If I'm a fan of Planescape and I go to a forum that has Planescape and Dark Sun in it, I will be confused. If I look at the first page of the Dark Sun forum I see plenty of threads where I don't immediately know the setting if I don't know that setting.
If I'm a Planescape fan, could "How to become a dragon" be worth reading? How about "silt horrors"? "Crown of Dust"? "Dungeon 193 the Ravenous"? "Just thought I'd share this"? "Help a DM out"? It goes on and on. Fully half of the titles are recognized as Dark Sun only if you know the setting well. Why create confusion and dilute the benefit?
I don't play a lot of Spelljammer, but if I end up doing it again I don't want to sift through a forum that has all the other worlds. I want to read about other worlds only in the context of Spelljammer. I want a discrete forum on that topic.
Sifting through everything shouldn't be much of a problem since every single one of the boards currently listed under the "Other Published Worlds" section has its first page covering topics reaching back to a minimum of 1 year. Compare that to a very active board (by previous editions standards) like d20 Character Optimization, which only goes back two weeks on its first page of topics. This is with 30 topics per page.
The kraken stirs. And ten billion sushi dinners cry out for vengeance. - Good Omens
= My most popular campaign item; for all your adventuring convenience.Show
Zauber's Mutable Rod: This rod has a number of useful functions that make it easier to live in the wilderness. It is made of polished wood, with five studlike buttons on one end. Each button produces a different effect when pressed. Unless otherwise noted, the rod’s functions have no limit on the number of times they can be employed. • When button 1 is pressed, one end of the rod produces a small flame, equivalent to a candle. • When button 2 is pressed, the rod unfolds into a two-person tent, complete with bedrolls and warm blankets. • When button 3 is pressed, the rod becomes a one-handed hammer, suitable for pounding pitons into a wall. • When button 4 is pressed, the rod becomes a sturdy iron spade. • When button 5 is pressed, the rod becomes a wooden bucket able to hold 2 gallons of liquid. Once per day, it can be commanded to fill with fresh water. If the rod is seriously damaged or broken in any of its alternate forms (button 2, 3, 4, or 5), it reverts to its basic rod form and cannot be activated for 24 hours. Moderate conjuration; CL 9th; Craft Rod, minor creation; Price 375 gp; Weight 2 lb.
Right, but the confusion present in multi-edition worlds easily outweighs the small possibility that there's more than one King Kaius, Zagyg, Agis of Asticles, Elminster, Strahd, Lady of Pain or similar.
That was one example. What if I want to look up weapon breakage? The discussion woul dbe very different between Dark Sun and Planescape. What about planar travel? Dragonlance and Spelljammer would result in very different results.
And the fact that these front pages only go back a year doesn't mean anything. These forums are over four years old, and we should anticipate that they will eventually be over a decade old.
And what confusion is present in multi-edition worlds?! The 3e and 4e Eberron forums are already merged. As are 4e and 2e Dark Sun. We've never had forums that divie a world by edition. Ever.
The issue is what is gained by lumping Dragonlance, Spelljammer, Birthright, Greyhawk, Mystara, and Planescape together? Eliminating five forums that would only appear at the bottom of the list anyway? There is no benefit and there is a demonstrable drawback, in that when this has happened before there were many complaints and rancor.
If the edition is unclear, you're only making resolving those issues harder.
Are you seriousy proposing we split the Eberron forums into Eberron 3e and Eberron 4e because of confusion? Why hasn't anybody complained of this problem in the three years the Eberron forums have been combined? Shoule we have seven Gamma World forums, one for each version?
The only suggested changes I have at this time are:
Change: "Vintage General Discussion (for all rules discussions)"
to: "Vintage Rules Discussion"
It says everything the explanatory note says without needing an explanatory note.
Move: D&D General
To: the bottom of that section
To minimize the amount of accidental cross traffic.
I prefer the word "Legacy" over "Vintage" but that's just me.
Other than that little thing, I like the layout.
Reflavoring: the change of flavor without changing any mechanical part of the game, no matter how small, in order to fit the mechanics to an otherwise unsupported concept. Retexturing: the change of flavor (with at most minor mechanical adaptations) in order to effortlessly create support for a concept without inventing anything new. Houseruling: the change, either minor or major, of the mechanics in order to better reflect a certain aspect of the game, including adapting the rules to fit an otherwise unsupported concept. Homebrewing: the complete invention of something new that fits within the system in order to reflect an unsupported concept.
If the edition is unclear, you're only making resolving those issues harder.
Are you seriousy proposing we split the Eberron forums into Eberron 3e and Eberron 4e because of confusion? Why hasn't anybody complained of this problem in the three years the Eberron forums have been combined? Shoule we have seven Gamma World forums, one for each version?
Agreed. If people are confused, a simple "4E" or "3E" prefix in the title eliminates all confusion. No need to have separate forums for each edition. The object is to condense the useless bloat.
Reflavoring: the change of flavor without changing any mechanical part of the game, no matter how small, in order to fit the mechanics to an otherwise unsupported concept. Retexturing: the change of flavor (with at most minor mechanical adaptations) in order to effortlessly create support for a concept without inventing anything new. Houseruling: the change, either minor or major, of the mechanics in order to better reflect a certain aspect of the game, including adapting the rules to fit an otherwise unsupported concept. Homebrewing: the complete invention of something new that fits within the system in order to reflect an unsupported concept.
What's A DM To Do and What's A Player To Do aren't 4E exclusive concepts. Game edition is peripheral. If player has his character steal from the party and someone wants advice on what to do about it, it doesn't matter if the game is 4E or 3E. If a DM is looking for help on how to mesh combat with roleplaying sessions, edition is also irrelevant.
These forums should remain separate from 4E exclusitivy.
Support Cedric Diggory, the real Hogwarts Champion!
Of the two approaches to hobby games today, one is best defined as the realism-simulation school and the other as the game school. AD&D is assuredly an adherent of the latter school. It does not stress any realism (in the author's opinon an absurd effort at best considering the topic!).
It does little to attempt to simulate anything either. (AD&D) is first and foremost a game for the fun and enjoyment of those who seek the use of imagination and creativity....
In all cases, however, the reader should understand that AD&D is designed to be an amusing and diverting pastime, something which an fill a few hours or consume endless days, as the participants desire, but in no case something to be taken too seriously.
For fun, excitement and captivating fantasy, AD&D is unsurpassed.As a realistic simulation of things from the realm of make-believe or even as a reflection of midieval or ancient warfare or culture or society, it can be deemed only a dismal failure. Readers who seek the later must search elsewhere. - Gary Gygax. 1e DMG.
* 4E Character Mechanics (combines Strikers, Controllers, Defenders, Leaders, Multiclassing and Rituals, Equipment & Magic Items) * 4E Character Optimization
I have a problem with these two. Mechanics and Optimization may not seem distinct enough from eachother. Also, Roles are a /very/ important concept in 4e, and having a place to discuss them is a good idea. Instead of 'character mechanics' maybe call it '4e Character Roles & Resources.' That makes it clearly different from Optimization, and could still encompass the same topics. In any case, a player wanting to discuss, understand or choose a Role should have a clear place to go.
That was one example. What if I want to look up weapon breakage? The discussion woul dbe very different between Dark Sun and Planescape. What about planar travel? Dragonlance and Spelljammer would result in very different results.
What about it. There aren't actually a lot of questions about it flying around. And the volume remains the ultimate measure of its importance; there's already a board for "other worlds", this just means it has more worlds in it.
And what confusion is present in multi-edition worlds?! The 3e and 4e Eberron forums are already merged. As are 4e and 2e Dark Sun. We've never had forums that divie a world by edition. Ever.
If anyone thinks they might have trouble telling apart the threads about one world and a different one, why don't they have trouble telling apart different editions of the same world? The answer to that tells you a lot about the issue we're discussing.
The issue is what is gained by lumping Dragonlance, Spelljammer, Birthright, Greyhawk, Mystara, and Planescape together? Eliminating five forums that would only appear at the bottom of the list anyway? There is no benefit and there is a demonstrable drawback, in that when this has happened before there were many complaints and rancor.
You mean complaints and rancor from all the people not producing any particularly large volume of activity with regard to any of those worlds? The gain is the reduction in the number of boards; if we didn't want to do that, this wouldn't be about which boards to merge, but which boards to put at the bottom of the list.
If the edition is unclear, you're only making resolving those issues harder.
Are you seriousy proposing we split the Eberron forums into Eberron 3e and Eberron 4e because of confusion? Why hasn't anybody complained of this problem in the three years the Eberron forums have been combined? Shoule we have seven Gamma World forums, one for each version?
Once a given edition of a given world loses traffic volume, it joins the general board for vintage worlds. A newer edition of that world gets its own board and the cycle continues.
It means that as long as a given edition of that world remains active, it retains an independent board. Once it loses activity, it combines with the other worlds that have lost activity. We may have worlds that have been reborn in a new edition, but we don't have examples where an earlier edition of a world returns from the dead (in terms of activity).
The kraken stirs. And ten billion sushi dinners cry out for vengeance. - Good Omens
= My most popular campaign item; for all your adventuring convenience.Show
Zauber's Mutable Rod: This rod has a number of useful functions that make it easier to live in the wilderness. It is made of polished wood, with five studlike buttons on one end. Each button produces a different effect when pressed. Unless otherwise noted, the rod’s functions have no limit on the number of times they can be employed. • When button 1 is pressed, one end of the rod produces a small flame, equivalent to a candle. • When button 2 is pressed, the rod unfolds into a two-person tent, complete with bedrolls and warm blankets. • When button 3 is pressed, the rod becomes a one-handed hammer, suitable for pounding pitons into a wall. • When button 4 is pressed, the rod becomes a sturdy iron spade. • When button 5 is pressed, the rod becomes a wooden bucket able to hold 2 gallons of liquid. Once per day, it can be commanded to fill with fresh water. If the rod is seriously damaged or broken in any of its alternate forms (button 2, 3, 4, or 5), it reverts to its basic rod form and cannot be activated for 24 hours. Moderate conjuration; CL 9th; Craft Rod, minor creation; Price 375 gp; Weight 2 lb.
We're going in circles. I'm not going to convince you. You've certainly not convinced me. I think we'll just have to let Steve and his crew decide if you've made the case for eliminating the Vintage World forums.
We're going in circles. I'm not going to convince you. You've certainly not convinced me. I think we'll just have to let Steve and his crew decide if you've made the case for eliminating the Vintage World forums.
It's not going in circles if we continually address things in different ways, nor is it about "eliminating" the vintage worlds forms; it's about whether or not it takes the form of one board or many.
The boards are communities, not warehouses. Without active discussion they're nothing. A wasteland area of dead, empty boards related to past worlds is a bad idea. Put them together and you at least have an area where people talk collectively about those past worlds, even if they see a few things that aren't exactly what they came to find.
The kraken stirs. And ten billion sushi dinners cry out for vengeance. - Good Omens
= My most popular campaign item; for all your adventuring convenience.Show
Zauber's Mutable Rod: This rod has a number of useful functions that make it easier to live in the wilderness. It is made of polished wood, with five studlike buttons on one end. Each button produces a different effect when pressed. Unless otherwise noted, the rod’s functions have no limit on the number of times they can be employed. • When button 1 is pressed, one end of the rod produces a small flame, equivalent to a candle. • When button 2 is pressed, the rod unfolds into a two-person tent, complete with bedrolls and warm blankets. • When button 3 is pressed, the rod becomes a one-handed hammer, suitable for pounding pitons into a wall. • When button 4 is pressed, the rod becomes a sturdy iron spade. • When button 5 is pressed, the rod becomes a wooden bucket able to hold 2 gallons of liquid. Once per day, it can be commanded to fill with fresh water. If the rod is seriously damaged or broken in any of its alternate forms (button 2, 3, 4, or 5), it reverts to its basic rod form and cannot be activated for 24 hours. Moderate conjuration; CL 9th; Craft Rod, minor creation; Price 375 gp; Weight 2 lb.
