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4 months ago ::
Feb 01, 2013 - 8:59AM
#11
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Date Joined:
Jan 29, 2013
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My players are up to level 3 and I have been incorrectly only recharging their MDD on the start of their turn. They have yet to save their dice for Parry, probably because if they don't get hit, they will have lost an opportunity to use this resource. This reluctance may be reasoning behind the designed recharging of MDDs for reactions. During our next session, I will correct this and I expect to see a lot more Parrying. The next question will be whether this imbalances the encounters.
I think that particular issue is remedied by allowing the dice to instead refresh at the end of the turn instead of the start. That'd remove the necessity of needing to guess how many dice you'd need for defense.
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4 months ago ::
Feb 01, 2013 - 9:06AM
#12
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Date Joined:
Sep 20, 2004
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The intention was that it refreshed on the player's turn. Some people interpreted it as 'every turn,' and Mike said that while that may be hyper-technicality correct, it was not the intention. I'd run it as the intention and not as the wording-abuse.
Um, no, Mike did not say that. What Mike said is that they refresh every turn, and you get to use all of them on your reaction. He wrote a number of articles where he explicitly said it was his intention to change the game that way. Then he changed the game that way. Then some people didn't believe that the game had been changed that way. Then Mike Tweeted that the game indeed been changed that way. So, I have no idea where you are coming up with that version of events, but it is flat out untrue.
And yes, they do refresh every turn. There is resource management in the sense of choosing what you want to do on any given turn or with any given reaction. But, you do not have to manage your dice between your turn and a reaction. Personally, I like it the way it is now.
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4 months ago ::
Feb 01, 2013 - 9:45AM
#13
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Date Joined:
Feb 26, 2010
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Thankfully, the newest packet has the clarification for MDD refresh, but it is currently only written for the Barbarian. I imagine, if they want to keep it this way, we will see the clarification propagated throughout the rest of the classes, but make sure to, right now, play all of the classes as if they had this change explicitly written.
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4 months ago ::
Feb 01, 2013 - 10:35AM
#14
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That's one way to look at it. Another would be that the barbarian refreshes more often than the fighter does, making it a differentiator between the classes.
Clearly, we REALLY need the devs to chime in on this issue and actually be clear and thorough this time.
I'm running lengthy playtest sessions several times a week, and my personal view on the subject is that for most classes, the pool of MDDs should only refresh at the start of the player's turn, leaving them with the tactical decision of whether they should save some of their juice for a Parry or a maneuver. In my games, I think letting everyone have all the MDDs all the time would really hurt encounter balance.
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4 months ago ::
Feb 01, 2013 - 11:15AM
#15
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Date Joined:
Aug 24, 2012
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I think that particular issue is remedied by allowing the dice to instead refresh at the end of the turn instead of the start. That'd remove the necessity of needing to guess how many dice you'd need for defense.
If I understand, this would be functionally the same as refreshing at the start of the next player or monster's turn, but easier to understand. I prefer your phrasing. I am going to try this next time and hope for balance. The players are entering a very challenging area and will be outnumbered in combat, so this is a good time to buff them a bit.
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4 months ago ::
Feb 01, 2013 - 11:25AM
#16
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Date Joined:
Jan 29, 2013
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I think that particular issue is remedied by allowing the dice to instead refresh at the end of the turn instead of the start. That'd remove the necessity of needing to guess how many dice you'd need for defense.
If I understand, this would be functionally the same as refreshing at the start of the next player or monster's turn, but easier to understand. I prefer your phrasing. I am going to try this next time and hope for balance. The players are entering a very challenging area and will be outnumbered in combat, so this is a good time to buff them a bit.
Maybe.
What I was trying to say was that you could give a player their pool of dice at the end of their turn, allow them to use it toward reactions, then allow them to use what is left during their next turn. At the end of that turn, they'd then get a fresh batch of dice.
It is not intended to allow a fresh batch for both the action and the reaction.
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4 months ago ::
Feb 01, 2013 - 11:29AM
#17
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Date Joined:
Aug 24, 2012
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Oh, I get it. Turn the timing around, defense first. Intriguing. I like that better, if we're not using a fresh batch for the reaction--which I suspect is the official word now. I wish the devs would chime in and settle this.
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4 months ago ::
Feb 01, 2013 - 11:47AM
#18
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Date Joined:
Feb 26, 2010
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The only other consideration is the start of combat if you are using the idea that MDD refresh at the end of a player's turn.
At the start of combat, you could either rule they get all their dice, or you could rule that they only get 1 die. Limiting it to 1 die at the beginning of combat is like simulating the initial moment of chaos, when people are unsure how to proceed and can't fully defend or attack until they get into a better "flow" as it were. Either way, make sure to mention what happens at the beginning of combat as well =).
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4 months ago ::
Feb 01, 2013 - 1:15PM
#19
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Having all MDD for each turn (whether it is yours, another players or a foe) isn't as OP as it seems. You can only take one reaction a round, so you only get your MDD on your turn and possibly one other turn during the round if you take a reaction.
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4 months ago ::
Feb 01, 2013 - 1:33PM
#20
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Date Joined:
Sep 20, 2004
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That's one way to look at it. Another would be that the barbarian refreshes more often than the fighter does, making it a differentiator between the classes.
Clearly, we REALLY need the devs to chime in on this issue and actually be clear and thorough this time.
I'm running lengthy playtest sessions several times a week, and my personal view on the subject is that for most classes, the pool of MDDs should only refresh at the start of the player's turn, leaving them with the tactical decision of whether they should save some of their juice for a Parry or a maneuver. In my games, I think letting everyone have all the MDDs all the time would really hurt encounter balance.
No. It is not one way to look at it. It is the only way to look at it. Nowhere does it say that the dice refresh once per round. Nowhere does it say that the dice refresh once per your turn. It says only that the dice refresh once per turn. The noun turn is not modified by the adjective your ANYWHERE in the rules. And, the devs have been VERY clear on the issue. Mike Mearls has explicitly stated that you get your full use of your MDD dice pool on a reaction via Twiter. Before changing the rules, he wrote an L&L article where he stated that he was planning to make that change in the future. Reading it any other way is imposing a house rule. At this stage of the game, doing that does not help them with the playtest. People ought to be playing it as intended and then providing feedback on the result.
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