The Gaming Den

1198916848[/unixtime]] Now, if you're crazy enough not to use Fractional BAB, those get much higher, but that is unwise to say the least.[br] [br][br]He means "lower."[br][br]Basically he just said "my builds are optimum under my house rules, and if you don't use my house rules, you ...

1198788441[/unixtime]]How important is it to differentiate for the nonmagical applications for each color? How would we do it; martial art style, martial philosophy, emphasis (or lack) on non-martial activities, preferred tools to make such desires manifest? [br][br]As far as I can tell, the colors...

At this point I think it's worth talking more about damage tracks and status effects .[br][br]For one, how can they be reduced to a minimum? I was thinking about how you would implement a 'slow' effect, but 'slowed' is pretty much the same mechanically as 'entangled'. There should probably be a trac...

1198785300[/unixtime]][br]So, why is that a bad thing? Aren’t the Trustees going to spend that money on other things as well (food, luxury items, entertainment, taxes, alimony, etc.)? If so, how is that one of the breaking points of Capitalism? If not, where does the money go? [br][br]Theoretically...

Thinking about automatons has led me to think more about swarms.[br][br]A group of identical creatures large enough to count as the next level up should be able to use group mechanics. They'll get at least one 'group attack', which is a [group] level appropriate (usually area) attack. They are also ...

sigma999 at [unixtime wrote:1198784259[/unixtime]]I thought a zombie was just the body.
So in making a zombie, it's almost like a 2-for-1 deal, when the Necro can steal the soul or make a ghost/specter/(fill in the blank) incorporeal undead as well.

That's exactly the philosophy that causes undead to make no sense.

There's no reason that you can't use both "beacon" and "portal" methods. Beacons are pretty much word of recall , and give interesting options for sneaky guys to help their less sneaky friends. The beacon itself would be detectable but subtle. You'd want to put it out of direct s...

1198771989[/unixtime]] 1198762207[/unixtime]] Some reasoning as to why undead are the quintessential Black race [br][br]I've never understood the desire to make undead a 'race.' Everything undead was previously something more normal that was alive. Undead is a template. [br][br]It depends upon what...

1198714460[/unixtime]]Bugger it, if you have gadgeteer devices actually explode as soon as they are touched by a non-gadgeteer (except special permanent devices that have a hard limit), then you don't actually need to invent grenades: anything you use becomes a grenade when thrown at someone else. ...

Here are a few sample 1st-level Gadgereer ('Inventor', 'Tinkerer') abilities.[br][br] Clockwork spy : This is a little (say, 4" diameter) spider that you wind up. It the records everything it hears to a miniscule wax drum and everything it sees to a microfiche movie reel while doing whatever yo...

Let's talk capabilities. I'm mainly trying to rehash and put stronger limits on what schools can do.[br][br]Green is basically growth, evolution, and hunting. Evolution is the shapechanging bit (so all shapechangers are Green), growth includes healing, causing things to grow, and all temporal effect...

What's so bad about them being gay?

1197559712[/unixtime]]I'd much rather see a system where it was a slippery slope and the more zombies you saw the harder it would be to keep your school talking to the PTA and the guy at the bakery. [br][br]Ah, so that's why adventurers all hang out in the same inn. It's like a VFW for people who k...

That makes sense. I can see signature equipment being tied to attributes, and for something like a huge sword it's fine to say 'it's a really heavy sword so you probably want a high strength just to carry it'. And yeah, you might have to have been around the block a few times before you recognize a ...

1197560239[/unixtime]][br]I think it does have value to have characters be tied in their defensive strengths to their offensive strengths. It allows players to anticipate the weaknesses of enemies by watching their actions and appearance. Nothing in all of D&D is much more insulting than the fa...

So ability scores apply only to skills, saves, and random things like carrying capacity and base languages?

1197380898[/unixtime]]Much as I would like the California seccession which would result from the assassination of a black president which would result from there being a black president while Alabama is still in the Union - I think you are missing out on how total a lock Hillary has on everything.[...

Fey are gay, that's how they keep the population down despite being immortal. Also why they have to steal mortals' children. Any offspring resulting from hetero sex are considered an abomination and are foisted upon mortals to keep them secret.[br][br]But if you really want puerile individuals to co...

How about a point buy system followed by some randomness? If you min/max, you're at the cap anyway and an increase won't change your primary attributes.[br][br]But randomness on that level still conflicts with the desires of players who know their characters before rolling.[br][br]So perhaps a choic...

FrankTrollman at [unixtime wrote:1197449220[/unixtime]]Apparently. It's actually gotten way funnier. He still has no idea how worthless giving half your AC bonus to someone is when your AC bonus doesn't work for people wearing armor or carrying shields.

Eh, it could be an O.K. cohort for a lazy wizard.

1197427152[/unixtime]] 1197425670[/unixtime]]Thanks, taken, but I meant an ability list like Frank's examples such as "to spin webs, you need climb"; a list of skill-related effects, not the system itself, that I already know. [br][br]He didn't make any. But I started: The 8-stat system o...

Taken, a system like that is good for a computer game, but managing large pools of points with various thresholds and costs by hand is obnoxious.[br][br][br]And frank, I understand the tradition of 3-18, but if you're not going to generate attributes using 3d6 it seems more beneficial to go the True...

I love Wikipedia. I use it on an almost daily basis, and I've donated money.

That said, I use it almost exclusively for science stuff, which tends to be free of Wikipedo drama.

Cielingcat at [unixtime wrote:1197244748[/unixtime]]If your character is actually less than two level 15 characters at level 20, then he sucks. If he had the full power and actions of two level 15 characters, he'd still only be level 17.

With the wealth of a level 20 character, maybe not.

1197114208[/unixtime]][br]See it all hinges on how smart your players are. If your casters have crap for spell selection, as many casters I've seen do, then your fighters (core fighters I'm talking) will likely outperform them. This is because fighters and barbarians are simple to play. [br]Barbari...