In the foothills of the Blackpeak Mountains, where Lake Windrush feeds into the Windrush River, lies the town of Threshold. By rough estimate, the local population is 5000 souls, give or take, and is under the benevolent leadership of Baron Sherlane Halaran, a Patriarch in the Church of Karameikos. The town appears large for its size, due to a law enforced by Baron Halaran that prevents the building of houses within 50 feet of one another; as a result, it is filled with widely-spaced homes surrounded by vegetable gardens and livestock pens. The exception to this is on Fogor Island, where the settlement originally began; here, the tenements are close together, and the seamy side of life can easily be found; the town guard does not dare patrol the isle at night.
There are not many laws in the town; those that do exist are meant to keep things peaceful within the city's walls. For example, within the town limits, no arcane magic may be publicly cast and no weapons other than daggers, swords, and staves may be carried; those who prefer other implements of violence are issued a receipt by the well-respected Sergeant Arthol of the town guard, their weapons kept at the town hall for the duration of their visit.
There are several taverns in the town, it being primarily populated by loggers and fishers, people who well know how to drink. It also being a border town — border between mountain and plain, between road and river, between wilderness and civilization — they are also where those who seek to make a real name for themselves, the rare breed called the adventurer, may be known to find employ, by following rumors or keeping an eye (or ear) out for the next job offer.
The scene now opens in one such tavern, the Hook and Hatchet, one of the more reputable in town. For the visitor, they likely find themselves here because the good Sergeant Arthol, keeper of the weapons, heartily recommends to any and all that this is the sort of place they would want to go. For the resident, the sergeant is not the only guard to be a regular at the tavern; thus, it is known for its safety and security. And whether one is hiring or looking to be hired, it helps to know that the odds of you waking up the following day while tied up on some skiff being smuggled toward a country where slavery is not explicitly illegal... well, if you're above board, the Hook and Hatchet is the sort of place for you.
One particular morning, 8 people find themselves in the tavern looking for work. Some of them are there for the hope of finding it; a handful have overheard rumors of possible jobs or adventures. On the wall near the entrance, three want-ads have been posted, telling a prospective hire to check with the merchant Clifton Caldwell, the cleric Aleena Halaran, or the elf-trader Sindar. In the meantime, the eight pass the time in the tavern, looking for better prospects or, perhaps, people with whom they may find some employ.
• The merchant Clifton Caldwell has purchased the Old Antilles Castle, five miles west of Threshold. He has pasted advertisement in local taverns for “Qualified Eviction Personnel.”
• The merchant Clifton Caldwell has purchased the Old Antilles Castle, five miles west of Threshold. He has pasted advertisement in local taverns for “Qualified Eviction Personnel.” • A merchant has been making inquiries about something called “The Rock.” • A missing fighter of renown, Rogahn the Fearless. long missing, is believed alive and working for Baron Hendriks, the Black Eagle Baron of Fort Doom.
• The merchant Clifton Caldwell has purchased the Old Antilles Castle, five miles west of Threshold. He has pasted advertisement in local taverns for “Qualified Eviction Personnel.” • A foreign nobleman who owned a whole fleet of ships was assassinated a week ago in Specularum. The Iron Ring, a secret society of thieves and slavers, is being blamed. • Gnomes are smuggling gems down the river in hollowed logs.
• A renagade cleric named Elwyn has been organizing a large raiding party of orcs three days ride to the east. The Patriarch himself wants it investigated.
• Ad Hominem— Attacking the person's circumstances, not addressing the argument. • Ad Hominem Abusive (Personal Attack)— Insulting the person, not addressing the argument. • Ad Hominem Tu Quoque— Saying the person's inconsistent, not addressing the argument. • Appeal to Authority/Belief/Common Practice/Consequence of a Belief/Emotion/Fear/Flattery/Novelty/Pity/Popularity/Ridicule/Spite/Tradition— Using emotion instead of Fact. • Bandwagon— Use of peer pressure. • Begging the Question— Assuming premises which haven't necessarily been agreed to. • Biased Sample— Using a sampling which may not properly represent the whole. • Burden of Proof— Shifting it to the wrong side. • Circumstantial Ad Hominem— Attacking the person's interests in supporting their argument. • Composition— Assuming that the whole has the same qualities as individual parts. • Confusing Cause & Effect— Assuming that one thing causes another because they appear in conjunction. • Division— Assuming that the individual parts have the same qualities as the whole. • False Dilemma— Assuming that only two options exist. • Gambler's Fallacy— Assuming the odds have changed because of past occurances • Genetic— Assuming a perceived defect in the origin of a claim is proof of a defect in the claim. • Guilt by Association— Attacking others who agree with the claim. • Hasty Generalization— Assuming a quality based on too small a sample size. • Ignoring the Common Cause— Assuming there is no outside cause of two connected things. • Middle Ground— Assuming the midpoint of two extremes must be correct. • Misleading Vividness— Assuming a colorful anecdote outweighs statistical evidence. • Poisoning the Well— Using unprovable claims about the person instead of addressing the argument. • Post Hoc— Assuming that something caused something else simply because it happened first. • Questionable Cause— Assuming that one thing causes another. • Red Herring— Using irrelevant evidence to divert a discussion. • Relativist Fallacy— Asserting that a claim may be true for some but not for the speaker. • Slippery Slope— Assuming the inevitability of one event based on another. • Special Pleading— Claiming exemption without justification. • Spotlight— Assuming individuals that get the most attention to be indicative of the whole. • Straw Man— Misrepresenting the opposing argument. • Two Wrongs Make a Right— Justifying something unethical/immoral as response or pre-emption to something else unethical/immoral.
Response to those who like to compare 4e to a Video GameShow
Also, I find that the "D&D 4e is like an MMO" argument is often a sign of someone who is deliberately being obtuse and/or is potentially ignorant of actual MMO play. As someone who only ended a 6-year World of Warcraft addiction a year ago, I can say that most of your bullet points actually don't match up to the truth of it.
In D&D 4e, you can choose a hybrid, you can choose to play one class as though it were another (people played Warlords as Bards frequently, when the edition first came out, and Rangers were refluffed to Monks), you can focus your class on its secondary role (a Warlock who is more controller than striker, for instance), you can multiclass, and you can create a particular concept (a mounted lancer, a charger, etc.) within the mechanics via feats, choice of powers, and choice of skills. You decide which set of stats you use--are you a Chaladin, Straladin, or Baladin?--and you have ultimate influence on how your character turns out in the end. Yes, powers require you to be using a particular weapon within your class's available selection, but the powers are not themselves tied to the gear. Powers tied to weapons or armor are typically powers that belong to the item, not to the character class that's most likely to use it.
Yes, there are only so many powers available, and these will be what you do in battle; this is all that the designers created. Yes, there is a time-frame in which they can be used; this has always been the case, even in the days of Vancian casting. Yes, there are suggested builds, but you can routinely ignore those if it pleases you; the only parts of a class you have to take are the class features, and even those have options at this point. But the only way that this can be considered at all conflatable with MMO character building/playing is if you are deliberately ignoring all of that.
In WoW, you choose a class and you're done. No multiclassing or hybridization, no way to mimic one class with careful building of a different one. There is a firm dividing line on what is a WoW class. No secondary roles or creative concepts, either; you're going to be what the class sets out to be, and that's it. You'll always have the same stat allocation as another of your class, because you get set numbers as you level up, and you've got at best four options--and that's only the Druid class--to build, and if you plan on running dungeons, particularly heroic level ones, or raiding, you'd better not even think of deviating from the single defined best build on the talent tree for what you want to do. It was only recently, with the complete tear-down and recreation of talent trees for Mists of Pandaria, that there was a concept of there being anything but the one best build that people who calculated such mechanical advantages (the folks on Elitist Jerks, for example), and the people who did things like achieve "World First" at various top-tier raids set precedent for.
Also, no class will ever not have a specific set of powers; all Priests in WoW have the same baseline, with deviation only based upon their talent tree specialization, where a D&D4e player could take whatever power in their class pleases them. Any Retribution Paladin will be the same as any other in terms of powers, because that is what a RetPally is. Any Assassination Rogue will always have the same powers as another, etc. All powers are always on specific cool-downs, but will always be there when they start a battle, where a 4e PC might enter an encounter with only At-Wills, or without their Daily powers due to what plot has done up until that point. Furthermore, no power that is not already specifically tied to an item will ever "require" you have that item, to my recollection. Classes get all their powers based on class; gear only gives bonuses to stats, possibly cuts down cast times for abilities or cooldowns, grants temporary extra bonuses to stats (the latter two most often on the raid tier equipment), and on rare occassions an extra power that may or may not be valuable, as some are only special effects instead of valuable abilities.
Most honest/open response on why DDN needs to be InclusiveShow
I've always felt it is in the best interests of D&D to be as inclusive across the playerbase as they can be and still have a game. I've never felt though that making a game that was inclusive within a group was very useful or even desirable. DM's and players can decide amongst themselves what options or restrictions they want for their games. I tend to lean to the DM to make most of those decisions but again that is a group specific thing.
Having said that. I get the distinct impression that there are a lot of players on these boards who come from groups that generally ruled against their own desires. It's almost like they are an oppressed minority from a gaming perspective. I also get the impression that they tend to advocate against things that if available their fellow group members might like and vote them down on.
Do a lot of you feel this way?
Just for clarification...here are some examples... 1. Alignment restrictions as an option. 2. Alignment Mechanics 3. Martial healing 4. Races being included or not.
I know my perspective is not that I often play at tables where my likes are not represented. Instead, my perspective comes from the many years I spent being a bad DM. I was a bad DM because my guidance came from the books, and the books gave bad advice. The books told me that alignment was a useful approach to roleplaying, so I went with it even though it felt kind of weird to me. Now I know that, at least in my style of running games, alignment destroys rp. I trusted the books to give good advice, and it messed up my game. Now I'm much more mature as a DM, so I know how to take advice with a grain of salt. And I still learn new stuff every session I run.
I don't want future DMs to go through my problems again. There's a big enough DM shortage as it is. DMing well is hard.
The biggest thing I had to unlearn in my process of becoming a good DM was the idea that the game is a simulation of a world. I understand many DMs prefer a more simulationist approach, although I am always skeptical simply because I would have said the same thing until I learned and grew as a DM. This doesn't mean their approach is completely invalid, but it still gives me a personal twinge when I see a regression back to 3e era sim style gaming.
I also have noticed many groups where one or two old-school players run a whole group's playstyle because the newer players aren't even aware there are other ways of doing things. The newer players tell me stories of things they hated in the session, and I end up explaining to them how those things they hate are very fixable, and in fact are fixed in the newer edition of the game their older players have told them is terrible.
In regard to things like martial healing, I don't think it's necessary for it to be in the game for the game to be fun. However, the attitude that says martial healing is terrible and shouldn't exist is an attitude that, to me, reveals a wrongheaded approach to the game. Therefore, my fight for it to be an option is to help legitimize the more narrative approach that I think is what most players want, but many don't know is possible, because they've never been exposed to it.
Pendilton has only been in town a few days, and finds life in the human town a little distressing. The big people seem to pay him no mind as they hurry about, near bowling him over at times. None seem to have the time to stop and listen to a tale or a song about the exploits of Pendilton Gravel-toe, Beast-slayer of Swamp-Bottom Glade... Except for at the tavern. The Hook and Hatchet to be precise. Pendilton has made a habit of hanging around that establishment, making friends where he can. Advertising himself as a hero-of-sorts has lead to a few leads for work... which he desperately needs if he's going to carry on eating and drinking in the tavern...
One job for, "qualified eviction personnel." Which Pendilton is not... unless they need to evict a bear! One for something called, "the rock." He wants to ask around about this one. And another for a missing fighter, that may be hold up in a place called Fort Doom...
Despite his theatrics, Pendilton is beginning to feel rather small in the lands of the big folk. But, he's decided he can't go back to Swamp-Bottom Glade until he's made a name for himself... Otherwise, his wife would never let him hear the end of it!
Pendilton can be found in the tavern at all times, smoking his pipe, and badgering the patrons for information about "the rock." Later in the evening, he indulges in cheep wine and sings, dances, and tells old halfling tales to the amusement (most would say annoyance) of the patrons.
Dimitri sits with his feet propped up on a nearby, unoccupied chair. He is still waiting for the effects of the previous night's alcohol-induced sleep to wear off, so he is making but little small-talk. Ever-vigil, however, his eyes mark everyone in the tavern. Familiar faces and strangers alike are given a once-over by the thief. He sighs loudly, resting his head against the back of his chair. He has grown so tired of this town and its constant drudgery of day-to-day sameness.
Sighing again, he stands and walks over to the wall. Perusing the want-ads, a name catches his eye: Clifton Caldwell. From his years in this town, he thinks the merchant's name might be familiar to him, but he's never willing to commit to anything this early. He might have to check up on this one...a merchant looking for hired hands could be an easy mark.
A barmaid yells over to him, "Whisper! Here's your food!"
The thief looks over to her as she sits down the scantily-laiden platter at the table he just vacated. He nods to her and goes back to his table, sitting down to his meager meal and dispatching it promptly. "Maybe after breakfast something'll come along", he thinks to himself. He looks at the other patrons of the Hook and Hatchet, nodding slightly to himself. "Surely some of these people will be up for some excitement".
Race: Human Class: Thief Age: 23 Height: 6’9” Weight: 160 lbs. Hair: Brown and short Eyes: Green Complexion: Very fair-skinned Mannerisms: Soft-spoken. Not one for a lot of small-talk. Loves to gamble. Inquisitive. Alignment: Neutral Languages: Thyatian, Traladaran, Neutral Social Standing: Wealthy/Untitled Breeding: Mixed Hometown: Homestead Armor Class: 4 = Leather armor (7) - DEX bonus (3) Hit Dice: d4 Hit Points: 4 Level: 1 XP: 0 XP Needed to Advance: 1,200
Dimitri was born on Fogor Isle, which connects to Threshold via two bridges. Unlike the open, comfortable streets of Threshold, Fogor Isle is dirty, close, and not unknown to danger. Dimitri’s mother, Isabella, was a seamstress, and her clothing was quite popular in Threshold. As such, she made a modest amount of money dealing across the bridge. His father, Gregor, was a stone mason by trade. When Dimitri was seven, his father died in an unfortunate accident. He was across the bridge in Threshold repairing some stonework on the town hall, and the aging scaffolding he was standing on broke out from under him, plunging him well over fifty feet to the cobblestones below. Dimitri had no brothers or sisters, and with the fair amount of money his mother’s craft brought in, lived a decent childhood amidst the squalor of Fogor Isle. His mother never remarried, nor did she seem to ever want the company of another man. She still lives in the same small house on Fogor Isle even though she has accumulated enough wealth to move across the bridge to Threshold. Dimitri often pays her visits, sometimes multiple times per week.
When Dimitri was about 11, he had several good friends that he was constantly with. They would play in the streets of Fogor and, occasionally, sneak across the bridge to Threshold. These trips were usually regretted, as one guard or another would see the disheveled, dirty youths and menace them back across the bridge. As the years went by, some of Dimitri’s friends, wishing for better than they could hope to have on Fogor Isle, turned to crime. Dimitri tried his hand at pick-pocketing on several occasions, and found that he had a particular knack for it. In time, the small group of friends had become a fairly talked-about band of thieves. On one particular night, the band found themselves across the northern bridge in Threshold. They had been loitering around a tavern and had attempted to pickpocket a portly, greasy man of infinite wealth. Naturally, the man caught the thief in the act, and called for the guard. As a small regiment of guardsmen approached, one after another of Dimitri’s friends were detained…all but him. When his friends finally served their sentences in Threshold’s dungeon and returned to Fogor, they met with each other to catch up. Dimitri’s friends described him the night they were caught as being “gone like a whisper”. That was the night Dimitri attained the nickname “Whisper”, and would be that name that he would be called every day after.
Time went by, as they say, and Dimitri’s and his friends grew up. Some got married and moved away. Some joined up with the loggers nearby. One ended up being exiled for his crimes, and one ended up dying for his. Dimitri spent more and more time in Threshold and the surrounding areas. He occasionally found employment doing odd jobs, but his main source of income was his mother’s decent earnings and his own thievery. His talents at skulking and relieving others of their money were good and he took advantage of that fact.
These days Dimitri can usually be found in one of Threshold’s or Fogor’s taverns. He likes to gamble and drink, and the various taverns and inns give him ample opportunities for both. He is always happy to meet new people, and is usually very friendly and easy-going. He sometimes longs for the days of his youth, where he and his friends would go on petty adventures that usually led to more trouble than they were worth. He has often thought of striking out on his own, leaving his familiar area and seeing new places, but complacency and familiarity bind him more than he realizes. Maybe all he needs is a decent opportunity and a few friends.
In the far corner of the Hook & Hatchet sits a very ragged-looking man in torn and stained clothing. His eyes dart around the room, eyeing every movement made by the other patrons and listening in to their conversations. He is not a regular at this particular establishment but he is very accustomed to the beverages served.
Pavel - the man's name - is not usually even in the mainland portion of town, having lived for many years on Fogor island. There he passes the days by as a drunk, homeless beggar - a man incapable of making a real living ever since magic was outlawed in town and lacking the money or willpower to move away. The once-thriving practicioner of the arcane arts has since been reduced to what others see as a madman, shouting at passersby in the Fogor slums and scavenging for whatever he can get his hands on. On rare occasions he comes across something valuable, and it is those times (like now) when he ventures into the more well-off part of the city to satisfy his taste for fine wines - a taste he has kept since his days pre-poverty when he could satisfy it easily and regularly.
One of the very few ways Pavel can still earn money on his own is to listen to the rumors and gossip of those around him and sell it for a price. It isn't hard to do, what with his reputation as being a madman, and his proficiency in many languages helps out as well. It is this form of work that causes him to come to the mainland for drink when he can afford it instead of staying on Fogor island. There are always better rumors here, always more people to listen to. He continues to listen and watch, hoping someone will drop a piece of juicy info that will let him afford some of the more expensive wines that he so loves to drink.
Ollie pushes the door open with a bit of force. She pauses for effect, then stomps into the tavern. She knows that all eyes are on her, which is exactly what she had intended. She moves to a table near the center of the room and slams her hammer down on the table top. Climbing up into the chair -- Why don't they ever make anything dwarf size??-- she nods as a waitress approaches her. After ordering breakfast and a large mug of ale, she sits idly looking everyone in the eyes who dares to stare. Her older brother Havin said it was the best way to get people to respect you. If you didn't act like prey, they wouldn't move against you.
Ollie was definitely not prey.
She hopes this will be the day she can prove it by getting a job. She needed to make some money since her father had cut her off when she left home. The rest of her savings had gone into armor and weapons, so she'd be earning her keep with them. She'd heard that a renagade cleric named Elwyn has been organizing a large raiding party of orcs three days ride to the east and that the Patriarch himself wants it investigated. She was hoping to meet with a contact today in order to be a part of the group that would be doing the job.
The waitress raises an eyebrow at Ollie's throwing hammer on the table. "You do know that you're not supposed to have one of those...?"
... 15 minutes before....
As the dwarf woman was coming through the gates, the sergeant was called over by one of the other guards. "Sir, we're having a slight situation...," the man on duty explains once his superior officer is there. "She won't surrender her weapons."
"Ain't weapons. They're tools."
Sergeant Arthol sighs and shakes his head. "No, ma'am. They're weapons." He taps his finger on the sign posted just inside the gate. "You can have a sword, or a dagger, for self-defense. But no weapons."
She looks straight through the man. "Ain't weapons. They're tools."
The good sergeant takes a deep breath. "I'm sorry, ma'am, but that's clearly not the case. If you wish to press this further, you're welcome to keep going on; Kelvin's one way, Penhaglion's the other, and either would probably be more likely than to debate the subject with you than I would."
She crooks a finger at him, and he bends lower, curious as to what she could possibly have to say to convince him otherwise. Which would be, "I'm a dwarf. We don't do swords. We don't do daggers. We do hammers and axes. Now, if you want to take away everything I have, and let an otherwise defenseless woman out onto the streets of your city, and hope that nothing happens to me — or, as an alternative, send a lone woman out into the countryside, where all sorts of highwaymen might take advantage.... My father might be interested to know why you'd done that to his daughter. And that might put undue attention on you. So... I suggest that you allow me to keep a hand on my tool, because I wouldn't want anything bad to happen to you otherwise."
The sergeant stares the dwarf straight in the eye for several silent moments. Then, without turning away, he says, "Corporal, issue the gentlewoman a receipt for her warhammer and spears, and one throwing hammer. She may keep hertool," he motions toward the second throwing hammer hanging from her hip, "which she can use to make a dagger in her free time." He stands back up, then gives her one more glance. "I suggest you find your way to either acquire proper weaponry, or find somewhere else to be, before you draw further attention to yourself, young lady."
• Ad Hominem— Attacking the person's circumstances, not addressing the argument. • Ad Hominem Abusive (Personal Attack)— Insulting the person, not addressing the argument. • Ad Hominem Tu Quoque— Saying the person's inconsistent, not addressing the argument. • Appeal to Authority/Belief/Common Practice/Consequence of a Belief/Emotion/Fear/Flattery/Novelty/Pity/Popularity/Ridicule/Spite/Tradition— Using emotion instead of Fact. • Bandwagon— Use of peer pressure. • Begging the Question— Assuming premises which haven't necessarily been agreed to. • Biased Sample— Using a sampling which may not properly represent the whole. • Burden of Proof— Shifting it to the wrong side. • Circumstantial Ad Hominem— Attacking the person's interests in supporting their argument. • Composition— Assuming that the whole has the same qualities as individual parts. • Confusing Cause & Effect— Assuming that one thing causes another because they appear in conjunction. • Division— Assuming that the individual parts have the same qualities as the whole. • False Dilemma— Assuming that only two options exist. • Gambler's Fallacy— Assuming the odds have changed because of past occurances • Genetic— Assuming a perceived defect in the origin of a claim is proof of a defect in the claim. • Guilt by Association— Attacking others who agree with the claim. • Hasty Generalization— Assuming a quality based on too small a sample size. • Ignoring the Common Cause— Assuming there is no outside cause of two connected things. • Middle Ground— Assuming the midpoint of two extremes must be correct. • Misleading Vividness— Assuming a colorful anecdote outweighs statistical evidence. • Poisoning the Well— Using unprovable claims about the person instead of addressing the argument. • Post Hoc— Assuming that something caused something else simply because it happened first. • Questionable Cause— Assuming that one thing causes another. • Red Herring— Using irrelevant evidence to divert a discussion. • Relativist Fallacy— Asserting that a claim may be true for some but not for the speaker. • Slippery Slope— Assuming the inevitability of one event based on another. • Special Pleading— Claiming exemption without justification. • Spotlight— Assuming individuals that get the most attention to be indicative of the whole. • Straw Man— Misrepresenting the opposing argument. • Two Wrongs Make a Right— Justifying something unethical/immoral as response or pre-emption to something else unethical/immoral.
Response to those who like to compare 4e to a Video GameShow
Also, I find that the "D&D 4e is like an MMO" argument is often a sign of someone who is deliberately being obtuse and/or is potentially ignorant of actual MMO play. As someone who only ended a 6-year World of Warcraft addiction a year ago, I can say that most of your bullet points actually don't match up to the truth of it.
In D&D 4e, you can choose a hybrid, you can choose to play one class as though it were another (people played Warlords as Bards frequently, when the edition first came out, and Rangers were refluffed to Monks), you can focus your class on its secondary role (a Warlock who is more controller than striker, for instance), you can multiclass, and you can create a particular concept (a mounted lancer, a charger, etc.) within the mechanics via feats, choice of powers, and choice of skills. You decide which set of stats you use--are you a Chaladin, Straladin, or Baladin?--and you have ultimate influence on how your character turns out in the end. Yes, powers require you to be using a particular weapon within your class's available selection, but the powers are not themselves tied to the gear. Powers tied to weapons or armor are typically powers that belong to the item, not to the character class that's most likely to use it.
Yes, there are only so many powers available, and these will be what you do in battle; this is all that the designers created. Yes, there is a time-frame in which they can be used; this has always been the case, even in the days of Vancian casting. Yes, there are suggested builds, but you can routinely ignore those if it pleases you; the only parts of a class you have to take are the class features, and even those have options at this point. But the only way that this can be considered at all conflatable with MMO character building/playing is if you are deliberately ignoring all of that.
In WoW, you choose a class and you're done. No multiclassing or hybridization, no way to mimic one class with careful building of a different one. There is a firm dividing line on what is a WoW class. No secondary roles or creative concepts, either; you're going to be what the class sets out to be, and that's it. You'll always have the same stat allocation as another of your class, because you get set numbers as you level up, and you've got at best four options--and that's only the Druid class--to build, and if you plan on running dungeons, particularly heroic level ones, or raiding, you'd better not even think of deviating from the single defined best build on the talent tree for what you want to do. It was only recently, with the complete tear-down and recreation of talent trees for Mists of Pandaria, that there was a concept of there being anything but the one best build that people who calculated such mechanical advantages (the folks on Elitist Jerks, for example), and the people who did things like achieve "World First" at various top-tier raids set precedent for.
Also, no class will ever not have a specific set of powers; all Priests in WoW have the same baseline, with deviation only based upon their talent tree specialization, where a D&D4e player could take whatever power in their class pleases them. Any Retribution Paladin will be the same as any other in terms of powers, because that is what a RetPally is. Any Assassination Rogue will always have the same powers as another, etc. All powers are always on specific cool-downs, but will always be there when they start a battle, where a 4e PC might enter an encounter with only At-Wills, or without their Daily powers due to what plot has done up until that point. Furthermore, no power that is not already specifically tied to an item will ever "require" you have that item, to my recollection. Classes get all their powers based on class; gear only gives bonuses to stats, possibly cuts down cast times for abilities or cooldowns, grants temporary extra bonuses to stats (the latter two most often on the raid tier equipment), and on rare occassions an extra power that may or may not be valuable, as some are only special effects instead of valuable abilities.
Most honest/open response on why DDN needs to be InclusiveShow
I've always felt it is in the best interests of D&D to be as inclusive across the playerbase as they can be and still have a game. I've never felt though that making a game that was inclusive within a group was very useful or even desirable. DM's and players can decide amongst themselves what options or restrictions they want for their games. I tend to lean to the DM to make most of those decisions but again that is a group specific thing.
Having said that. I get the distinct impression that there are a lot of players on these boards who come from groups that generally ruled against their own desires. It's almost like they are an oppressed minority from a gaming perspective. I also get the impression that they tend to advocate against things that if available their fellow group members might like and vote them down on.
Do a lot of you feel this way?
Just for clarification...here are some examples... 1. Alignment restrictions as an option. 2. Alignment Mechanics 3. Martial healing 4. Races being included or not.
I know my perspective is not that I often play at tables where my likes are not represented. Instead, my perspective comes from the many years I spent being a bad DM. I was a bad DM because my guidance came from the books, and the books gave bad advice. The books told me that alignment was a useful approach to roleplaying, so I went with it even though it felt kind of weird to me. Now I know that, at least in my style of running games, alignment destroys rp. I trusted the books to give good advice, and it messed up my game. Now I'm much more mature as a DM, so I know how to take advice with a grain of salt. And I still learn new stuff every session I run.
I don't want future DMs to go through my problems again. There's a big enough DM shortage as it is. DMing well is hard.
The biggest thing I had to unlearn in my process of becoming a good DM was the idea that the game is a simulation of a world. I understand many DMs prefer a more simulationist approach, although I am always skeptical simply because I would have said the same thing until I learned and grew as a DM. This doesn't mean their approach is completely invalid, but it still gives me a personal twinge when I see a regression back to 3e era sim style gaming.
I also have noticed many groups where one or two old-school players run a whole group's playstyle because the newer players aren't even aware there are other ways of doing things. The newer players tell me stories of things they hated in the session, and I end up explaining to them how those things they hate are very fixable, and in fact are fixed in the newer edition of the game their older players have told them is terrible.
In regard to things like martial healing, I don't think it's necessary for it to be in the game for the game to be fun. However, the attitude that says martial healing is terrible and shouldn't exist is an attitude that, to me, reveals a wrongheaded approach to the game. Therefore, my fight for it to be an option is to help legitimize the more narrative approach that I think is what most players want, but many don't know is possible, because they've never been exposed to it.
Ollie eyes the waitress. "Already tol' the sergeant. Ain't a weapon. It's a tool. He agreed," she says in a girlish, high pitched voice. She nods, as if that were that and any simpleton should be able to see it plain as day. She had no idea what the big deal about weapons was in the first place. Folks ought to be able to protect themselves. She was sure the criminals didn't obey the standard or register their weapons, so why should she have to leave herself unarmed?
The waitress was still staring at her, her eyebrows raised in surprise. Ollie frowned. She often got that look when she opened her mouth. Her brothers told her that it was the piping quality of her voice. Ollie thought it was rude to stare, so she frowned more. The waitress cleared her throat as if embarrassed and went to place the dwarf's order.
Leraje sat with his back to the wall, sipping on a cheap wine. Well, it wasn't that cheap of a wine, but it tasted like one, to him. He looked over the bar and smirked at the trouble the dwarf was having. His own longbow was with the sergeant, and he had a receipt for it. If it kept the peace, Leraje could take care of himself with just his sword. Taking another sip of wine, he wondered idly whether something interesting would come up soon, or if he'd end up talking to Sindar about work.
Seriously, though, you should check out the PbP Haven. You might also like Real Adventures, IF you're cool.
Knights of W.T.F.- Silver Spur Winner
4enclave, a place where 4e fans can talk 4e in peace.
As Ollie looked around the room, she noticed one of those long, thin elves looking back at her and smirking. She leveled a look at him and frowned. She thought it was rude of him to smirk at her situation. She knew how to deal with rude people, having nine older brothers who excelled at rudeness. "Oi! Thin man! Mind yer business," she snapped in her high, piping voice. She nodded, as if equating the elf with a man was payback enough. She laid her hand on the hammer just in case he was too thick to understand her meaning though.
Alana sits at a corner table, away from the general hustle-bustle of commoners.She had no such luck with the city guards. Because of her faith, she is sworn not ot use edged weapons, so she couldn't keep her mace with her. However, if push comes to shove, the priestess will just break some wood and make a club. When someone named Whisper's food arrives out front, she looks to see the recipient, making eye contact with him briefly before turning back to her own food. She looks at the plate of mediocrity and grimaces. You'll find no such slop in Simulacrum, she says to herself, checking the table for condoments to place in her food, to make it a little less bland. As she waits for her drink she notices a dwarf call out an elf from across the bar. Shaking her head at the both of them, she remarks "Lowly commoners..." and scoffs. She takes a hearty swig of ale.
"It's dangerous to go alone, Jerk-wads!" (Borderlands 2)
“All right, I've been thinking. When life gives you lemons, don't make lemonade! Make life take the lemons back! Get mad! I don't want your damn lemons! What am I supposed to do with these? Demand to see life's manager! Make life rue the day it thought it could give Cave Johnson lemons! Do you know who I am? I'm the man whose gonna burn your house down - with the lemons!” (Portal 2)
