@KRyan when you did that, you sounded contradictory because you didn't recognize that your previous sentence was easily misunderstandable or you didn't care to tell him. Having explained the thing like you later did to BESW would have caused less confusion in LitheOhm.
Troll: The Provoking will teach you the real ways of trolling, in a fun game-like format (that you should never actually play). See especially "Skarka Clone Wars" on page 3.
@Heather Different GMs have different approaches to prep. I've usually found it best to design the setting and the people. The people have plans and goals, but I don't.
The more I'm invested in something particular happening with the game, the more I wind up forcing unfun things on the players when they don't conform to my ideas.
@Heather Please flag as unwelcome in the community. That's appropriate for those questions and will auto-delete the question without need for a mod if enough such flags are thrown.
I think debating whether it's offensive or spam or what is splitting hairs when it's obvious that he's intentionally trolling. Just get it flagged and gone.
Once I saw a photo of a One Direction movie promo somewhere in Wales where it used some... "[redacted] trumpets" name to define them. UD clarified the meaning pretty well.
I apologize with whales for calling them a nation.
I was browsing rpg.se when I found an answer by Brian suggesting to use a program called CBLoader to get new things into the offline Character Builder for D&D 4e. Of course new things should be homebrew, for adding things published later by WotC would be a violation of their DDI content. For this exact reason people around the net are reclutant about explaining how to setup your offline character builder for installation. Is there anything you can do on this chat to help me?
Since we're gonna group up again for a new game (and maybe we won't be using new material) I was wondering if we could get the program on par with the errata
I don't think they're making new ones, but the old offline compendium doesn't look like it's on line with all the errata since they continued upgrading things
@kryan after having walked away for a bit (and reading the following discussion) you are correct in the sense that it could mislead future readers. Editing to clarify my experience
@RavenDreamer Nice, my group did something similar but we couldn't quite tweak it the way we wanted, ended up going back to 4e. Would be interested in trying your system when it's done.
@ObliviousSage Well, I've been having folks play with it for a few months now. Basically, the sticking point is getting all the rules compiled and actually written out.
@RavenDreamer: This is what my group came up with.
@RavenDreamer Legend is a rebuild of 3.5, and a pretty good one at that. The only reason my group isn't using it is that it's noticeably more work than 4e to make level-appropriate foes.
@RavenDreamer ruleofcool.com <-Here, it's free so you're not out any money to read up on it. Legend contains non-combat rules but the wonderful thing about them is that they're easy to ignore.
@kryan not relenting on the neg energy comment though :) 1. It's a commonly overlooked type of energy damage, *de facto*. The lack of immunity applies. Consider it contrary to Comp. Arc.'s *repair light damage*, which works on constructs (a type of object) 2. Can't you crit on an *inflict* spell, since it requires an attack roll? It doesn't fall under either of the two immunities listed for objects. 3. Only bludgeoning and slashing *weapon* damage typically damage objects. Spells may affect them normally, within each guideline
@RavenDreamer - Anyway, I think Legend'd be good if you're looking for tactical combat; the balance of the mechanics essentially revolves around offering meaningful tactical choices and the system mastery is about learning the action economy and making synergistic use of your teammaters
Well, part of the incentive to make my own system was because I didn't like how D&D (and Legend, by the look of it) handles them. e.g. "Dump Stats", and Ability Scaling.
A big part of my system is that all 6 abilities are useful to any character.
@Lord_Gareth Well, in 4e specifically, you got something like +8 ability bumps over the course of the player career, 2 abilities at a time. However, the design of the classes and combat mechanics meant that you were extra incentivized to increase your primary and secondary stats to the exclusion of all else. This meant at least one (and sometimes 2!) of your defenses did not scale, meaning you would always be hit by those attacks. It also meant that there was a strictly optimal way to build
the character, and many suboptimal ways to do so -- no sorcerer could afford a high CON, for instance
@RavenDreamer Most Legend builds do have some ability scores they care less about. However, it helps that the game gives you easy access to minor stat boosters (helps in lower levels), ability score increases (to four different scores so you can shore up areas lagging behind your primaries) and bases saving throws on more than one stat so that you don't accidentally screw yourself.
@RavenDreamer I think you're always going to see that with a level-based system, though. You have a finite set of ability ups and you have to apply them in a targeted way to focus on your core thing.
@AlexP Well, part of the problem is that "HIT" and "DAMAGE" are the same stat. It'd be different if, for instance, you couldn't increase your chance to hit via ability increases, but you could pick between: more damage, qualify for a feat, or more effect from riders.
(Still talking 4E, btw)
@Lord_Gareth Also, Legend has some pretty kickin' art.
@RavenDreamer Part of how Legend avoids this as well is the KAM system - each character has a Key Offensive Modifier that affects attack, damage, most hostile ability DCs, etc, and a Key Defensive Modifier that affects their hit points and armor class.
@RavenDreamer I feel like Legend still has dump abilities but they have less (because 4 abilities get pumped up while leveling) and it's no more the same ones for everyone. But they still are there.
I'm curious, since this is a community that seems to like D&D-inspired games (Legend and Dungeon World, for instance): has anyone read / played / formed an opinion about 13th Age?
(My interest is mainly, erm, academic. But I'm really curious what Tweet and Heinsoo actually think D&D should be like, now. Given that they were responsible for a lot of the actual down-in-the-guts design work for the last two editions.)
@Zachiel The main gimmick is that you create "iconic" NPCs/groups that define a setting and PCs have a relationship with them and their adventures affect their agenda. Like, it's a scheme to make low-level adventures more world-impacting.
@trogdor We did that "learning the arts" challenge not-quite-right. It worked out, but I shouldn't have had you rolling multiple rolls of the same skill.
Like, instead of rolling Lore once for studying history/dogma and once for learning rituals, you should've rolled Lore once, and used those details to describe the minor cost.
Also, I could've done better with the falcon-snatching.
Oh, well.
Next time!
(Among other things, I regularly set the difficulties a point or two lower than I should've.)
The cutest story about Diogenes is that Alexander met him once, on his tour of conquest. And he said, "If I were to be anyone but Alexander, I would wish to be Diogenes." And Diogenes replied, "If I weren't Diogenes, I would also wish to be Diogenes."
So this sounds like some nice questing material. First, 139377 brown rocks to collect (skip that if desired), then kill Ug-Thak, Lord of Wolves, then pilfer the lost staff of Mount Schuler, then obtain the head of the Destroyer of Worlds.
@AlexP Except that Hawkeye deconstructed the trope long before it ever was a trope.
He hangs out with his Indian friends and thinks of himself as their equal in skill because they don't have the heart to tell him that he's only good at sneaking and tracking in comparison to other stupid white guys.
He gets into bizarre arguments about science and philosophy, in which the Indians are regularly shown to know more than he does but he never notices.
He shuns Western society but relies on Western technology (he's famous for his accuracy with a rifle) to survive and make a name for himself.
James Fenimore Cooper wasn't the greatest wordsmith ever, but he had a keen sense of cultural irony and sympathy for the plight of the colonized, long before it was something most people were even aware of.
