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9 months ago ::
Oct 11, 2012 - 3:28PM
#1
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Date Joined:
Oct 25, 2009
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Steve Winter, an ex-WotC veteran and the author of the blog Howling Tower, has some great ideas about how to achieve encounter balance. His post was inspired by the debate over +X magic items in D&D Next and he has an interesting approach to dealing with the issue. I hope the designers of D&D Next check this out and give it some thought.
Want to know more about the history of D&D, especially how to play older editions of the game? Check out Crazy Monkey's "Tour through the editions":
http://community.wizards.com/crazymonkey/go/forum/view/133793/225799/Asylum_Play-by-Post
The current edition is BECMI, the most popular form of Basic D&D and the adventure is the classic Red Box quest to kill Bargle the evil magic user. Check it out, learn about the games roots, and enjoy the story as it unfolds.
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9 months ago ::
Oct 11, 2012 - 3:36PM
#2
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Date Joined:
May 12, 2009
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That was a good read.
I agree with Steve this sort of thing should be accounted for in the Encounter XP Budget somehow.
Yan
Montréal, Canada
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9 months ago ::
Oct 11, 2012 - 4:17PM
#3
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Date Joined:
Sep 20, 2004
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Yea. It would be nice if magic items increased a person's effective encounter level, and adjusted their EXP gain/the group's encounter EXP budget accordingly.
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9 months ago ::
Oct 11, 2012 - 4:53PM
#4
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Date Joined:
Sep 26, 2001
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One 'cut to the chase' option would be to have magic items that don't add bonuses, just bump you a level if your class is apropriate to the item.
A 1st level fighter with a "+3" sword is a 4th level fighter - but without the Green Destiny, she is nothing. A 7th level wizard with a Staff of the Magi is a 12th level wizard, and can blow up a Balrog.
Love 4e? Concerned about its future? Join the Old Guard of 4e"You want The Tooth? You can't handle The Tooth!" - Dahlver-Nar. "If magic is unrestrained in the campaign, D&D quickly degenerates into a weird wizard show where players get bored quickly" - E. Gary Gygax
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9 months ago ::
Oct 11, 2012 - 5:18PM
#5
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Date Joined:
Aug 22, 2007
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I was thiinking about something like this before. Mostly because that is how my homemade RPG workd.
In it, your total level was average of your class level, your magic equipment level, your attribute level, your race level, your background level, and your perk level.
Orzel, Halfelven son of Zel, Mystic Ranger, Bane to Dragons, Death to Undeath, Killer of Abyssals, King of the Wilds.
Constitution Based Class for Next!
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9 months ago ::
Oct 11, 2012 - 5:30PM
#6
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Date Joined:
May 25, 2012
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Sounds like munchkin. Certainly doesn't sound like D&D.
For those of you who dislike the old "sword +x," why would you be any happier with a "sword + level x" which makes the math even more obvious, non-immersive, and generic?
I say all magical doodads should be required to do something funky to justify their benefits to the player. It's +3 damage because it's on fire. That shield is +2 to a.c because it glows, blinding opponents. Etc.
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9 months ago ::
Oct 11, 2012 - 5:46PM
#7
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Date Joined:
May 25, 2012
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It's an interesting idea, certainly, but I think the solution is to focus on items that grant lateral bonuses instead of vertical bonuses. Basically, increased versatility and scope of their abilities, instead of just doing what they do better. That way, accumulating magic items is much more about getting more options instead of getting more damage.
As Xykon from the Order of the Stick puts it, sometimes power is having a racial bonus to Listen checks.
If you combine lateral bonuses with Attunement, then you end up with a totally different perspective on items. It's not "How can I get the sword with the best bonus to hit?", but instead "Which items should I wear today to best deal with the challenges ahead?"
Certainly, I'd love it if there was a system that used magic items to balance a character's ECL, but I think it would be hard to implement.
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9 months ago ::
Oct 11, 2012 - 6:27PM
#8
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I suggested this awhile back on these forums. The only way it would be possible is if you calculated the DPR of your character and looked at a chart for expected DPR and then bumped the DPR based on status effects and things like that. You wouldn't be able to do that on paper. It would require an app or excel spreadsheet or something like that... 
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9 months ago ::
Oct 11, 2012 - 11:49PM
#9
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Date Joined:
Sep 26, 2001
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Sounds like munchkin. Certainly doesn't sound like D&D.
Munchkin sounds a /lot/ like D&D. It's a parody of it, afterally.
For those of you who dislike the old "sword +x," why would you be any happier with a "sword + level x" which makes the math even more obvious, non-immersive, and generic?
For the 'obvious' part I guess, since the issue in question is encounter balance.
Love 4e? Concerned about its future? Join the Old Guard of 4e"You want The Tooth? You can't handle The Tooth!" - Dahlver-Nar. "If magic is unrestrained in the campaign, D&D quickly degenerates into a weird wizard show where players get bored quickly" - E. Gary Gygax
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9 months ago ::
Oct 12, 2012 - 2:01AM
#10
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If used as a rule of tumb, then it already exists. In 4E (used as an example because I happened to have the book nearby) if you want to bump a monster from lvl 5 to lvl 6 you would take a peek in the DMG: Boosting a monster’s level is easy. Just increase its attack rolls, defenses, and AC by 1 for every level you add. For every two levels, increase the damage it deals with its attacks by 1. The monster also gains extra hit points at each level, based on its role
So.. if a player is under a curse that gives -1 to all checks and damage.. then that player is according to that about one lvl lower as a monster... if the same character had a +3 sword, then that's about 2-3 extra levles.
As long as CR is calculated in some way for monsters, using the same basic rule for players should give a DM enough information to make a good call on encounter balance.
A more detailed and exact measurement of character power would be harmful to the game I think..
If it's about encounter building, use the CR rule of thumb..
If it's about really assessing the actual powerlevel of a character... then I think it's the wrong way to go.
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