The Gaming Den

@ OP One of the reoccurring themes that I've had for 20+ years is being compelled to kill my friends/family based on a completely absurd string of pseudo-logic (though, in-dream, the logic seems unassailable). I always feel extremely bad about having to do it; but my conscience is always clear, as i...

I disagree, wotmaniac. I think each method (binary pass/fail and Yes, But) produce sufficiently distinct outcomes and experiences at the table to be treated as distinct concepts. This can be specially seen in games that make use of discrete structures of Yes,But (like AW and SW:EotE), instead of on...

So, where are the 80s "Yes, But" games you cited earlier ? "Yes. but" is nothing more than a particular implementation of "Degrees of Success", which saw abusive use in Chart RoleMaster. AD&D also got quite a bit of mileage out of DoS (with an explosion of it in 2n...

The only way variable TNs can even hope to work is if you make the TN shift monotonic, rare, and universal. For example, they shift only when you advance tiers. Yes. I see a shift in TN as defining tier advancement. Could maybe somehow associate trading shift for smaller dice pool? (I'm just spit-b...

@ Lago: Here's my 2¢ -- While Frank, et.al., may vehemently disagree with me, I think that there may be something to do with variable TNs. I've toyed around with this a little (not enough to say anything definitive); and one conclusion that I've come to is this: it'll be tricky to dial things in, an...

Hicks, you are not reading properly, Drawing a hidden object is not a use of the Sleight of Hand skill, and therefore cannot be reduced. Hiding the blade can be reduced, drawing it is not reducible, because it is not an application of the sleight of hand skill. This is correct. I would also add (fo...

speaking of potential art prices .... When I used to hang out with the chick that did all the work for TPA (a Savage Worlds licensee), and the quote she gave me for a "friends, but I gotta eat" price was in the $50-$500 range (depending on size and color). And she also expected to maintain...

Huh ... I guess there is that.

Are Swift/Immediate Actions covered in this "new and complete" printing?
Without that, there's no other way to classify Quicken other than Free.
If they are covered, then this is clearly a copy/paste error.

I'm not sure if you're serious or not; but just in case: ____________d12_____________ / ____________d4_____________ HD = barbarian, dragon, undead ____ wizard, sorcerer, fey weapons = greataxe _____________ at least couple of dozen Misc. = ______ ??? ______________ Every cool-down timer, 80% of Sum...

If avoiding ties on the die roll is a major concern, then you probably shouldn't be using anything smaller than a d100. As for tie-breakers, the mini-conversation of "what's your initiative mod and dex", "5 and 11" "3 and 16" is actually quicker than just about anything...

shadzar wrote: sadly the other retards on here arent capable or readin English [... wall of egregious structural errors ...].

Apparently, there are also retards incapable of writing properly.
So who's to blame?

ishy wrote:Well keep in mind that a higher initiative means you'll be playing more.
And not only will you be getting more turns, you'll also get more meaningful turns.

That seems a bit tautological .... not sure what the point is in relation to d12-vs-d20.

My players are still talking 1.5 years later over a very small change I like to make to giants -- simply swapping out a couple of the completely worthless feats for Quick Draw and Rapid Shot. Completely changes the nature of the encounter(s) .... they are now stricken with mortal fear anytime I thro...

The main issue I have with Initiative, specifically, using the d20 is the completely unnecessary range of differences. Even assuming = initiative modifiers (or perhaps especially ), a 20 point gap between initiative counts is just gratuitous, and serves zero function or purpose. If your initiative ...

The main issue I have with Initiative, specifically, using the d20 is the completely unnecessary range of differences. Even assuming = initiative modifiers (or perhaps especially ), a 20 point gap between initiative counts is just gratuitous, and serves zero function or purpose. If your initiative m...

While I think that TheFlatline's idea is good in theory , I'm leaning towards K's point, because: a) never underestimate the power of stupid people in large groups (especially on the internet), and b) WotC's propensity to fuck shit up. Hell, even when they're not ficking it up directly, they've even...

*total (temporary) topic switch ('cause my question doesn't warrant its own thread)* Does it strike anyone here that a d20 is a little much for Initiative checks? It just seems to me to be more finely granulated than is necessary (and gratuitously so). Wouldn't a d10 or d12 be more than sufficient? ...

So presumably, the NPC section should be some sort of community wiki, rather than a book written and printed by people who thought the game was balanced. Well, if the choice is between a giant database of NPCs that DMs will never be capable of reading and using [...]. Could you explain why the bold...

It gives the versatility, sure, but you've still got the action economy to worry about. Um .... I say again, Automatic Quicken + an arbitrary # of iterations of Multispell. Ya know, since we're talking about throwing out prereqs. You thought the nova-tactic was a problem before :P Um, well, ... I g...

Might cause some issue with Wizard 1/Cleric 1/Mystic Theurge 4; being two 5th level casters in a 6th level world. It gives the versatility, sure, but you've still got the action economy to worry about. Um .... I say again, Automatic Quicken + an arbitrary # of iterations of Multispell. Ya know, sin...

OgreBattle wrote:How about 2d10 vs d20?
I remember reading here that bell curves make modifiers a bit wonky, but I forgot what the pros and cons of that was.

Unearthed Arcana covered this.

Design player classes. Then make it so that it's balanced around player parties fighting each other. NO, because they are not supposed to. the majority of things will be "monsters", not players or NPCs. the toughest will be NPCs, but you need to design around the common factor, which is y...

d20 ≡ d100 in increments of 5. That's 3rd-grade math, no matter how you slice it.
d100 simply gives bigger #s, to make people feel better.

virgil wrote:Not sure how Divine Metamagic is all that much of a boost in this instance; I'd be more worried about Automatic Quicken Spell.

With enough Turn attempts, the 2 start to become indistinguishable.
Oh, and don't forget about Multispell.