D&D NEXT: Infinite Posts of the Abyss

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Soylent Pudding: Jun 22, 2007; We've got people!

IT BEGINS posted:

I don't see how being turned into a Dwarf is a problem.

It's usually a solution. Also in my last game I rolled up a Dwarven Cleric of Dionysus. It was glorious.

# ? Aug 3, 2015 05:00

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# ? May 29, 2024 22:52

Elector_Nerdlingen: Sep 27, 2004

MonsterEnvy posted:

Plus you would be in the underdark not going to find any easily there.

Why, in this game, does it matter if an alcoholic can find alcohol in the underdark or not?

# ? Aug 3, 2015 05:09

Solid Jake: Oct 18, 2012

An alcoholic who can't find any alcohol is Not Fine.

# ? Aug 3, 2015 05:16

gradenko_2000: Oct 5, 2010; HELL SERPENT; Lipstick Apathy

Ryuujin posted:

So was the last Unearthed Arcana the Psionics one? And if so, or not, how far back was it? When should we expect a new Unearthed Arcana?

UA comes out first week or so of every month.

OneThousandMonkeys posted:

Lots of DMs do this sort of thing, it's not exactly a 3E thing. In a certain amount I find it welcome because eventually LOOT/SMASH/REPEAT can get a little old if it's all you're doing, but games that are 90% storytime do tend to stink up the joint.

What I got out of Cirno's story is that if the group is very obviously telling you that they want more hack-and-slash, you drat well give it to them.

Mecha Gojira posted:

Wow, yeah, I just read the bullet points of that interview and it's... completely bullshit. Like, entirely. Besides the quick nod to UPCOMING ~~VIDEO GAME TIE-IN PRODUCT~~ SETTING BOOK, I don't think I saw anything that wasn't completely disingenuous. Though, here are my favorite nuggets:

quote:
* The slow release schedule is driven by Wizards� desire to learn what the players want and are using. If Wizards do something with D&D, it�s driven by player feedback. They�re starting smaller, because they�ve consistently seen that players weren�t able to absorb the volume of information that was released in a short space of time.

No, Mike. The slow release schedule is driven by WOTC not actually being the ones writing anything anymore.

# ? Aug 3, 2015 05:24

Mecha Gojira: Jun 23, 2006; Jack Nissan

gradenko_2000 posted:

No, Mike. The slow release schedule is driven by WOTC not actually being the ones writing anything anymore.

Hey, Mike says the DnD team is working very closely with the third party publishers.

And by the DnD team I mean all five of them.

# ? Aug 3, 2015 05:35

gradenko_2000: Oct 5, 2010; HELL SERPENT; Lipstick Apathy

TheBlandName posted:

The thought expressed by Mearls is that every campaign should use only a single splat book. Someone* in the interview was quick to backpedal and say that of course you can do otherwise at home, but then Mearls doubles down and says you won't get a balanced result out of it because it's too hard to balance with multiple splats (which is actually reasonable when you're talking about 3.X's release schedule). It's so good that Core is already well balanced and not at all prone to accidental abuse of long rests leading to ridiculous power discrepancies.

*Mearls with a momentarily hoarse voice? The interviewer? Some PR handler? I'm not good enough with podcasts to tell who exactly it was.

This isn't really a bad idea on its face: certainly 3.5 would have been helped if WOTC came out with a "this is your new core" announcement officially telling people that they should include Warblades and Warlocks as a guiding principle to avoid splat-overload on one end and the balance-shitfest of PHB/DMG/MM only on the other end.

It's just that it's hobbled in practice by how the half-splats that come with the 5e adventures are so barebones, and WOTC's wooden-headed insistence that the core PHB is really really good right off the bat and even the errata isn't a "balance change" and just "clarifying what was already in the text" or whatever.

# ? Aug 3, 2015 05:42

Ryuujin: Sep 26, 2007; Dragon God

gradenko_2000 posted:

UA comes out first week or so of every month.

What I got out of Cirno's story is that if the group is very obviously telling you that they want more hack-and-slash, you drat well give it to them.

No, Mike. The slow release schedule is driven by WOTC not actually being the ones writing anything anymore.
[/quote]

That suggests that it is likely to be out within the next few days, speaking of the next Unearthed Arcana.

# ? Aug 3, 2015 06:18

Elector_Nerdlingen: Sep 27, 2004

Solid Jake posted:

An alcoholic who can't find any alcohol is Not Fine.

That's putting it incredibly mildly, yes.

So in 5e D&D, what happens to that person and where in the rulebook can I read about it? Assume that I went to asak my DM and then relised that meant me.

# ? Aug 3, 2015 07:24

kingcom: Jun 23, 2012

AlphaDog posted:

That's putting it incredibly mildly, yes.

So in 5e D&D, what happens to that person and where in the rulebook can I read about it? Assume that I went to asak my DM and then relised that meant me.

You turn into Dennis from that one episode of it's always sunny in Philadelphia.

# ? Aug 3, 2015 07:26

Wrestlepig: Feb 25, 2011; my mum says im cool; Toilet Rascal

As if anyone's character wasn't alcoholic already. Dwarven Supremacy.

# ? Aug 3, 2015 07:48

gradenko_2000: Oct 5, 2010; HELL SERPENT; Lipstick Apathy

The first entry, in italics, is from 3.5e's Unearthed Arcana

The second entry is from 5e's DMG

quote:

01�10 Character performs compulsive rituals (washing hands constantly, praying, walking in a particular rhythm, never stepping on cracks, constantly checking to see if crossbow is loaded, and so on)
01-10 The character feels compelled to repeat a specific activity over and over, such as washing hands, touching things, praying, or counting coins

11�20 Character has hallucinations or delusions (details at the discretion of the DM)
11-20 The character experiences vivid hallucinations and has disadvantage on ability checks

21�30 Character becomes paranoid
21-30 The character suffers extreme paranoia. The character has disadvantage on Wisdom and Charisma checks

31�40 Character gripped with severe phobia (refuses to approach object of phobia except on successful DC 20 Will save)
31-40 The character regards something (usually the source of madness) with intense revulsion, as if affected by the antipathy effect of the antipathy/sympathy spell

41�45 Character has aberrant sexual desires (exhibitionism, nymphomania or satyriasis, teratophilia, necrophilia, and so on)
41-45 The character experiences a powerful delusion. Choose a potion. The character imagines that he or she is under its effects

46�55 Character develops an attachment to a �lucky charm� (embraces object, type of object, or person as a safety blanket) and cannot function without it
46-55 The character becomes attached to a "lucky charm," such as a person or an object, and has disadvantage on attack rolls, ability checks, and saving throws while more than 30 feet from it

56�65 Character develops psychosomatic blindness, deafness, or the loss of the use of a limb or limbs
56-65 The character is blinded (25%) or deafened (75%)

66�75 Character has uncontrollable tics or tremors (�4 penalty on all attack rolls, checks, and saves, except those purely mental in nature)
66-75 The character experiences uncontrollable tremors or tics, which impose disadvantage on attack rolls, ability checks, and saving throws that involve Strength or Dexterity

76�85 Character has amnesia (memories of intimates usually lost first; Knowledge skills useless)
76-85 The character suffers from partial amnesia. The character knows who he or she is and retains racial traits and class features, but doesn't recognize other people or remember anything that happened before the madness took effect

86�90 Character has bouts of reactive psychosis (incoherence, delusions, aberrant behavior, and/or hallucinations)
86-90 Whenever the character takes damage, he or she must succeed on a DC 15 Wisdom saving throw or be affected as though he or she failed a saving throw against the confusion spell. The confusion effect lasts for 1 minute

91�95 Character loses ability to communicate via speech or writing
91-95 The character loses the ability to speak

96�100 Character becomes catatonic (can stand but has no will or interest; may be led or forced into simple actions but takes no independent action)
96-100 The character falls unconscious. No amount of jostling or damage can wake the character

To their credit, they changed the aberrant sexual behavior entry to a powerful delusion instead.

# ? Aug 3, 2015 08:36

Xelkelvos: Dec 19, 2012

MonsterEnvy posted:

This is my point. Plus you would be in the underdark not going to find any easily there.

I wasn't making a point. I was asking the question: what, in the rules, would the effect be? Is there already rules for addiction in the DMG or do GMs have to make it up on the fly? If it's on the fly, what would prevent discrepancies in organized play between the mechanical effects? If there aren't any mechanical effects, what's to incentivize the player to actually playing up their alcoholism beyond the GM slapping them once in a while about their alcoholism? If there's nothing, then it's not really debilitating at all then, is it?

# ? Aug 3, 2015 08:38

Skellybones: May 31, 2011; Fun Shoe

gradenko_2000 posted:

To their credit, they changed the aberrant sexual behavior entry to a powerful delusion instead.

Well, that's good.

# ? Aug 3, 2015 08:39

Mr Beens: Dec 2, 2006

MonsterEnvy posted:

Most of the effects are not debilitating enough to bother fixing in some cases. Like becoming an Alcoholic.

I assume in your ignorance you think alcoholism is just " lol gets drunk if there are beers available, otherwise fine"

# ? Aug 3, 2015 09:07

Night10194: Feb 13, 2012; We'll start,
like many good things,
with a bear.

Isn't that just the Temporary Insanity table from one of the editions of Call of Cthulhu?

# ? Aug 3, 2015 09:34

gradenko_2000: Oct 5, 2010; HELL SERPENT; Lipstick Apathy

Night10194 posted:

Isn't that just the Temporary Insanity table from one of the editions of Call of Cthulhu?

Checking on it now, mostly yes. CoC 5th Edition and 6th Edition have 1d10 temporary insanity tables, but the wordings are pretty much exactly the same.
The 3.5 UA table is identical to the ones from d20 CoC (because of course).

# ? Aug 3, 2015 09:43

ProfessorCirno: Feb 17, 2011; The strongest! The smartest!
The rightest!

The amount of hard work that goes into 5e is sincerely staggering.

# ? Aug 3, 2015 10:09

LFK: Jan 5, 2013

Mecha Gojira posted:

Thanks, Mike, I needed the laugh today.

It's actually kinda true.

D&D is, at present, probably in the black.

They're outsourcing most of their development, their art overhead is waaaay lower than normal due to the stunted release schedule and the expected reuse of existing pieces, and there's only, like, five full time employees in the department.

Oh, they're also printing far fewer books because 1) they know they won't sell them, and 2) it creates the appearance of demand. Local store said they only got, like, 6 copies of the Elemental Evil Player's Companion.

I suspect after 4e failed to sustain M:tG cash they were able to cut some sort of Faustian bargain with Hasbro that lets them exist as long as they don't cost anything.

# ? Aug 3, 2015 10:29

gradenko_2000: Oct 5, 2010; HELL SERPENT; Lipstick Apathy

The analogy that comes to mind would be putting out the Atlas Shrugged movies to retain the license.

# ? Aug 3, 2015 10:32

Babylon Astronaut: Apr 19, 2012

gradenko_2000 posted:

To their credit, they changed the aberrant sexual behavior entry to a powerful delusion instead.

Nice catch Palladium RPG 2e.

# ? Aug 3, 2015 10:36

Jack the Lad: Jan 20, 2009; Feed the Pubs

quote:

* Mike�s biggest regret is the fighter: the subclasses don�t have the identity that the subclasses of other classes have. What�s a battlemaster or a champion? They were so involved in the mechanics (for simple and complex fighters), that the names don�t mean anything.

# ? Aug 3, 2015 10:37

Bleu: Jul 19, 2006

"If only we had named them Tripspam and Bigcrits, people would lay off of me for making Fighter spend every game forever walking back and forth shaking his sword around like in Final Fantasy."

# ? Aug 3, 2015 11:03

Jack the Lad: Jan 20, 2009; Feed the Pubs

Bleu posted:

"If only we had named them Tripspam and Bigcrits, people would lay off of me for making Fighter spend every game forever walking back and forth shaking his sword around like in Final Fantasy."

Even more than the subclass names and identities being their biggest regret, I love the notion that the reason those got neglected is because they were just too involved in the mechanics.

The Champion gets three class features. Three.

# ? Aug 3, 2015 11:46

Name Change: Oct 9, 2005

Jack the Lad posted:

Even more than the subclass names and identities being their biggest regret, I love the notion that the reason those got neglected is because they were just too involved in the mechanics.

The Champion gets three class features. Three.

It's a hard choice between these and fetal alcohol bard.

# ? Aug 3, 2015 11:48

Mr Beens: Dec 2, 2006

So did anyone go to GenCon and play the multitable adventure?
:rolldice:

MY DM

wrote it as a freelance contract for WoTC

# ? Aug 3, 2015 12:58

Victorkm: Nov 25, 2001

The real question about the substance addiction in the madness tables is whether you get the physiological effects or just the mental ones.

# ? Aug 3, 2015 13:06

mastershakeman: Oct 28, 2008; by vyelkin

I'm actually surprised there isn't a fairly standard alcohol/drug withdrawal side effect chart and table to use in D&D, you'd think that would have been around since the early 80s at the least.

# ? Aug 3, 2015 13:40

Hwurmp: May 20, 2005

mastershakeman posted:

I'm actually surprised there isn't a fairly standard alcohol/drug withdrawal side effect chart and table to use in D&D, you'd think that would have been around since the early 80s at the least.

a good start, but not quite enough to reclaim the thread title imo

# ? Aug 3, 2015 13:45

goatface: Dec 5, 2007; I had a video of that when I was about 6.

I remember it being shit.; Grimey Drawer

Roll a will save with disadvantage to see if you go out adventuring or spend all day crying under your dinner table.

# ? Aug 3, 2015 13:47

gradenko_2000: Oct 5, 2010; HELL SERPENT; Lipstick Apathy

Whoah whoah whoah hold the loving phone buddy, that's a WISDOM save in these here parts.

# ? Aug 3, 2015 13:48

goatface: Dec 5, 2007; I had a video of that when I was about 6.

I remember it being shit.; Grimey Drawer

It's a wisdom/charisma at the choice of the player in my house.

# ? Aug 3, 2015 13:51

ritorix: Jul 22, 2007; Vancian Roulette

Mr Beens posted:

So did anyone go to GenCon and play the multitable adventure?
MY DM wrote it as a freelance contract for WoTC

Yep, there were two "epic" games. It seemed like both were decent (the air flotilla one was awesome) but holy poo poo did the organizers gently caress up running the "epic"part. Must have been about 1000 people playing too. D&D drew some big crowds even though wotc didn't really even show up, they farmed out running the games to another company.

# ? Aug 3, 2015 13:55

Hwurmp: May 20, 2005

You'd think WOTC would have learned not to farm out every important task.

# ? Aug 3, 2015 14:16

Kibner: Oct 21, 2008; Acguy Supremacy

The only thing I can remember my groups doing with alcohol related checks was using fort saves to determine who won a drinking contest and if someone puked from drinking too much.

# ? Aug 3, 2015 14:22

mastershakeman: Oct 28, 2008; by vyelkin

Really Pants posted:

a good start, but not quite enough to reclaim the thread title imo

Pg 41-44 of 3e book of vile darkness talks at length about drugs, I suppose alcohol could get lumped in there but I'll look at my 2e books too because I totally know this is in a splat somewhere. The complete book of roleplaying penalties or whatever

# ? Aug 3, 2015 14:29

goatface: Dec 5, 2007; I had a video of that when I was about 6.

I remember it being shit.; Grimey Drawer

Is BoVD the insanely skeezy one, or the less creepy, occasionally useful one?

# ? Aug 3, 2015 14:35

gradenko_2000: Oct 5, 2010; HELL SERPENT; Lipstick Apathy

Page 209 of Unearthed Arcana

quote:

Substance Abuse Disorder

A character with a substance abuse disorder finds solace in using a drug, becomes addicted to it, and spends much time maintaining, concealing, and indulging the habit. Drugs include alcohol, amphetamines, cocaine, hallucinogens, marijuana, nicotine, opium (especially morphine and heroin), sedatives, and more fantastic substances present in the campaign world (see Sample Drugs, earlier in this section).

A character under the sway of such a substance should feel the personal struggle daily. Will saving throws might be used to resist or succumb symbolically to cravings, especially just before periods of stress (for example, just before a confrontation or likely battle with evil cultists). All attack rolls, saves, and checks take a �2 morale penalty because of withdrawal symptoms. Sanity losses could occur from binges or bad trips. Some characters might find that drugs promote communication with alien entities and deities, and that dreams about them become ever more vivid and horrifying, Conversely, such substances might function as medications, deadening a character�s fears and offering temporary defenses against Sanity loss.

There is actually a chillingly comprehensive section on Mental Disorders in the UA, everything from anxiety to phobias to Reverse Munchausenism.

EN Publishing did release a book of houserules, one of which covered "how to survive dwarven spirits"

# ? Aug 3, 2015 14:41

Night10194: Feb 13, 2012; We'll start,
like many good things,
with a bear.

goatface posted:

Is BoVD the insanely skeezy one, or the less creepy, occasionally useful one?

BoVD is the book with the minor bonus for having had sex with undead.

It was bad.

Also, that passage on substance abuse is straight up plagiarized from CoC, I know because I was reading my CoC book just a couple days ago. They just found-replaced the specific CoC terms and stuff like 'space mead' with their own fantastical stuff, but it is absolutely a C&P.

# ? Aug 3, 2015 15:06

Mecha Gojira: Jun 23, 2006; Jack Nissan

gradenko_2000 posted:

The analogy that comes to mind would be putting out the Atlas Shrugged movies to retain the license.

That's kind of how I feel about it. About the same amount of effort was put into it as well. Outside of the art (which I have to admit is spectacular), this seems like the laziest version of D&D.

The weird thing is, though, I'm not sure what Hasbro thinks it has to gain from holding onto the IP. It'd make more sense to me if the movie rights weren't still up in the air legally speaking, since they could leverage it into a multi-million dollar movie franchise like Transformers or G.I. Joe. Or even if they tried a major toyetic D&D push outside of some knock-off LEGO sets. Even the miniature sets that go with this edition were outsourced if I remember correctly.

Hell, they no longer hold the Star Wars RPG license. Hasbro has been the largest producer of Star Wars merchandise for the last 20 or so years, but they allowed the RPG and miniatures portion of that market to go to Fantasy Flight. The reason I bring that up is between the fact that they aren't producing any RPG's outside of D&D and that the actual D&D team is so small that it has to outsource most of its production, Hasbro seems this close to shuttering the RPG department all together regardless of how well this edition is doing.

So, yeah, I'm expecting to look back on 5e as WOTC's last undersupported gasp before Hasbro relinquishes the IP all together.

# ? Aug 3, 2015 16:46

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# ? May 29, 2024 22:52

Quadratic_Wizard: Jun 7, 2011

What happens when/if Hasbro gives it up? Paizo comes in and saves the day, releases the new, true DnD we've always wanted? :kheldragar:

# ? Aug 3, 2015 17:47

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