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4 months ago  ::  Jan 21, 2013 - 3:02PM #1
cocoasword
Date Joined: Jan 12, 2013
Posts: 103
nexons,

I was just going over the wight.   What struck me was that its energy drain wasn't as cool as it used to be.   I know its a contentous issue, energry drain.   Some like it to do level drain others don't like it to do anything at all.   What I think the game should do is offer difficulty levels for some of these powers like energry drain.    If your playing Dndnext on Hard, then it drains level.   If its on Easy then it does like 5 hp of damage.

What do you think of this crazy idea?   This way the DM can say to the players that the game is on the Hard setting and they have some idea as to what things will be like.

blanger!
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4 months ago  ::  Jan 21, 2013 - 3:10PM #2
chaosfang
Date Joined: May 1, 2009
Posts: 4,881

Jan 21, 2013 -- 3:02PM, cocoasword wrote:

nexons,

I was just going over the wight.   What struck me was that its energy drain wasn't as cool as it used to be.   I know its a contentous issue, energry drain.   Some like it to do level drain others don't like it to do anything at all.   What I think the game should do is offer difficulty levels for some of these powers like energry drain.    If your playing Dndnext on Hard, then it drains level.   If its on Easy then it does like 5 hp of damage.

What do you think of this crazy idea?   This way the DM can say to the players that the game is on the Hard setting and they have some idea as to what things will be like.

blanger!



Who's nexons? What's blanger? I do not entertain slang, mind you, so your lingo is baffling, to say the least.

Level drain's "coolness" for you is a logistics nightmare for me.  For me I'd rather have energy drain at worst grant me disadvantage to all my attacks and saves, as well as grant enemies advantage when attacking me.

Simpler is better in this regard. 

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Oct 3, 2009 -- 12:36AM, MrCelsius wrote:


If you're crossing the street and see a city bus barreling straight toward you with 'GIVE ME YOUR WALLET!' painted across its windshield, you probably won't be reaching for your wallet.



I Don't Always Play Strikers...But When I Do, I Prefer Vampire
Stay Thirsty, My Friends


This is what I believe is the spirit of D&D 4E, and my deal breaker for D&D Next: equal opportunities, with distinct specializations, in areas where conflict happens the most often, without having to worry about heavy micromanagement or system mastery.

What I hope to be my most useful contributions to the D&D Community: DM Idea: Collaborative Mapping, Classless 4E (homebrew system, that hopefully helps in D&D Next development), Gamma World 7E random character generator (by yours truly), and the Concept of Perfect Imbalance (for D&D Next and other TRPGs in development)

Pre-3E D&D should be recognized for what they were: simulation wargames where people could tell stories with

The Best Answer to "Why 4E?"

Fun vs. Engaging
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4 months ago  ::  Jan 21, 2013 - 3:20PM #3
cocoasword
Date Joined: Jan 12, 2013
Posts: 103
what the honk is a logistics?!?

I think you answered my question in the positive.
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4 months ago  ::  Jan 21, 2013 - 3:40PM #4
Backspace
Date Joined: Sep 8, 2009
Posts: 152
Can you better explain your reasons for wanting a difficulty setting? Do you envision a higher difficulty to involve monsters which have more HP and/or higher attack bonus and/or higher damage? Or do you want the ability to have unbalanced powers on otherwise standard monsters?

I do not like the former idea just because the amount of work to create one monster would increase dramatically (i.e. you need a stat block for each difficulty level). If it's the latter and you want lasting and/or devestating effects, like a wight's level drain or a Medusa with instant petrification I can understand that desire. When a monster has stats, attacks and saving throws like every other monster, it's easy to lose some of the epic nature. But rather than make complex rules to incorporate these concepts into the game, I would want to see guidelines to explain to the DM how he can introduce a unique encounter with unbalanced powers.
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4 months ago  ::  Jan 21, 2013 - 3:45PM #5
Dwarfslayer
Date Joined: Oct 25, 2010
Posts: 2,073
I personally liked 3E's negative level mechanic for energy drain. it was something you could apply relatively quick, while still being something people definiteyl didn't like to get hit with.

A don't feel we need difficulty sliders, so much as maybe a "hardcore" designation for certain monsters informing the DM not to use em if they're playing a game with casual PCs.
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4 months ago  ::  Jan 21, 2013 - 3:46PM #6
OleOneEye
Date Joined: Nov 17, 2003
Posts: 1,991
Under the DDN model, this would take the form of the customizable options sidebar, and would almost certainly raise the level/experience point value of the critter.
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4 months ago  ::  Jan 21, 2013 - 4:01PM #7
chaosfang
Date Joined: May 1, 2009
Posts: 4,881

Jan 21, 2013 -- 3:20PM, cocoasword wrote:

what the honk is a logistics?!?


Logistics.

Just to note, I'd rather have something that is challenging (stimulating as a result of difficulty) rather than something that is just difficult.  Amping up difficulty does not necessarily raise the challenge of a scenario or opponent.

Spoiler: Show

You are Red/Blue!
Take The Magic Dual Colour Test - Beta today!
Created with Rum and Monkey's Personality Test Generator.

You are both rational and emotional. You value creation and discovery, and feel strongly about what you create. At best, you're innovative and intuitive. At worst, you're scattered and unpredictable.

D&D Home Page - What Monster Are You? - D&D Compendium


Oct 3, 2009 -- 12:36AM, MrCelsius wrote:


If you're crossing the street and see a city bus barreling straight toward you with 'GIVE ME YOUR WALLET!' painted across its windshield, you probably won't be reaching for your wallet.



I Don't Always Play Strikers...But When I Do, I Prefer Vampire
Stay Thirsty, My Friends


This is what I believe is the spirit of D&D 4E, and my deal breaker for D&D Next: equal opportunities, with distinct specializations, in areas where conflict happens the most often, without having to worry about heavy micromanagement or system mastery.

What I hope to be my most useful contributions to the D&D Community: DM Idea: Collaborative Mapping, Classless 4E (homebrew system, that hopefully helps in D&D Next development), Gamma World 7E random character generator (by yours truly), and the Concept of Perfect Imbalance (for D&D Next and other TRPGs in development)

Pre-3E D&D should be recognized for what they were: simulation wargames where people could tell stories with

The Best Answer to "Why 4E?"

Fun vs. Engaging
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Cancel
4 months ago  ::  Jan 21, 2013 - 4:27PM #8
cocoasword
Date Joined: Jan 12, 2013
Posts: 103
I wouldn't do the thing in each power description.   Alot of stuff can be described once in the front of the book, Energry Drain being one of them.
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4 months ago  ::  Jan 21, 2013 - 4:50PM #9
kezzek
Date Joined: Jun 22, 2008
Posts: 1,198

Jan 21, 2013 -- 4:27PM, cocoasword wrote:

I wouldn't do the thing in each power description.   Alot of stuff can be described once in the front of the book, Energry Drain being one of them.




I think this is a great idea.  Various special abilities could have campaign specific power levels.  I know that some people hate the idea of each group customizing their rules but I find it very stimulating.

THe idea that D&D must be played one way all around the world doesn't make sense since some groups love 2E, some love 3E, and some love 4E.  Better to allow cutomization to fit the wants of each group.

The simplest approach should be the standard in my mind.  All modules should build off a very stripped down model of D&D.

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4 months ago  ::  Jan 21, 2013 - 4:54PM #10
Miladoon
Date Joined: May 24, 2012
Posts: 1,543
Hard and gritty, FTW.

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