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1 year ago ::
Apr 13, 2012 - 7:23PM
#51
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I don't like the idea that rolling means taking action. Rolling means resolving. Almost every combat action has an active attacker and defender, and, despite the way we run combat rounds, no one is sitting around passively letting enemy combatants take a turn. Following your idea to its logical conclusion means that every combat action needs two rolls. The fighter is swinging an axe and the orc is trying to avoid decapitation, just like the wizard is aiming a fireball and the other orcs are trying to get out of the way, no matter whose "turn" it is.
Actually, the part in bold is EXACTLY how melee combat works in Stormbringer: one attacks, the other parries/dodges. No matter how well you roll on your attack roll, if the target rolls well on the parry/dodge, your attack outright fails. It's an interesting way to work around boring "I hit it with my sword", really 
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1 year ago ::
Apr 14, 2012 - 5:23AM
#52
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Date Joined:
Dec 27, 2008
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I could see all effects on individual creatures being either 1 round or for the rest of the encounter, but then increasing the availability of zones. Zones are good because they give opportunities for the party to work together and make the battleground more interesting. There's no logical reason that a wizard can't create a zone of slowing, or even slow all creatures within two squares of himself or something like that. Powerful single-target debuffs would always last no longer than a round (except perhaps at very high levels or if providing some kind of resolution as described by Lawolf).
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1 year ago ::
Apr 14, 2012 - 5:33AM
#53
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Date Joined:
Jan 15, 2009
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The comparison should be
4e saves vs rolled static durations... I much prefer being able to affect the durations like in 4e
or
4e defenses vs saves (my answer ... isnt this almost 6 of one half a dozen of the other I use a variant of players making active defense in place of me making attack rolls they are mechanical flip flops)
I like maintained durations where the one creating the effect can press it...
For villains I kind of like till the end of encounter effects, I hamstring him with a well placed arrow shot.. he remains hamstrung for the duration of the encounter. I am less copacetic with the same for players. Heros staving off those things at minimum till they impair after the fight is over maybe.
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1 year ago ::
Apr 14, 2012 - 6:41AM
#54
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Date Joined:
Oct 24, 2007
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Personally I think the "attacker always rolls" system in 4e is superior to the "sometimes the attacker rolls to attack and sometimes the defender rolls to defend depending on what exactly the spell/attack description says" system. Switching back to the old system is simply making the rules more complicated for no benefit other than maybe satisfying notalgia. Going back to the old active saving throw system isn't a a deal breaker for me but I do think it's a bad idea.
Along those lines I also don't want to see opposed rolls use for most attacks, such as the attacker making an attack roll opposed by the defender rolling a defense roll. That would basically just be doubling the amount of time spent resolving dice rolls in combat for no actual benefit to the game. Only one player should be rolling dice for a given action almost all of the time. (Even most opposed skill rolls work just as well when you have one person actively rolling versus the other person using a passive check of 10+modifier.)
As far as spell durations go, personally I like rolling a die to end a duration like the 4e system does versus having static durations. I think using an expiration roll to end a duration makes magic feel more unpredictable and interesting. It also is slightly easier on the bookeeping end since you don't need to keep a running tally of how long an effect has lasted to determine when it ends. One possible modification to the 4e system I wouldn't mind would be to have more variation in the expiration rolls, so depending on caster level or other factors maybe effects can end on an 8+ or 12+, etc, instead of always being 10+. (FYI, quick rule of thumb, if you have a 1/n chance of ending an effect at the end of each turn then the effect will last n rounds on average: 1/2 = 2 rounds, 1/5=5 rounds, etc).
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1 year ago ::
Apr 14, 2012 - 9:08AM
#55
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Date Joined:
Oct 26, 2004
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The reason I prefer to make mages roll their attacks is multi-fold.
First off it puts them in the same game as the warriors, I may not like +weapons and such but if you're going to have them it makes the game a lot more fair if all the classes need them rather than just making the warriors need expensive toy, I mean the vast majority of items for mages were just extra spells like the the wand or the staff, plus the defensive boosters. The primary item that a caster grabbed when he wanted to improve his spells was the relevant stat booster. That was pretty much the only item that directly impacted your how your spells resolved. Fighters on the other hand had to get +x weapons in several materials in order to even pretend to have a battlefield impact most days, not to mention several stat boosters, various offenive items, and a ten foot pole for when the rogue ran off with the loot and the mage decided to get some use out of the warrior for once.
Second it removes the thought process that created that situation in the first place. By making spells function like an attack we have a unified system where mages can crit and miss. Come on who doesn't love critting with fireball? NO ONE, because it's awesome!
Third since the system is unified it means other classes besides mages can target the other defenses. It makes power selection in combat a whole lot more dynamic for non-casters.
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1 year ago ::
Apr 14, 2012 - 6:41PM
#56
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Date Joined:
Jan 21, 2009
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Best system I encountered so far: Starwars D20- 4e like (Im a core 3.5 player btw)
AC = Ref. What's the big deal... I like the motto "the less rolls the better".
Helps me focus more on the story than on the rolling
So each player has Fortitude, Reflex, Will:
Defense = 10 + ability + Class + etc
Static, Solid, Simple.
Poison? Attack on fortitude
Fire? Attack on Reflex
Psionic? Attack on Will
Complex Dimentional spell that creates illusions? Attack vs Will and then the player is roleplaying on the other plane/illusion.
PS: I HATED the save (1d20) stuff of 4e. Something like "You are banished for 1-2 rounds then poop you come again".... Banished to Nine Hells? pooor guy... Find your way home.....
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1 year ago ::
Apr 14, 2012 - 10:07PM
#57
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Date Joined:
Aug 25, 2007
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Old saves were terribe. Just as your magic-user got to be able to turn someone to stone, everyone stopped failing their saves. 4e saves might as well be a coin toss, but a coin toss is at least fair.
That was what was good about the old saves. the 3e version made it far too easy to make a target fail a save which overpowered the save or else spells. In basic-2e saves became easy so powerful effects were actually fairly well balanced. Flesh to stone is awesome to pull off, but it is hard to pull off. In 3e it was easy to pull off and far too powerfull, in 4e they just removed it. That may make some people happy bu magic got really boring in 4e to me and a lot of others. While they were handing out powrrs they could of added death blows and other save or die effects to the other classes to keep the balance, but the removsal of effects was just boring. What did you do this round, oh I hit for 1d8+5 and some minor effect kind of like I do every round.
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1 year ago ::
Apr 15, 2012 - 12:03AM
#58
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Date Joined:
Mar 26, 2007
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It sounds like Ability Scores might replace 4th Ed Defences (which I am delighted about), and that when casting a spell you roll to set the DC the opponent needs to defeat.
Have no idea about 4th Ed saving throws/durations in 5th Ed.
I am also not a fan of buffs, particularly (maybe the odd special potion, or Six Demon Bag etc).
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1 year ago ::
Apr 15, 2012 - 2:54AM
#59
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"Ability score checks are saving throws" is what I got from the panels, and I'm happy with this simpler solution. I am/was not a fan of 1e saves, despite their charming names, and found it silly to explain to my newest players that Constitution is one thing and Fortitude is the same thing when escaping from trouble.
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1 year ago ::
Apr 15, 2012 - 3:13AM
#60
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Date Joined:
Jun 29, 2008
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I don't care so much about the exact implementation of saving throws as long as they are not used for duration.
Spells and effects needs to be able to have different durations. Having a 55% chance every round to stop every effect no matter what did not appeal to me at all.
The Character Initiative
Show
Every time you abuse the system you enforce limitations.
Every time the system is limited we lose options.
Breaking an RPG is like cheating in a computer game.
As a DM you are the punkbuster of your table.
Dare to say no to abusers.
Make players build characters, not characters out of builds.
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