The Gaming Den

These questions dive straight into the matter of taste and it depends on your view of 4e. Why would someone who hates 4e because 'It doesn't feel like D&D', 'Fighters cast spells', 'it breaks versimilittude', 'It is a tabletop MMO','It neuters imagination , want to try 13th age? Why would someo...

"13th Age is a framework, which needs some fleshing out" is not a kiss of death. If that's the case though, just saying that will save everyone time. Well, not necessarily, but it is apparently Generic Fantasy RPG # 3,491 and traditionally those don't do well. Especially when you've got g...

Incidentally, I'm assuming the PCs in the playtests typically bought about 4-8 health. Is that right? I certainly wouldn't cap it any lower than that. I'm more worried about optimized combat builds with 20+ health. In a point-buy system you want either caps or harsh diminishing returns on the most ...

Only GMCs who the GM decides use the injury rules. I can't find any reference to that outside of Pulp mode in Trail of Cthulhu. The more lethal combat rules and the Free-For-All combat section in Esoterrorists seem to assume nobody dies until -12. Is that a house rule? It is a GUMSHOE rule from Tra...

The biggest flaw I see is that the injury / death rules err way too hard on the side of "no one dies ever." I mean, if you want to make a game where PCs never go from standing -> dead in a single attack, that's fine, but you've gotta do it right. As is PCs are pretty much free to shoot fl...

@stubbazubba I am not the game designer, and I haven't played 4e enough times to speak authoritively about it. This wasn't marketing speak. Unless I know clearly what the answers to the questions are (and it isn't you I asked) I can't answer them. I am only equipped to give practical answers to prac...

I am sorry, I thought I'd be able to have time for this today, but stuff happened. I'll see if I can find anyone else.

If anyone has any further questions about the rules, the setting, or anything else related to the game, by all means post away and I'll do my best to answer. Why would someone who hates 4e want to try 13th age? Why would someone who enjoys 4e want to try 13th age? What problems of 4e does 13th age ...

Wade has put together some info about the 13th Age:

"13 Facts About 13th Age" is up at See Page XX: http://www.pelgranepress.com/?p=8583 -- This is my attempt to give someone who hasn't seen the game a decent idea of what the heck it is, without writing pages and pages of description.

Looks all passive-agressive, eh. If you don't find it comes easy to tell people to go fuck themselves, for whatever reason, just be honest. If ideas here don't make you feel good, you're not going to use them to make your game better. We understand. Also, wow, people are paying you money to playtes...

The latest Escalation Edition version is up with minor changes this time. Pre-orders can download it from your order page. Read more about the changes here . Feedback from people who have played the game is now up to 800 pages. After the next edition is released in another ten days or so, I'll go th...

I thought it might amuse you note that in the latest version (coming out later today) "for your favorite gang of internet brawlers..." Rob says : We put this epic feat into the game to make fun of the people we know and/or play with who will do just about anything to get a +1 attack bonus....

I've got the picture! When I said it's a bit weak - and I didn't mean it should be + more. It's a Britishism which means "not very impressive." So yes, being able to see weird shit with your absent eye, having weaker undead ignore you or treat you as one of them, be immune to necrotic dama...

I agree that +1 to hit is a little weak for an Epic Sorcerer feat, particularly when the Adventurer and Champion feat are much cooler. Love the call-out to Vecna though Anyway, I'm going to go through the updated document with a fine-toothed comb early next week, and I'm happy to throw in a few comm...

@Mask_De_H The "calling the blood" icon power, I can see absolutely why it's in the GMs hands: You gain some surprising or bizarre magical effect associated with the power of that icon to assist you. The effect is entirely up to the GM, though the immediate impact of the spell should alway...

I'm using the Escalation Edition 1 pip version, Simon. That's what I was given for my game. Unless y'all sent out a two pips+ version or the SRD/actual completed game is out, that's the game to me. ... And about the "onus on the GM" narrative powers; the Sorc level 5 invocation of the Ico...

Does 13th Age support good / evil players or are your players supposed to be good like in 4th and if you're evil figure something out yourself? While the default in the text is heroic, yes, you can play an evil PC. "Evil clerics gain power through the Lich King." "Evil adventurers ga...

They're not balanced at all. The Pally has a bullshit Smite Evil that doesn't actually work (requires a Paladin melee attack; there are no Paladin melee attacks). They also get a 75% chance of pulling off surgeless healing twice a day, with a 50% chance of it being a No Action. Even if they blow th...

I'm actually making a character for 13th Age too, so I can chime in if you need me. I can confirm the melee classes are kind of assy, and there are a few narrative abilities that the onus is on the GM instead of the player, instead of being on the player with veto power coming from the GM/other pla...

There's also an "at least" in the front there, so that sort of implies that there's an "at most" on the other end where you have chopped off the Icon's hand and fed it to a crocodile, so now he is obsessed with finding you personally and destroying you. Maybe that's reading too ...

That said, this is one forum of many, and I would not wish to impose upon in when I'm not welcome, so ask me to leave and I'll toddle off. If not, I'll keep replying where I can and seeking out answers where I can't. Now, I have another question for you regarding Icons, and if you spelled this out ...

Question for Simon: How is your playtest structured regarding level range, starting at higher levels, etc.? I ask because 3e works fairly well up to about 10th level (for a given value of "fairly well") but breaks down after that because, as far as we can tell, the playtest ended at or be...

I'll concede that. But anyway: it's not going to be the thing that makes or breaks the game. It is something that could be changed and would likely reduce bookkeeping, but it will not turn a terrible game into a good one and unless 13th age is truly, truly awful at it a la 4e style, it will not tur...

Hi Simon, can you explain what you mean here a little better? Because honestly it looks like you're contradicting yourself here: Negative relationship with villainous icon (max 2 points) The icon is out to get you , at least in the abstract or by implication. (...) I hope it's clear from this that ...

Straight forward question: how many special cases and exclusions do you think you need? I'm afraid I don't know the answer to that. So far, we have the buffer/combo problem, where the buffer shouldn't be able to buff himself (I actually fail to see the problem of letting most buffer characters buff...