're interested in reading some more about it, [url=http://richgreen01.livejournal.com/tag/parsantium#asset-richgreen01-237862]this post[/url] gives you an overview, and I've been [url=http://richgreen01.livejournal.com/tag/design%20diary]posting design diaries to my blog[/url] too.

Let me know what you think

Cheers


Rich...

D&D Next: A Touch of Class

Class, subclass, build, kit, theme... just what goes into defining a character's class? What do we gain, and how best can we reflect commonalities and differences between the different varieties of classes in the game? What should D&D Next do? What is behind Legend & Lore's article on subclasses?

Legend & Lore states that the definition of a subclass can vary: "Each class will have a different take on what a subclass actually represents to it." The cleric subclasses are based on deities. The wizard on tradition. The fighter subclasses would include "warlord, knight, samurai, gladiator, or scout". The rogue would have "assassin, the thief, and the vagabond".

 

Taxonomy is Not the Goal

An important first point is that this isn't (or shouldn't be) about

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April 21, 2013 3:51 AM EDT

I'm starting a new set of playtests that will have players quickly level through PCs beginning with 1st level but hopefully getting them to 10+ in only 4 or 5 sessions.  Overall, I want them to let me know how leveling up influences their play experience.  As usual, we played online using RPGTO.

Tonight was our first session.  I planned a quick adventure and let my players play whatever they wanted to play.  We ended up with the following:

1) Elven Ranger (Brute Hunter)
2) Human Nature Paladin
3) Human Greataxe Fighter

We were able to do a bit of roleplaying and a little exploring and 5 combat encounters all in about 3 1/2 hours (which includes chat time in the beginning of the game)

The game went well.  

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I did not start off as a gamer. I was a science-fiction fan as a kid: Star Trek, Space 1999, Star Wars, Outer Limits, and atom-age stuff from the prior two decades. The closest I'd gotten to fantasy was watching the movies of Ray Harryhausen, and reading Edgar Rice Boroughs and a copy of Edith Hamilton's Mythology.

When I became one of the legion of middle-school boys who made D&D a fad in the early 80's, I wasn't looking for a wargame or a simulation of Tolkien or anything. I think, more than anything, what sold me were the Skeletons, which called to mind the amazing sequence in Jason and the Argonauts, and the

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D&D Next: A Model for Feats and Other Build Options

Legends & Lore discussed new options for acquiring Feats today. Neither those options nor the current D&D Next packet meet the goals I have for character generation:

• Personality: Character generation should help me create a PC that feels like an individual. At the conclusion of the process, I should have a feel for who they are.
• Foster Imagination: The choices I make should foster imaginative play at the table.
• Fast: A new player should be able to create a level 5 PC in 10-15 minutes.
• Robust: An experienced player should find enough robust options to spend hours on character creation, if they so desire.
• Balanced: Options should be balanced, such that new DMs do not have to struggle with overly powerful or overly weak PCs.

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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

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