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Post by anarkeith on Dec 6, 2010 15:48:04 GMT -5
Like Adam I have a goals for what I'm presenting here. However, I'm seeing this as "house rules" for a 4e game, with the aspiration of addressing some of our major complaints about 4e, while leveraging the things I like about it.
Your comments are welcome, especially if you note potential math or scaling issues. I'm not a statistician, nor an accountant (nor really a numbers person at all), so I tend to feel my way through the math bits by manual labor and instinct. That's why the point-buy structure for magic and combat are in flux.
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Post by anarkeith on Dec 20, 2010 18:40:17 GMT -5
Thinking about this further, and having reviewed Adam's stated desired system qualities, I think he's hit the nail on the head as far as addressing what we feel are the failings of 4e.
Adam says, "No Unnecessary Complications - Keep the focus solely on the action at hand"
The conditions and buffs/debuffs in 4e get awfully fiddly and make it hard to act and narrate action smoothly.
"The gameplay should be exciting".
Agreed. Waiting 20 minutes for my turn is not exciting. But, is there a way to get me excited about what is happening on another player's turn? A mechanic that the welfare of my character depends on? Hit an ally on a miss?
An idea that comes to mind is similar to the Dragon Age dragon die. Roll an extra die at the time the attack is rolled. If the initial die roll is a miss, and the extra die is a hit, then apply collateral damage.
"The gameplay should be interesting".
This has as much to do with encounter design as it does game mechanics, in my opinion. Having some kind of tactical control in combat, or narrative control outside of combat seems critical.
"The system should be logistically manageable".
4e tried cards for powers. Powers were (in my opinion) added to bring some roleplaying into combat. It's not just a "I got an 18, he takes 23 pts" game. But, the general reaction seems to be that powers are too restrictive.
What if you had a few fancy powers/maneuvers that you could add to attacks? So, for example, instead of two encounter powers, a fighter might have two cards they could play as interrupts or augments that applied a condition, or did extra damage? A fighter sees an enemy swing at an ally and plays a card to knock the enemy prone and stop the attack, or the same fighter just wants to put a little weight into a strike and plays a card to add another [W] worth of damage.
"The system should provide incentive for playing".
Why are we here? To tell a story? To grind out a character? All of the above? You probably need a mechanic that has elements of both. Is there a way to expend XP to buy powers and/or narrative options? The bennies system in Savage Worlds lets players alter circumstances and/or rebound from misfortune. You choose: buy another power card (offense), or more bennies (defense).
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Post by anarkeith on Dec 21, 2010 17:17:36 GMT -5
Looking at the core complaints about 4e, and envisioning ways to address those is part of what I'm interested in. In addition, being able to capture the ease of early-edition gaming (which, admittedly, leaves a lot to the discretion of the DM) is something I value. I don't mind having to adjudicate on the fly. What I do mind is when players feel constrained by the rules to a limited menu of possible actions.
To address speed and simplicity in the context of combat, I've been looking at point-buy systems. Adam's mechanics and the discussion of cards has me wondering if a hand full of cards of certain point values might not be the best answer to the logistical management issues.
For example, in 4e D&D a 1st-level PC has 2 at-will powers, 1 encounter power, and one daily power. At-will powers usually have one die of damage plus one effect. Since these are at-will, the basic economy of the game could be considered as, "any two-point action (e.g., one die of damage plus one effect, or two dice of damage, etc.) is considered 'at-will' and thus doesn't need to be accounted for in an action budget."
An encounter power is usually a three- to four-point action is this type of economy, while a daily power is probably a five-point action.
One point should buy one of the following options: 1) a die of damage; 2) an effect or applied condition; 3) an additional target (perhaps in the case of PCs wielding weapons, or an area of effect (in the case of PCs wielding magic).
A player buying options in this economy should be free to choose. As a first-level PC they have a handful of cards to start off with. Say, a pair of aces (1-point ea), a two (2-points), and a four (4-points).
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