Thanks Keith
I suppose I better contribute a lil too eh?
Character CreationI like both classes (like DnD/Pathfinder) and classless systems (like Savage Worlds). I find that classes can be TOO confining and can irk players. “You can’t be nice and give money to someone you’re the rogue! Why would you do that?” or “Oh man. Your Paladin didn’t give all your money to that beggar, the Gods have left you for the day, and you lose all your abilities till the end of the day after you pray for forgiveness.” Now I admit these are extremes, but valid.
On the other hand classes can give players a guideline or roadmap of the type of character they are supposed to play. I know that beginning RPGers can feel lost without that “archetype” to guide them.
Classless character building, as Randy has pointed out, lets the players achieve their vision more closely rather than what the book says a rogue, ranger, etc should be like. I have seen some truly creative character ideas come to fruition from a system with less constraints. Again however I have seen some truly bland characters as well.
I’m done playing devils advocate on this, but I like both knowing both their pros and cons.
CombatI tend to like more descriptive combat that isn’t lauded down by mechanics and the like, which was a major detractor for me on 4e. The target is blinded, stunned, shifted, dazed, poisoned, and constipated all in one turn. The sheer amount of markers needed to track that was mind boggling.
I like Pathfinder combat, but I tend to pass over many rules or have embraced things like “Raising the Stakes” from E6 to make combat more dynamic and fast paced.
Systems like Savage Worlds has a healthy mix of crunch for those who like it, yet springy enough to be fast.
One thing that I have grown tired off is HP Bloat and Attrition. I’m tired of combat where it takes 6 rounds to down a standard enemy. I’m fine for boss fights being epic and longer, but standard enemies should never be a war of attrition.
I tend to put more traps and dynamic events or enemies in combat to harm/hinder/distract the party rather than just one or two enemies with a massive amount of HP.
While I have a new love in Dragon Age for its simplicity and neo-retro feel I fear that DARPG will end up suffering from the same problems of DnD/Pathfinder once the characters go past level 10 (which seems to be the golden level). It is honestly hard to say if this is true until all 4 box sets are released (currently box 2 is in open beta).
MechanicsI have been a fan of 3e mechanics since I came to fully embrace them shortly after their release. However in recent years I have started to feel lacking in them because there is a rule for everything and many hold up combat/story due to being overly complex and rigid…. Some even too situational.
I think Pathfinder has fixed some of the problems I’ve had with mechanics, but I have been embracing more of the simplistic rules as of late, like FATE, Savage Worlds, and Dragon Age.
The Burning Wheel has many things too offer and cannibalize for my games, but I feel the system is way too crunchy for my and my players’ tastes.
SkillsI don’t honestly need a skill for everything, which was the approach of 3e. 4e simplified this quite a bit and I liked that. I want a skill set that allows the players to come up with solutions to problems in a unique way and not bogged down by a list of 40 skills.
Powers (Martial/Arcane)I was not a fan of 4e idea of turning warriors, Rogues, Barbarians, and Rangers into a kind of spellcaster. I like the martial/melee classes to have feats and tricks to use, but I don’t like them listed as powers with complex descriptions status effects, etc.
Spell lists in 3.5/Pathfinder and 4e have always irritated me, especially once the player can cast things higher than 4th level spells (again hence, why I will be delving into E6 in my next campaign).
I can’t count HOW many times we have been playing and someone has cast a spell and it brings the game to a screeching halt because we have to cross reference the book and attempt to decrypt exactly what the spell does.
I want spell casters to feel unique, cool, and powerful, however I don’t want them to be SO powerful that they overshadow the melee classes at higher levels (something older DnDs are really guilty of).
Easy mechanics make magic much more dynamic in my opinion. Again- Savage Worlds and Dragon Age RPG hit this on the head.
Savage Worlds “trappings” idea is awesome. You have too mages in the game, both Bolt spell. One has decided that his Bolt spell shoots lightning out of his hand and lances through an enemy. The other Mage decides that she is spirit priestess and that her bolt is the energy of spirits wracking the enemy’s body with pain.
Trappings also allow a person to change the spell (at time of taking the spell, not constantly unless the GM decides that it’s ok). Using the above examples above the Mage who casts lighting blot may forgo part of the damage of the spell to stun the target for one round. The spirit mage may do the same, but cause the target to run in fear for one round. Very flexible.
SettingI’m more partial to fantasy, both gritty and high fantasy, both have to have horror in it though.
I also like Steampunk, sci-fi, and mystery. Not a big fan of modern settings, save for survival horror.
StatsStats of 6 is pretty good for me as well. The 8 stats in Dragon Age is ok. They don’t get overly complicated. I wonder if the 8 were created in that system since there are no saving throws, and that the attributes are supposed to be used.
