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5 months ago ::
Dec 27, 2012 - 5:31AM
#21
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Date Joined:
Nov 14, 2009
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I hear that a lot. But it's not the way I feel, personally. For me, the sweet spot for 3.5 was from about level 5 to level 10 or so. But for 4e, I mean, they put so much work and detail into the Paragon Paths that I bought that was logically where the majority of the game should be spent and designed the campaign accordingly. From the beginning, the Shadovar, Bregan D'Arthe, and the Zhentarim were major players, and I eventually added an Epic level platinum dragon to the mix, too, as one of the team's employers. So, bottom line, there were high-level plot points to blow off, and I think my Players enjoyed the fact that their PCs were more than just adventurers, that they had a place in the world (the game was/is called The Sellswords of Luskan, and it's defining concept was that the PCs became the city's new High Captains). But just as we were getting where we'd been aiming for four years, the mechanics started becoming untenable.
*sigh*
Anyway, I'm all for higher level play. I personally like to be able to ride a story out to its logical conclusion, and that, to me, often requires being able to change the world, leaving it different from the way you found it.
DannoE"You may say I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one"
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5 months ago ::
Dec 27, 2012 - 8:56AM
#22
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Date Joined:
Jul 15, 2008
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I love taking campaigns to their conclusion but, man, now that I think of it, I don't think I've had that happen since the early-ish 90s. Some of it has to do with the complexities of adulthood - career, family, etc. I think just as much as to do with the weight of the systems since, too. I used to run 2-3 year campaigns through to the end because the greatest burden upon me was that of weaving intricate tales and involving plots. That was far from being a chore, though, as it was fun and invigorating. I was motivated to think up the next twist in the tale.
3.5E was the first time, though, that I hit significant DM burnout. Where I simply dreaded having to sit at a table and prep for gameplay. The biggest contributor to that feeling, for me, was the bloat in the rules. They add so much, and most not very seamlessly, that I went from the narrator of the adventures to the adjudicator of the rules. I spent more time trying to maintain control of game balance and application of the rules than I was in actual campaign development. That was no fun.
4E was better, but combat and encounter development became a chore due to the sheer volume of properties to keep track of plus the general feeling that encounters were supposed to be tightly controlled conflicts with very a well balanced collections of challenges/opponents. About 18 months ago, I tossed aside the need-to-balance-encounters rule and just started playing 4E for fun, more organically, and it helped a ton. Ad-lib play returned, simple sandbox nights reemerged, and roleplaying returned to some prominence. I was told out here repeatedly, though, that I was no longer playing 4E as intended because I didn't follow the structure laid down by the developers (4-6 encounter days, encounter xp budgets, etc.). I always found that kind of humorous.
Still, though, even with some streamlining, encouragement for fast play, and refocus on the campaign, I couldn't avoid the weight of combat in 4E in the end. The mechanics still take center stage over the actions of the actors.
I'm hoping 5E reverses that trend myself.
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5 months ago ::
Dec 28, 2012 - 12:41PM
#23
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Date Joined:
Nov 14, 2009
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I know exactly what you mean. I'm an engineer, and I even LIKE the math, but when it gets too much for me and a bunch of pro physicists...
DannoE"You may say I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one"
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4 months ago ::
Jan 23, 2013 - 2:38AM
#24
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Date Joined:
Nov 14, 2009
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Well, I finally went ahead and re-started my long-running PbP game over on the Myth-Weavers forum. Now it's "Revenge of the Sellswords of Luskan" rather than just the "Sellswords of Luskan." In any event, we made our former characters again in Next as best we could, de-leveling them from 14th Level to 7th. So far, so good.
As always, your thoughts and feedback are more than welcome.
DannoE"You may say I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one"
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