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    • MattBeck

      MattBeck shared an article.

      Magic Items in D&D Next www.wizards.com
      July 2, 2012 at 3:59pm
    • MattBeck

      MattBeck shared an article.

      Cartography www.wizards.com
      June 21, 2012 at 11:41am
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      2 / 42
      EldradWolfsbane
      EldradWolfsbane
      Nothing is as bad as the 3rd edition Forgotten Realms Sourcebook. MOST OF THE TOWNS AND CITIES DESCRIBED HAD NO MAPS. The 4th edition was just as bad! It sucked IMHO.
      You must have MAPS of ANY TOWN DESCRIBED! With a few hotspots of the area.
      Now look at FR 2nd edition AD&D almost every city or town had a simple map. The DM could really get us into those worlds.

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      August 24, 2012 11:37 PM PDT
      Chiguayante
      Chiguayante
      The ONE thing I would love to see from D&DNext as far as maps go is for you to hire Brandon Kruse (dandddoodles.blogspot.com/2009/07/fallcr...) to do your maps. These are amazing and the best example of D&D maps I've ever seen. If all of the city/town maps were by Brandon then I'd be very very happy.
      September 12, 2012 9:47 AM PDT
    • MattBeck

      MattBeck and Tinaquatic are now friends.

      Tinaquatic
      June 20, 2012 at 5:14pm
    • MattBeck

      MattBeck posted to Thramzorean's forum thread on the Real Adventures group.

      Forum Topic: Tangled Webs - OOC Chat
      June 20, 2012 at 5:13pm
    • MattBeck

      MattBeck shared an article.

      Rule-of-Three: 06/05/2012 wizards.com
      June 5, 2012 at 10:21am
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      2 / 120
      Zhandra
      Zhandra
      I like the racial archtypes created by racial penalties as well, but my playgroup is full of oldschool players anyway, so regardless of what the rules say, we never have Elves with 16+ Constitution; its just lore that we'll never let die. So whether or not they include the racial penalties in the mechanics, they'll always show up when ya want 'em to.
      June 9, 2012 6:46 PM PDT
      KarmothSteadybow
      KarmothSteadybow
      Floating bonus for humans: sounds pretty good. Bonuses in every stat as well? Not so much. I think it would serve the archetype of the adaptable, "everyone's unique" human better to have multiple floating bonuses (probably with a limit of +2 -- +3 at the most -- per stat) than to have static, across the board +1s. Humanity's adaptability comes from the adaptability of each individual, true, but also from the slough of differing abilities found when the race is taken as a whole. Additionally, I...

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      June 13, 2012 11:31 PM PDT
    • MattBeck

      MattBeck shared an article.

      Bounded Accuracy wizards.com
      June 4, 2012 at 12:02pm
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      2 / 476
      PrestonSnow
      PrestonSnow
      I know this is a long shot, since your comment is 5 months old at the time of my reply, but bounded accuracy essentially describes a paradigm shift in the "mathematical engine" that runs behind the scenes. In earlier editions there was this ever-escalating quasi-arms race between the PCs and the DM, with the PCs gaining ability bonuses and attack bonuses every level making it increasingly difficult for the DM to construct challenging encounters. The bounded accuracy system spaces out these...

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      1 person likes this discussion post.
      March 14, 2013 10:00 AM PDT
      Greyson
      Greyson
      Thanks for the input on this, PrestonSnow. Now it makes sense. And you nailed something I do to this day in 4E - "level-up" creatures so they are a challenge to the party.
      1 person likes this discussion post.
      April 3, 2013 9:39 AM PDT
    • MattBeck

      MattBeck shared an article.

      Playtest: DM Packet Overview www.wizards.com
      June 1, 2012 at 4:20pm
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      2 / 232
      Zhandra
      Zhandra
      I have to say, as a long-time DM, I absolutely love DnDNext. All you've done, for our group at least, is taken the exact way we play, and gotten rid of all the garbage from every edition into a simplified bounded accuracy. Provided you completely leave level-based stat scaling out of the equation (aside from damage:hp), you have our entire hoard of geeks eagerly awaiting full-blown content =)
      June 9, 2012 6:57 PM PDT
      Flubmosis
      Flubmosis
      I must say I am so happy with what I have read so far. There are some issues that need to be addressed - The magic (cantrips are a great idea but just too powerful) and dying ( way too difficult to kill a character - there is very little threat). Please do can you now overhaul the public play adopted by WOTC. Hiding D&D in game shops will do as much harm to D&D as this new addition will help it. WE NEED TO BE ABLE TO SPREAD THE WORD TO GAME GROUPS, SCHOOLS and PUBLIC EVENTS.
      June 11, 2012 1:10 PM PDT
    • MattBeck

      MattBeck posted to xanadu's forum thread.

      Forum Topic: Sucking the Fun out of crits.
      May 29, 2012 at 9:10pm
    • MattBeck

      MattBeck shared an article.

      Playtest: First Round Overview wizards.com
      May 29, 2012 at 1:51am
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      2 / 635
      AngryPockets
      AngryPockets
      This is... very awesome. I like the idea of moves you activate when needed. You don't necessarily have to risk wasting a daily power when you might miss, you can just follow up a successful strike with an opportunistic combo. It also clearly separates the fighter's fighting mechanic from the wizard's casting mechanic, which is always activated daily-power style (with a few exceptions, like Feather Fall).
      June 7, 2012 11:41 AM PDT
      LupusRegalis
      LupusRegalis
      "We thought about casting minor spells as the kind of thing a wizard might use around a laboratory that also happened to be useful in a fight. For example, a cantrip used to ignite a torch could also burn a goblin. At the last minute, however, we decided that trying to make that design work would take too long to hit this playtest." - M.Mearls
      This is what I expect from DnDNext. Original ideas that may or may not work, but sound awesome. Give us the chance to playtest it and find out if...

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      June 13, 2012 6:17 AM PDT
    • MattBeck

      MattBeck posted to Reyemile's forum thread.

      Forum Topic: Make Fun Fighters the Default and Boring Fighters the Module
      May 28, 2012 at 10:52pm
    • MattBeck

      MattBeck left a new comment on DnD Next .

      Our playtest was a big success. A few thoughts: * They have _nailed_ the...
      May 28, 2012 at 8:21pm
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      20 people like this site.
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    • GMChris

      GMChris voted in the poll, "Magic properties 2".

      May 23, 2012 at 5:31pm
      1 person likes this poll.
    • MattBeck

      MattBeck added a comment to WotC_Trevor's blog post on the DnD Next group.

      Paladin Design Goals
      A few weeks ago, we shared a high-level overview of the design goals for the...
      May 19, 2012 at 2:47pm
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      4 people like this blog post.
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      2 / 220
      Marandahir
      Marandahir
      Except then You have to sacrifice your background and specialty choices just to approximate that class, rather than having an equal ability to explore different stories within the class as the Fighter, Rogue, Cleric, and Wizard do.
      NO WAY.

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      January 25, 2013 6:22 AM PST
      The_MeatShield
      The_MeatShield
      I think in relation to paragraph 2 above, it would be awesome if a paladin had martial dice to use but instead of straight damage they could be used to provide effects based on deity choice. For example: I follow the edicts of a god of healing and as an option I can spend a martial die on a hit allowing the party member with the lowest HP to gain HP equal to a given modifier.
      February 24, 2013 9:32 AM PST
    • MattBeck

      MattBeck added a comment to WotC_Trevor's blog post on the DnD Next group.

      Skills and Task Resolution
      Since 2nd Edition, the principle methods of character customization lived in...
      May 17, 2012 at 2:02pm
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      1 person likes this blog post.
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      2 / 177
      name_less_one
      name_less_one
      I agree with some observations. One thing that frustrated me to no end in 4ed was that players looked up to "Skills" section of their character sheets as some kind of choice menu.
      Considering that skill system is mostly used out of combat, in roleplaying situations - it felt like it was overly restricting. Furthermore, penalizing party for failures created a situation where players would pass on interesting ideas because their characters are unlikely to make the roll.
      I also didn't...

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      July 22, 2012 10:31 AM PDT
      rghammill
      rghammill
      I think that ability checks could work for all 'skill' checks. But there are two things missing from that basic approach. The first is that some skills really do require learning and, secondly, people can get better with practice.
      But I think it's a very simple prospect to address both while still retaining the same mechanic.
      First is to have a small list of skills that require training (acrobatics, swimming, etc.). There would have to be a mechanic for limiting the number and types....

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      1 person likes this discussion post.
      August 13, 2012 3:16 PM PDT
    • MattBeck

      MattBeck shared an article.

      The Making of an Owlbear www.wizards.com
      May 16, 2012 at 11:44am
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      1 person likes this external article.
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      2 / 226
      Zustiur
      Zustiur
      I like concept A the best. The other examples don't show enough 'bear'. See also Curse of the Asure bonds - my original introduction to owlbears. www.gamebanshee.com/curseoftheazurebonds...
      July 26, 2012 2:58 AM PDT
      Carmajinn
      Carmajinn
      I like the anatomy and the "mammal snout" of the second design but the exposed skull looks too wrock.
      While I always though of it as a creature of mystical (almost fey) origin it also was clear to me that it is "of the forest". I might be totally wrong.
      The skin on the legs and feathers on the body should feel to the touch like an owl but the feathers and pigmentation of the skin should look different in each forest depending on foliage and season. Thinking of this I wouldn't be...

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      July 31, 2012 10:55 AM PDT
    • MattBeck

      MattBeck shared an article.

      Rogue Design Goals www.wizards.com
      May 8, 2012 at 11:56am
    • MattBeck

      MattBeck shared an article.

      Rule-of-Three: 05/08/2012 www.wizards.com
      May 8, 2012 at 1:40am
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      2 / 132
      The_Wargolem
      The_Wargolem
      Choose to wear less armor, pray for laser spells, choose feats that make your laser spells better and bolster your defenses, etc. Play a WoW priest if you want all of those choices made for you.
      My second-favorite cleric of all time was a 2E priest of Liira in the Forgotten Realms. I put a decent score into dex, got bracers of defense and a ring of protection, and threw all of my weapon profs into martial arts from the Fighter's Handbook. I loved my dance-fighting spellcasting chick.

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      May 10, 2012 3:08 PM PDT
      Shamanstarr
      Shamanstarr
      actually, I have no problem at all with that. If they want to make a Build, Background, or Theme of "Priest" "Follower of" or "Holy Chosen of" or whatever, I'm down with that as a solution.
      Keep the Cleric as the general pantheist, and if you want to be a follower of a specific god, with holy granted powers, take the appropriate customization to do it off your base class. Nothing wrong with the so-called "feat-tax" there either, as your trying to step into more than one set of shoes, that's...

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      1 person likes this discussion post.
      May 10, 2012 4:51 PM PDT
    • MattBeck

      MattBeck added a comment to WotC_Trevor's blog post on the DnD Next group.

      Wizard with a License to Kill
      Some of Rob’s latest blogs have described a possible approach to D&D...
      May 4, 2012 at 2:31pm
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      2 / 61
      Avric_Tholomyes
      Avric_Tholomyes
      I have mixed feelings about Backgrounds and themes... I feel that they are miles ahead of what D&D has done in the past. But then, I think back to what other systems do:
      The system Mutants & Masterminds, a Point-buy d20 based Superhero system, has a source-book for using it in a Fantasy setting. I don't particularly like using it for that, since it just wasn't really built for that scale, but one thing that the sourcebook did impart to me is that it made me begin to question why...

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      June 25, 2012 11:51 PM PDT
      Rablin
      Rablin
      I've never liked the mechanic of multiclassing but the theme / background sounds like a better fit for simulation than suddenly learning to cast spells or wield divine power. A more subtle way to customise a character than change its direction completely.
      July 9, 2012 11:50 AM PDT

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      Gallery Photo
      May 2, 2012 at 8:05pm
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    • MattBeck

      MattBeck uploaded a new photo.

      Gallery Photo
      May 2, 2012 at 8:05pm
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