10
Nov
Rath’s Letters, Part II.
More of Rath’s letters from the Grand Campaign.
Tags: Dragon, grand campaign, Griffon, pathfinder, RPG, Spaartha, Tantathia
Posts Tagged ‘RPG’
I write you this letter from Queen’s Landing. I’ve just returned here from the Barony of Halswood in northern Staenland, after concluding the business your last letter requested my companions and I deal with.
Tags: grand campaign, pathfinder, Ranger, RPG
19
Oct
Rath’s Letters, Part I.
Rath’s letters from the Grand Campaign
Tags: campaign journal, Fantasy, pathfinder, Ranger, RPG
So we’re six adventures into the Grand Campaign. We’re playing with <http://paizo.com/pathfinder> – and thus far, we like it a great deal.
I’ve noticed, however, a certain discomfort for the late 3.5 material. Core books, Unearthed Arcana, and the ‘Complete’ books I’m fairly comfortable with – as for the rest … not so much.
Tags: classes, D&D 3.5, Fantasy, Kingdoms, Low Fantasy, RPG, splatbooks
So, as I mentioned in a previous post, I’m running my first 4e game soon. I’m not 100% sold on it, just like I’m not 100% sold on 3.5. But, I do have some serious questions I need to ask before I go forward.
- How hard is it for a character to die in 4e? To me, with all the checks and healing surges, it seems nearly impossible. That seems to really rob the game of any sense of danger.
- Do the limited number of ‘paths’ make it difficult to truly ‘customize’ a character? (i.e. do all Fighters feel alike?)
- Are the number of given options in combat overwhelming or freeing compared to 5th ed? Do they eventually get tedious?
- Do the healing surges, in practice, really mean that you’re never carrying around any damage?
- Is there anything I should know about the learning curve? Any beginner’s mistakes I need to look out for?
Tags: 4e, advice from readers, D&D, RPG
Another idea that I have had for an Ideal RPG is a critical stystem. Crits should hurt. Yes, dealing massive amounts of damage does hurt, but in an abstracted HP system, the damage is just eventually healed anyway. In my opinion, it was always more fun when we played a system where a crit meant something (i.e. Warhammer RPG or Mechwarrior).
Crits should have lasting effects in game, that aren’t easy to fix. The critical could sever an artery, cost a player an eye or leg, or scar his face. This may mean lasting repercussions to the character, or at least disadvantage until they could be properly healed (what if clerics couldn’t fix all damage immediately? That may be a topic for another post).
Tags: crit system, ideal RPG, RPG
So the band of heroes isn’t acting very heroic? They’ve told the old King to go rescue his own daughter? They’re starting bar fights because they won’t accept the quest and they’re getting bored?
It’s time to bring in the Mentor.
Tags: Campaign, Game Master, RPG, Theatrical
Every system and edition has its strength and weaknesses. In particular, D&D 3.x was good at individual optimization, and 4e is good at group optimization. But, it still seems that there is room to better simulate what is possible in real life, without getting bogged down in details, tables, and dice rolls.
So, Wolfgod and I came up with a few things we would eventually like to see in a game system. These may be eventually made into a system; we’d have to hash out some statistics first. For now, it is just a pipe dream. Here’s a smattering of our ideas: Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: ideal RPG, magic system, RPG
15
Oct
Fears of 4e
This post over at Critical Hits really struck a chord with me. Not because it reminded me of my group’s adoption of 3rd edition. We actually had quite the opposite reaction. For years, we had been playing 1st edition with some 2nd edition tacked on. We only had two Player’s Handbooks, and most of our books were in rough shape. Most of our materials were treated as carefully as the Dead Sea Scrolls.
When 3rd Edition hit, and we saw how good it was, we all bought a copy. Finally, we had enough PHB’s for everyone. It was joyous. There was some initial resistance to 3.5, but after seeing the improvements it made, and the broken things it fixed (remember 3.0 Rangers, anyone?), we eBay’d our 3.0 books and upgraded.
Now, in a little over a month, I am going to try to run my group’s first 4e game.
THE ANCIENT WIZARD has made his best pitch to the surly band of heroes – the noble King’s lovely daughter has been abducted by the villanous villain, and taken back to his lair in the Lavastone Mountains. Will this brave and noble band accept the quest to rescue the fair maiden?
The heroes answer ‘Why should we?”
Tags: Campaign, Game Master, RPG, Theatrical