The Gaming Den

Exception based design is when the rules of the game aren't particularly linked to any core mechanics, and thus, every ability is unique. Basically EBD games have very light core mechanics and everything else is individualized. Magic the gathering is a great example of an Exception based game. If yo...

There is no proof that clerics have any stranglehold on knowledge or belief, and considering that they are vastly outnumbered by others with incentives to lie, there is no reason to believe that anyone knows anything about the beliefs of any organized religion. Most people in the DnD world have pro...

Isn't it usually a minor action to Mark someone? Only for the paladin, and I honestly can't imagine why you'd want to divine mark an ally (since they take damage everytime they attack someone else). most creatures and the fighter work by marking someone they attack (hit or miss). Attacks are genera...

I'm still disappointed that illusionary wall is apparently the only illusion power on there.

Where is the silent image, and the other passive illusions?

It's just more blasting powers with illusion themes.

I'm still disappointed that illusionary wall is apparently the only illusion power on there.

Where is the silent image, and the other passive illusions?

It's just more blasting powers with illusion themes.

If you don't have a special class feature to hose marked opponents, it's just a -2 to their attacks. This means that picking up a cross classed marking ability is of primary use to be deployed on your own team mates. As soon as one of your friends has a mark on them that does something shitty, you ...

Give your boss a bunch of mooks; make sure they're spread out and that they've got plenty of hit points. Give them all White Raven Tactics. Boss gets to act until you get bored, or until everyone not on Team Evil is as dead as a proverbially dead thing. Apply said tactic in moderation and the BBEG ...

I have to say though, the most fun games I've ever played in were with an evil party. In my experience there is much more opportunity for roleplaying. Most times with good/neutral parties, it is just Team Party vs Team Dm. With evil parties, there are varied/conflicting motivations, goals, secrets,...

This outlook is much more black and white than what I consider to be the good/neutral/evil continuum. When I think of possible evil characters, I don't automatically assume evil characters are totally evil like Fiends, or tempted by the Dark Side. Instead, an evil Pc might be otherwise good or neut...

Here's a thought exercise: how many people here are organ donors? Statistically, it's less than 1 in 20. Both primitive and modern societies have taboos against messing with the dead, even when we know it's 100% safe. I always attributed that more to that (usually irrational) fear of the doctors no...

Many times when people talk about evil parties, they are referring to parties which randomly kill Npc's on a whim, or out of boredom. This behavior also has a high correlation with douchebag players. I don't think of this type of party as evil; it's either a casual or immature gaming group. Well, I...

So let's assume that you are playing a Tome series game as the way that it was written. Is there any way that one can still break the game? Well it depends on what you consider to be "broken". Even with the wish economy, you can still use the gold to craft infinite items if you take item ...

But then I'm not a fan of evil D&D campaigns in the first place , unless you've got some very good roleplayers. Aha. That's where we differ. Yeah probably. I never really understood the appeal of evil games. It basically comes down to the fact that because D&D is a game about killing, you r...

Voss wrote: There is no way they didn't know they were shoveling a pile of shit here.

Honestly, I'm not sure about. Lets remember how long it took the designers of 3E to figure out that polymorph was broken. It was well into 3.5 before they started to say "This shit doesn't work."

If PCs play a psychopath from the beginning, then maybe i can see running a game like that. But if you've got a PC who just randomly decides to kill the innkeeper for no in character reason, I really don't want to play with that person. But then I'm not a fan of evil D&D campaigns in the first p...

The question of undead evil tends to boil down to the question of: "what exactly are undead?" If you see undead as being a biological automaton, then creating undead could be a form of just recycling, and totally makes sense. Undead soldiers save lies, and you can even recycle the enemy's ...

sigma999 wrote:Still, you must accept the chance that at least one PC will go insane and attack every NPC they encounter.

At that point I start kicking people out of the game as problem players.

If 4E found a way to make an infernal pact warlock into a good guy, I'm sure they'll find some way to make a good necromancer too. Personally though, I tend to like the idea of undead being inherently evil. I hate the "undead robot" mentality for zombies and skeletons. I like the idea that...

Seriously though, some combination of interesting plot hooks that the players choose (Franks method) and giving players what they want (reward) (Jotoco's method) is best, IMHO. It tends to depend on the player. Generally your best roleplayers are happy being the stars of the show, and thus if you l...

Heck no. It's a cooperative storytelling game. If the players genuinely have no interest in the storyline you've conceived of, then the game isn't going to be any fun and you'd be a fool to move forward with it. By far your best bet is to let the players go off into a different direction and recycl...

His hands were probably tied through design be committee. It's the only explanation I can come up with and still keep my faith in humanity. Yeah, design by committee seriously sucks. It means that basically you're going to have to try to bend your system to try to make everyone happy, so that stuff...

CatharzGodfoot wrote:
1) Ranged attacks are now wisdom based.
2) Melee attacks are now dexterity based.


Will this completely destroy the game?

Why nerf fighter types?

No they don't. Seriously, this isn't a tactical wargame or an army building game. How much gear can you make for the upcoming war is a DM call. If the scneario calls for your forces being underequipped, then you're underequipped and so be it. Am I the only one who would base their status of being p...

The problem with having a color based defense scheme is that basically it just becomes a matter of memorizing everyone's color and attacking accordingly. It's not so much tactical as it is just a matter of knowing your enemy.

I'm thinking right now everyone gets 1 At will and 1 encounter spell at the first level they acquire a given spell level. Then at the second level, they get an additional at will, an encounter and one limited use spell. Then you just move onto the next spell level. Each class also has a special abil...