tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1790030420507335953.post6184339874733292507..comments2024-03-23T08:21:07.075-07:00Comments on Points of Light: A Message From ThomDavid Guyllhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16299128722345607123noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1790030420507335953.post-37580345558923823302010-10-07T09:28:04.725-07:002010-10-07T09:28:04.725-07:00Whatever Thom is smoking I don't want any of i...Whatever Thom is smoking I don't want any of it.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1790030420507335953.post-53114659603719544842010-10-07T02:41:45.043-07:002010-10-07T02:41:45.043-07:00Indeed Essentials are still 4th edition, but as Me...Indeed Essentials are still 4th edition, but as Mearls pointed out here and there the presentation is much different<br /><br />Red Box: for a real novice is a great way to try out the game and learn it a little bit by a little bit<br /><br />Slayer, Knight and Thief: are not very different from other classes, still have a lot of option but they are easier to understand to whom think that magic is magic and "un-magical" character shouldn't have "powers" (the fun thing is that in a way the old Martial-Arts from 1st ed Oriental Adventure had all sort of zany things), anyhow as I was saying it's just simpler to think that since your Knight is in a particular martial "stance" that let him do more damage (or whatever) than to think that he got a power<br /><br />the central part of the full Mearls escapist review is were he says that for a newbie player it's easier to play thinking "in character" even for his powers than to have to switch continually from power abstraction to "in character" play<br /><br />best wishes, FabioFabio Milito Pagliarahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13043436735116048822noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1790030420507335953.post-79951086521466948612010-10-04T10:15:34.547-07:002010-10-04T10:15:34.547-07:00The post looks much better now.
Yeah, I was talki...The post looks much better now.<br /><br />Yeah, I was talking about "Come and Get It" - I have some issues with that power. For instance, if you assume that it's a challenge, as the power describes: "you call your opponents toward you and deliver a blow they will never forget", then does it work on deaf enemies? Or mindless undead? Or animals? Or guys that don't speak your language? Or those that have an alien mindset and don't even understand what a challenge is?<br /><br />The power clearly seems to have a magical effect - pulling people over to you, with no attack roll required, I might add. In theory, you could make a case that this would be a good Cha vs. Will attack. But fighters don't do that, because they're not a Charisma class, and they don't have attacks against will. So, he gets to auto-pull guys.<br /><br />I would also note that this problem was continued somewhat in the Essentials line. There are a set of Fighter powers based on the Intimidate skill that have similar effects (although none of them are attack powers)<br /><br />The Warlord's power is equally silly. I don't have a big problem with martial characters being able to push guys a couple squares. In fact, at the epic levels, I think they should be able to throw people around like comic book heroes, because that's epic. However, when a martial character is sliding an enemy around all over the place, it really makes it hard to see it as anything other than a game maneuver.<br /><br />The idea that these powers are narrative control ceded to the player is interesting, and I'll admit that it's a handy explanation, but there's nothing in the books where they explicitly come out and say that. D&D is not a game where narrative control gets handed off. It remains the province of the DM, throughout. So, while your explanations are good ideas, they're house rules. In addition, I've asked players to describe how their characters are pulling these moves off, and they aren't really able to do so. I flat out asked the warlord guy to describe his character's action to me during last Friday's game, because I couldn't think of a way to describe it, and he couldn't either. Maybe I'll try asking the players to do this more in the future. <br /><br />Wizards can take mage powers, and they did get a few power boosts, but the mage is still better in nearly every way that counts. they get an expanded spellbook, and some very good school-specific abilities.Paulhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02001763786534985344noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1790030420507335953.post-76179943612195263472010-10-04T09:06:52.847-07:002010-10-04T09:06:52.847-07:00Sorry about that. I cut and pasted it from MS Offi...Sorry about that. I cut and pasted it from MS Office. I changed the font and labeled each paragraph in case that font is still craptastic.<br /><br />@Paul: I'm guessing the power you are referring to is Come and Get It, which pulls all enemies within 3 squares 2 squares towards you (so long as they can end adjacent to you), and then make an attack.<br /><br />Again, I consider this to be narrative control. The power states that "you call your opponents toward you and deliver a blow they will never forget." From that, I derive that he probably shouts something, makes a lot of noise, or something similar to appear much more threatening, perhaps taunting them. Whatever the case, the monster(s) rush him in an effort to take him down. He isn't yanking them over or magically compelling him. The warlord does something similar, challenging a monster or feigning weakness.<br /><br />I believe that wizards can take mage powers (and vice versa), and I know that wizards got similar power boots (burning hands deals half damage on a miss, for example). I think that stuff like the pyromancer's "ignore all fire resistance" is a bit much.David Guyllhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16299128722345607123noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1790030420507335953.post-70450811086467577992010-10-04T06:17:45.055-07:002010-10-04T06:17:45.055-07:00This post is really hard to read in my browser. I...This post is really hard to read in my browser. I'm not sure if it's the font you're using, but there isn't enough differentiation between the bold and non-bold text. You might try indenting the quotes or using italics or a different font or something.<br /><br />At any rate, I'll throw in my opinion: I like 4e and I like Essentials. I think the essentials line is a great option for people who want to get back some of the old-school feel of AD&D, and I also think it's a nice "lite" option for new gamers and kids. I'm excited that I'll to get to play a knight in an upcoming game. There were some things about some of the 4e powers that never sat well with me. It wasn't just that martial classes had dailies, it was that some of the powers effects really made no sense. My friend's warlord has a power that lets him slide an enemy 5 squares. How does he do that? It's not a push, he can slide him in any direction he wants! The fighter in the same group has a power that lets him pull people towards him from across the map. I'm still not sure how that one works, either. I always picture Scorpion from Mortal Kombat when he uses that power. These are minor issues, but they still bug me when they come up in play. I think essentials will address that.<br /><br />There are a handful of balance issues that seem to pop up with Essentials. Notably, the Mage seems to out-Wizard the standard Wizard in pretty much every way. His at-wills are better, his spellbook is better, and his class features are better. Haven't seen a down side yet. Also, Essentials fighters (both the knight and the slayer) are very, very good when paired with Warlords. The knight has a few powers with mark-like effects that don't actually count as marking, which allows another party member to mark the enemy, causing the "double-jeopardy" problem (there are a few non-essentials ways to do this, too.)<br /><br />There are still a few guys in my group who aren't into 4e. In most cases, I think they feel burned by having a new edition come out so soon after 3.5, rather than have actual issues with the 4e system. Our resident powergamer hates 4e, which he says prevents him from making a "competitive" character (personally, I see this as a benefit.)Paulhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02001763786534985344noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1790030420507335953.post-77358823166764169002010-10-04T01:00:21.961-07:002010-10-04T01:00:21.961-07:00The formatting of this post makes it hard for me t...The formatting of this post makes it hard for me to figure out where Thom ends and your responses begin (or which post he is referring to.) Just saying that I really want to read it but am too dumb to take it apart in my head.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1790030420507335953.post-41741793864534275972010-10-01T21:35:31.061-07:002010-10-01T21:35:31.061-07:00Your experience of leaving D&D and being dragg...Your experience of leaving D&D and being dragged back to it by 3rd edition is the same as mine. I ended up leaving again because it still wasn't good enough, but I certainly wasn't driven away from the hobby by 3rd ed - quite the opposite!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com