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    • WotC_Bruce is now friends with compliant_screenname and 4 other people.

      May 18 at 11:43am
    • Paladin Design Goals
      A few weeks ago, we shared a high-level overview of the design goals for the...
      May 18 at 9:41am
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      1 person likes this blog post.
      @WaltKovacs,
      I think this is an area that is often easily abused, though usually it is inadvertantly "misused" either due to inexperience or through a lack of understanding the deep implications of what this means.
      All too often a DM or a player would use such a power when talking to someone, and by detecting evil, they would instantly assume the person was lying (as all people who are evil must by definition lie all the time right?), and from that point would treat the person as if...


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      May 22, 2012 4:07 AM
      @TRBand/FutureScienceJesus,
      I am not too sure about Paladin's as themes, but that is more dependant on what the other themes are. If themes are being used like they were in Dark sun, wher the theme was something like "trader", which actually defined the function they had in the real world, then I think Paladin fits in nicely.
      If however themes are things like "striker" and "slayer", then these kinds of themes reflect a focusing of choices towards the types of actions a person wants to...


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      May 22, 2012 4:10 AM
    • Goblins Care Only About Your Axe
      I’ve played a lot of D&D lately. But even when using rules prone to...
      May 10 at 9:32am
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      @RadperT: Complicated and simpler are always subjective terms. What is complicated for some is simpler for others.
      May 16, 2012 9:04 AM
      I like how this edition is developing.
      May 17, 2012 5:01 AM
    • Wizard with a License to Kill
      Some of Rob’s latest blogs have described a possible approach to D&D...
      May 4 at 10:42am
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      I think the biggest problem in D&D multiclass design is that the focus has always been on LIMITING players to a certain class role. Players obviously want to push those boundaries, so multiclassing was invented. If backgrounds and themes are optional, I don't see any problem in making this a way to multiclass. Making multiclassing easier to do doesn't make the classes less distinct. (Especially if you preserve classic cookie cutter class roles in the core without background/theme...

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      May 13, 2012 7:21 AM
      Tribble, I think they did say there are more advanced themes perhaps. Something along those lines, like something you can access at level 6 or higher. It could be a choice of continuing to get new stuff in your current theme or picking another for instance. You could delay that pick too.
      May 17, 2012 2:47 PM
    • uploaded a new photo.

      April 30 at 10:03pm
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    • WotC_Bruce uploaded a new photo.

      April 30 at 10:03pm
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    • Resilient Heroes
      Demascus coughed up grit. He tried to spit, but his mouth was too dry. Why...
      April 25 at 1:46pm
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      Please, don't make second wind and healing surges compulsory. Or at least give us an option where we can avoid them. I'm totally against them.
      IMHO, damage should occur less frequently. Characters should be more able to avoid it altogether, thus relying less on them.
      Secondly, magic can heal damage just fine. If you don't have a healer, bring in NPCs, a magic item, a healing potion, a sacred pool, a ritual, something like that.
      Third, first aid can help a little. And more advanced...


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      May 13, 2012 6:49 AM
      +1 to those who have said losing HP should not be the same as being injured. Wounds are debilitating, and losing HP almost never is (until you hit 0). As DM, I usually describe a minor/non-debilitating wound at 1/2 HP ("bloodied") followed by a serious/deadly one at 0, but all other hits are merely wearing down a creatures stamina or setting it up for the hit.
      I'm not a huge fan of healing surges, mainly because I don't like that they run out. It often feel like there's no...


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      May 15, 2012 6:49 AM
    • Imagination, the Grid, and Points Between
      When I first started playing D&D oh so many years ago, fights with monsters...
      April 11 at 3:12pm
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      1 person likes this blog post.
      I agree with Nalehw. Go for it, allow all manners of combat, from TotM to grid & minis, allow folks to use them in different parts of a scenario -hell, even in different phases/areas of the same fight!- and give suggestions on how to get the most advantage out of them and how to avoid pitfalls or lessen disadvantages. You can even devote rules modules or Dragon/Dungeon articles to even more variants. Don't compel people to use all methods, or any method as for that. And make situations and...

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      May 12, 2012 2:59 AM
      Oh, and encourage communication between players too. Really. Social contract, feedback, the whole shebang. When everyone speaks up there are less misunderstandings, less shattered hopes, less disappointment -and since we're having fun you benefit directly of course.
      May 12, 2012 3:03 AM
    • Crypt of the Ninja Queen
      D&D’s beating heart is its wealth of adventures. Recall titles such as...
      April 4 at 1:25pm
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      1 person likes this blog post.
      Geographical wonders are really memorable -- WHEN THERE ARE VISUAL AIDS. The most amazing sight across all planes will fall short of intended effect unless the DM is a true artist with speech.
      One aspect that was left out (or maybe was considered part of roleplaying) is MEMORABLE CHARACTERS. That's one of the things that my players think back to the most. The characters they encountered, both enemies and allies. So I would have to say that's definitely one of the biggies, and I wasn't sure...


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      April 26, 2012 9:57 AM
      Short adventures are great. They can be whipped up when people decide to play D&D on a whim and concluded in a single session. Cool!
      I also have a soft spot for adventure paths and similar 1st to x lvl arcs, but remember to give strong hooks for the characters, ideas and concepts the players can work on so that the experience can be more personal and intense (Scales of War needed this badly, but you never even told the DMs what was gonna happen next, and it comes off as a sprawling,...


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      May 12, 2012 1:58 AM
    • Smudgius voted in the poll, "Raise Dead".

      March 30 at 1:31pm
      1 person likes this poll.
    • Smudgius voted in the poll, "Do you like Rob’s proposal?".

      March 28 at 12:49pm
      1 person likes this poll.
    • Complexity vs. Ease of Play
      The great thing about 4th Edition is that the character choices provide...
      March 23 at 10:27am
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      I do not think classes should be different in complexity. However, I think characters should be. I want to be able to play a complicated fighter with lots of special maneuvers, and a simple wizard that blasts a single target for magic damage every single turn. There's no reason to make entire classes inaccessible for players just because you want to vary up the complexity level.
      April 27, 2012 4:29 PM
      Keep it simple in the core rules and give us options to dial up the complexity however we want in the rules modules, mainly. So you make it both accessible to most folks and customizable to different tastes. Remember that flexibility will be your greatest asset if you really wanna satisfy the broadest base possible.
      May 9, 2012 10:04 AM
    • Smudgius voted in the poll, "Ease vs. Complexity".

      March 23 at 11:32am
      1 person likes this poll.
    • final9 voted in the poll, "Iconic Cleric Poll".

      March 15 at 1:31pm
    • Iconic D&D Clerics
      This will be my last blog about clerics for awhile, so let’s end on a...
      March 15 at 12:46pm
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      I knew I had forgotten something!
      Kill alignment.
      Kill it with fire.
      Sure, leave it as an option if you want, but make it strictly optional. Alignment has been one of the biggest sources of problems since the beginning of the game, when you could only be Chaotic, Lawful or Neutral. Sure, it might be useful short-hand... but it often becomes a steady source of migraines and philosophical debates best left to, yep, philosophers.
      Don't give clerics a requisite alignment, give...


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      May 9, 2012 10:14 AM
      BTW, D20 Modern allegiances were a much better short-hand. Consider using them instead. Or if you're too fond of alignment, consider making both optional rules. They could use some polishing, but allegiance Asmodeus tells you a lot more already than alignment evil, for instance. And it's less likely to start arguments, that's for sure.
      May 9, 2012 10:21 AM
    • final9 voted in the poll, "Sneak Attack".

      March 8 at 1:28pm
      1 person likes this poll.
    • Smudgius voted in the poll, "What is your favorite class from across the editions?".

      February 29 at 1:33pm
    • Favorite Class
      Let me tell you about my character. I’m playing a star pact warlock...
      February 29 at 12:20pm
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      I love Psionics. I've long been a Paladin fanboy, but mostly for the Paragon Defender aspect. With the inclusion of the Battlemind, I have moved beyond the religious zealot and am now blissfully hacking and bashing my way through the D&D world with not but the power of my mind! :D
      While I do love how the Battlemind already works, a possibility I'd like to see would be a variation of the Psion. Meaning instead of the Psionic Defender fighting with melee weapons and armor, he armors...


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      April 26, 2012 2:25 PM
      Aww... none of my favorite classes were mentioned..
      Typically, I like playing the "Mystical/magic Swordsman" style stereotype that doesn't rely on being granted power to a deity, pact patron, or anything like that.
      So like 3.5 Duskblade, pathfinder Magus, or 4e Swordmage.
      though, my absolute favorite was 3.5 incarnate from Magic of Incarnum, maybe with 5e's rules it won't be hard to re-impliment Incarnum into the newer Edition, might prove more effective there if magic items are...


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      May 7, 2012 11:34 AM
    • Smudgius voted in the poll, "Holdings and followers, if used at all, should be a backdrop for the characters’ further adventures.".

      February 23 at 11:37am
    • Smudgius voted in the poll, "A DM should decide whether holdings and followers belong in the game.".

      February 23 at 11:37am

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    About Me

      About Me: Author, mixed martial artist, science groupie, stumbler through life's thorny briars. My touchstone is at http://www.brucecordell.com
      Wizard Book Lines:
      Dark Sun
      Forgotten Realms
      Other D&D
      Likes: jujutsu, kickboxing, reading, writing (novels & games), gaming, astronomy, astrophysics, biology, space science, politics, ecosystem conservation, OS X, health and longevity, alternate energy, animal welfare

Comments


    I appreciate your friendship

    privilegium
    September 9, 2010
    6:26 PM

    I love how you and Chris both seem to be into mixed martial arts. Is this a requirement for staff now? Best, Tom P.S. You might be interested in this idea in the DDI forums: community.wizards.com/go/thread/view/758...

    [Edited By Moderator]

    Sands666
    November 8, 2009
    8:07 PM

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