The Gaming Den

It's a different design approach than 3e and 4e (and maybe even 5e) where people feel the need to spell out so many things in the sake of balance (though balance still doesn't really work AFAIAC and just gets into the way of a great story). This is the biggest load of bullshit. Here is why balance ...

(An aside before I get back to it: ADoMCreatorPerson, please don't feel I'm trying to shit on your product. I don't think I or anyone here has. We discuss game design and I think there's lots of teachable moments and things worth discussing in retro fantasy games. I'm sure that people can and will ...

What's the action economy like? D&D3 style Standard/Move/Swift(immediate)? Basically one action (which could mean multiple chance to hit for melee or ranged combat) and one movement. No grid, no fiddly rules, most of the details left to the GM. There are some free actions (like speaking or some...

@TheCreatorofADOM It's coming through loud and clear to me that you want combat to play fast, and that's a noble goal that I totally agree with. My experience is that combat is not usually anyone's favorite part of an RPG session. Your reasoning for fractional attacks is that they make combat faste...

I'm curious how the game is supposed to have 36 levels and claim that each level is relevant. The honest answer is: Relevance comes in difference shades. Basically I have tried to pick up where 3e left off (and was much better than 1e and 2e where you sometimes at best got just HP and maybe a to-hi...

I actually *do* like tactical combat in D&D - but not when it drags on forever. You need some interesting tactics and stuff in order to keep it... interesting. I do agree with this, but... Trips and feints and such do keep combat interesting, but you shouldn't have fifteen flavors of them. Thro...

Now, obviously you do want to always keep the veteran AD&D grognard party in mind since they're your ideal audience for this kind of game, but don't fall into the trap of designing for the optimal party or assume that the game will be played in certain ways without playtesting and/or math-hamme...

How complex would you say your game is? How long is a player turn expected to last (does it very greatly between swinging halberds and slinging illusions?), how many rounds is a 'level appropriate' encounter suppose to last? How long does it take to make a lvl 1, mid levle, max level character? How...

And they allow for much nicer power scaling? Feedback welcome! If you want iterative attacks, I like the Trailblazer system It goes... Earl levels: 1 attack at no modifiers Later: 2 attacks at -2 modifier Later: 2 attacks at no modifiers It's does the "I attack more at high levels" thing,...

A Fighter's 'Attack Action' should just be a single die roll, with level appropriate variable-damage and a pool of points that they can spend each round as the player sees fit. Let the fighter spend his pool to increase Armor Class, Hit Probability, Damage Output, Apply Status effects like trip or ...

What exactly do you dislike about them? I personally e.g. find them much less troublesome than all the fiddly modifiers you get from dozens of special feats and minor powers starting with 3e? I can't even tell if you are being serious here. The "3/2" attack progression was terrible and pe...

A Fighter's 'Attack Action' should just be a single die roll, with level appropriate variable-damage and a pool of points that they can spend each round as the player sees fit. The logic for giving warriors multiple attack rolls at higher levels is the same as it was 45 years ago, and is a reasonab...

Thomas Biskup tells me that the Martial Skill Point you get at each level is a bigger deal than it sounds - being roughly equivalent to a bonus feat in D&D 3E. I'm not sure I buy this ("Single Weapon Skill" is a stackable weapon focus / weapon specialization) but it does put this clas...

Looking closely at the Fighter sample-pages, I'm surprised that fractional iterative attacks would be a design decision for a modern RPG. What exactly do you dislike about them? I personally e.g. find them much less troublesome than all the fiddle modifiers you get from dozens of special feats and ...