tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1790030420507335953.post7092587664298744111..comments2024-03-23T08:21:07.075-07:00Comments on Points of Light: Legends & Lore: Bounded AccuracyDavid Guyllhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16299128722345607123noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1790030420507335953.post-59122445570977917112012-06-27T07:30:28.493-07:002012-06-27T07:30:28.493-07:00I've been chewing on this Bounded Accuracy ide...I've been chewing on this <a href="http://jackstoolbox.wordpress.com/2012/06/09/dd-next-reactions/#aside" rel="nofollow">Bounded Accuracy</a> idea for a while. I still think I don't like it, and the reason I don't like it is that it seems to unnecessarily flatten the system in order to solve a problem we created for ourselves. We have a fetish with "level appropriate" encounters, and yes if you scale everything to the level of the players then everything will scale with the level of the players. We don't "get better" because we're never allowed to see anything that's too hard for us, and to later see the same thing when it's possible or even trivial. Flattening everything "solves" this problem, but now the system loses a lot of the range and variety it had. You can't have the scenario Philo Pharynx posits where the Cleric is jostled by the roll of the ship and the rogue waltzes through the mayhem, and I think that's unfortunate. A Rogue should be able to shine in places he excels.<br /><br />The only place I'm not sure of is the case of Combat. And the fact of the matter is I don't think we need "bounded accuracy" so much as a rational sense of what these bonuses are. <a href="http://jackstoolbox.wordpress.com/2012/06/06/on-the-difficulty-of-actions/" rel="nofollow">For skills</a>, you can get bonuses for being trained (skill ranks), being talented (attribute bonuses) and good equipment(magical or masterwork). You have the same sorts of things for <a href="http://jackstoolbox.wordpress.com/2012/06/19/thaco/" rel="nofollow">hitting targets</a>, but the worst numbers abuses are found in AC -- What does a +18 Natural Armor bonus mean? And why is that a reasonable thing to allow?<br /><br />I'm still chewing on this one and I don't know what the right fix is, but I'm pretty sure Bounded Accuracy isn't it...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1790030420507335953.post-39842328394363541632012-06-06T06:56:53.768-07:002012-06-06T06:56:53.768-07:00In a "normal" game I would not have done...In a "normal" game I would not have done that. Instead I would have made it fairly clear that there were additional sentries and countermeasures in place, so they could make a more informed decision about going back in.<br /><br />I really just wanted to see how well they would stack up against a horde of monsters. :-)David Guyllhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16299128722345607123noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1790030420507335953.post-48619417448875597932012-06-06T01:01:16.898-07:002012-06-06T01:01:16.898-07:00That ogre pasted the wizard and the priest of Pelo...That ogre pasted the wizard and the priest of Pelor. The goblins got the rest... TPK. I am actually loving the feel of this iteration, takes me back to 1e/2e despite some significant differences.StephenBhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07432902871164022909noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1790030420507335953.post-87557060948223100292012-06-05T11:11:51.344-07:002012-06-05T11:11:51.344-07:00One thing i forgot: its already been stated that v...One thing i forgot: its already been stated that very little treatment had been given to the monsters, which is probably why 'the ogre in the playtest "only" dealt like, 2d4 + 4 damage'.Pedro Rodrigueshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06917428306812419774noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1790030420507335953.post-56001438766960994872012-06-05T11:07:12.875-07:002012-06-05T11:07:12.875-07:00The damage, along with HPs, will still be adjusted...The damage, along with HPs, will still be adjusted by "level", so "higher level" monsters CAN kill with just a single strike.<br /><br />It will just be much more difficult that 4th to access what can become a TPK in my opinion.<br /><br />I also think they are too optimistic on the new venues of combat composition: there is a limit on how many monsters a party can fight satisfactorily; personally, i dont find its very interesting to fight 30 goblins on level 6, which on a hit automatically drop, but will damage-ping the party to death (and will require a damage roll for each, instead of the more sensible average damage of the minion-type monster of 4th Ed).<br /><br />The advantage of scalable numbers is that such bonus can be a normal upgrade (which is why a lot of rpgs systems use them); now, a +1 on ANYTHING is a big deal, which takes a LOT of potential benefits for advancement; either the developers are quite creative or they WILL run out of alternative advancement perks pretty quickly (and as more and more classes and races are added,the problem will compound).Pedro Rodrigueshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06917428306812419774noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1790030420507335953.post-55638034475634193862012-06-05T10:15:41.784-07:002012-06-05T10:15:41.784-07:00I'm just glad that we solve the 3.x problem wh...I'm just glad that we solve the 3.x problem where the diversity of skill ranges in the party could be pretty immense. For example - it's a fight on the deck of a ship. The rogue has +25 balance and the cleric has -4. You have to choose between making it impossible for the rogue to fail or impossible for the cleric to succeed.Philo Pharynxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14785954267292226321noreply@blogger.com