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Ryuujin posted:Out of curiosity, how much game theory (and GNS Theory, and its successors in particular) was used in the construction of 5e? Was it used more or less than the surveys, etc? I don't know why anyone would bother asking this question. The answer is patently obvious.
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May 30, 2018 05:09
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Yeah and then Mearls admits they didn't use any. But claims they understand their audience current and future, and used extensive playtesting and refinement. Both things that I would not agree with when you consider the game we got.
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May 30, 2018 07:22
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they did whatever didn't stir up complaints on ENworld
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May 30, 2018 08:08
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Ryuujin posted:Yeah and then Mearls admits they didn't use any. But claims they understand their audience current and future, and used extensive playtesting and refinement. Both things that I would not agree with when you consider the game we got.
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May 30, 2018 09:30
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Ryuujin posted:
So, Psionics are a subclass feature for already existing spellcasters which is weird but at least it's different and potentially interesting. Arguably makes it more limited and balanced than it used to be. But its also specifically an entire dedicated class that just so happens to be the Mystic, but it might be renamed to Psion presumably so that it ~feels more like a real Psionist class~ I appreciate how Mike manages to say nothing of substance but still backpedal superhard instantly
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May 30, 2018 09:44
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Dragonatrix posted:I appreciate how Mike manages to say nothing of substance but still backpedal superhard instantly Mearls blink twice if you want us to call the police to rescue you.
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May 30, 2018 10:17
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Drowning Rabbit posted:Just got back from a session of Storm Kings, the crew were assaulting a Hill Giant Lair, a bit early and all, but they were into it. Invisibility as the condition doesn't impose any penalties to anyone's perception roll by itself. As mentioned, if they aren't explicitly trying to be stealthy via stealth rolls then creatures perceive them automatically whether they're invisible or not (if they have ears). Moving stealthily takes a while and with the spell lasting but an hour (with concentration!) I think that bypassing a whole monster lair seems unlikely. Though it seems they put themselves into a different pickle by being deep in the lair with everything they bypassed coming to kill them so it might work out in the end.
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May 30, 2018 13:48
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SettingSun posted:Invisibility as the condition doesn't impose any penalties to anyone's perception roll by itself. As mentioned, if they aren't explicitly trying to be stealthy via stealth rolls then creatures perceive them automatically whether they're invisible or not (if they have ears). Moving stealthily takes a while and with the spell lasting but an hour (with concentration!) I think that bypassing a whole monster lair seems unlikely. Though it seems they put themselves into a different pickle by being deep in the lair with everything they bypassed coming to kill them so it might work out in the end. They were making stealth checks, but even with that, they were beating the +0 or -1 checks handily, I was rolling poo poo. That is a good point that I didn’t account for though, they would be moving even slower than I was accounting for. Ah well, they have at least another rooms monsters about to join the fray next round. We had to close up shop due to time and continue the battle next week.
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May 30, 2018 13:51
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lol i still want to know who designed the ranger
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May 30, 2018 14:27
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SettingSun posted:Moving stealthily takes a while and with the spell lasting but an hour (with concentration!) I think that bypassing a whole monster lair seems unlikely. An hour is more than enough time to stealth past a lair. According to page 182 of the phb, out of combat you can move 200' per minute while using stealth. That means that in an hour, you can move about 2 1/4 miles (for some reason, this translates to "two miles" in the table, but whatever, you get the point*). Most D&D full-page maps are around 50 squares tall and 35 squares wide. If those are 10' squares then it only takes you like two and a half minutes to move the longest distance possible on the (blank) map in a straight line, and you could cover 2/3 squares on the (again, blank) map in an hour. That specific hill giant map depicts a bigger than normal area with (probably not really spoilers, just dimensions) 10' squares. The entire map is about 90 squares by 45 squares. 900' wide. You can stealth and move the entire width of the map in four and a half minutes. * I knew you could move a long-rear end way in an hour before i checked, but I didn't realise it was that far. Elector_Nerdlingen fucked around with this message at 14:46 on May 30, 2018 |
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May 30, 2018 14:37
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AlphaDog posted:An hour is more than enough time to stealth past a lair. Well ok, so I wasn't completely off. They decided to faff about in a few early lower floor rooms so I took time off for that, but for the most part they got through it pretty easily. The one killer was that I drew almost all of the maps for that fort, minus 4 small rooms on the lower floor. All maps drawn in 5' scale, so the mini's would work on them. Some of these rooms took up almost the entire table. I got to use almost all the maps, while they walked through them and got to be tourists. The did see a lot of enemies that may just be running upstairs to see what is going on though....
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May 30, 2018 14:50
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Your enemies aren't idiots. If they are in the Big Bad's fort and there to guard said fort and hear a fight going on, they will absolutely check it out. Now if they kill Big Bad then maybe the minions decide that gently caress it, not their fight anymore, but this isn't like a video game where they hit the boss fight load screen and everything before that point just dissapears.
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May 30, 2018 15:33
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Dameius posted:Your enemies aren't idiots. If they are in the Big Bad's fort and there to guard said fort and hear a fight going on, they will absolutely check it out. Now if they kill Big Bad then maybe the minions decide that gently caress it, not their fight anymore, but this isn't like a video game where they hit the boss fight load screen and everything before that point just dissapears. They had done some precautions with a well done illusion of fire and real smoke previously which bought them some turns unprovoked by many additions rooms, but that’s pretty much done now.
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May 30, 2018 16:23
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My group did a full-invisibility stealth mission also. They were smelled by yetis but managed to hide from the giants. (It was their second time their so they knew the layout a little better.) I'm not sure how to do it - they're entering the fire giant base now. One thing that frustrates me about Storm King's Thunder is: (seriously don't click if you're playing) They give no rules for how the giants' plans progress. They all have detailed plans that they're trying to execute, but no guidance for how they progress or get worse or potentially succeed. Every giant leader is sitting around waiting for you to stop them in the nick of time. I basically need to come up with what the frost giants are doing now that one of their ships was crippled and the party freed an imprisoned dragon who hosed them up with its mate but left their leader alive. Additionally, the fire giants are pretty far along constructing their massive dragon-fighting construct but give no rules for how it behaves and no guidance for what they'll do with it other than vaguely "make war on dragons".
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May 30, 2018 16:35
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Jeffrey of YOSPOS posted:My group did a full-invisibility stealth mission also. They were smelled by yetis but managed to hide from the giants. (It was their second time their so they knew the layout a little better.) I'm not sure how to do it - they're entering the fire giant base now. STK Spoiler stuff: In the book they spell out that there is no real timer going, which is what you're looking for. I TOTALLY agree with you, and I made real choices matter in the book. My crew can never go back to Bryn Shander, as they convinced Cimber's relative to sacrifice himself, against the wishes of everyone else in power, they then ended up in Goldenfields on accident due to story and wild magic ( new characters entering ), so they sorted that loose end, but in that time, Triboar was leveled. Triboar no longer exists in my version of the world. I don't think the Frost giants are going to be a thing for my crew, but the Fire Giants are already known to them, and the Vonidad is definitely progressing. They are going to clean up Grud Haug probably next week, be taken to Yatar to gamble as a celebration by Zira the Zhent Dragon as a reward ( I'm rather excited about this cool down session, as I bought chips to use and I'm trying to get golden goose stickers printed to put on the chips as insignia, which one of these will be used later on as a "We don't know where he is, but we have this? Showing the poker chip that is beat up but clearly has a golden goose on it, leading the players back to Yartar ), and then be ferried off to Waterdeep for player story reasons ( I'm assuming ) and teleport up to Everlund to go north ( player story reasons ) and meet up with Harshnag who brings them to the Oracle. Of note, my crew is still level 6, in Grud Haug. They're doing well, but a rock will DESTROY the casters.
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May 30, 2018 16:50
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Jeffrey of YOSPOS posted:My group did a full-invisibility stealth mission also. They were smelled by yetis but managed to hide from the giants. (It was their second time their so they knew the layout a little better.) I'm not sure how to do it - they're entering the fire giant base now. Well For the Hill Giants. Their plan is stupid and will amount to nothing other then raiding and stealing from the country side. Which they already do, they are just not usually quite as a aggressive. The Stone Giants's plan is also not going to succeed as their plan to to destroy the works of the small folk, but there are not enough Stone Giants and their forces are too weak for them to succeed against a major city. Plus they are being manipulated by an evil earth elemental. The Frost Giants plan is the most dangerous, but their target is in Chult they don't know that and the item they have that tracks him locates his closest kin first. And given that Artus is immortal he likely has a fair number of Kin. The fire giants have the Head a chunk of Torso and an arm, but they still need the Fire Primordial to actually start the reforging. If they don't have that their plan can't get anywhere. The Cloud Giants are searching for a lost trove but don't know were it is, and the Dragon they are interrogating does not know ether. Pretty much none of the Giants plans are going to progress for a while, the main issue is that they are causing problems getting their plans into order. And if Hekaton is restored he and his Storm Giants can bring the other Giant Lords to Heel.
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May 30, 2018 16:51
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MonsterEnvy posted:Well The frost giants are lost for awhile, their mage played captive and the party helped get away but they might still find Artus's kin, he's currently in Luskan waiting for zephyros to come pick him up. I considered offering them chult as a tomb of annihilation side trek, by way of frost giant ship, but I kinda want to stay focused. The fire giants definitely already have the primordial...I read that gauntlegrym suggested encounter and thought it sounded 10x more interesting from the drow's perspective and my players made an excellent infiltration and extraction team in the dungeon world oneshot I ran. Right now my plan is to have Nilraun, the mage that was in the frost giants base, actually be an arcane brotherhood agent who has been scrying on them. (One of my players instantly hated this guy and attacked him while the others protested but gave in eventually. One of my other players actually complained to me OOC about this and I didn't want to tell him the other guy's instinct was spot-on.) The arcane brotherhood was drawing power from the titan as well and obviously want it back for themselves so that can be his plan...my plan is for him to offer help but obviously have his own agenda. They're in ironslag's outskirts now, they killed a bunch of yakfolk but one of the shaman women got away down the elevator with some survivors and have presumably warned Zalto they're coming. Right now they are split between asking Zalto nicely and trying to start a slave revolt. I just think they will not be satisfied if all these plans fail off-screen, I gotta show something if they fail. Like, it's fine for the colossus to not quite be complete when they get there, but if they leave and do other things and make friends with Zalto and don't stop him, there better be a raging colossus by the time they get back. Doing grudd haug at a lower level would have been fun. They have a hill giant buddy living in the woods who could have lead them there but he didn't want to go back. I definitely did do the casino ship early though I think they felt a little railroaded, not my smoothest transition. Jeffrey of YOSPOS fucked around with this message at 17:04 on May 30, 2018 |
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May 30, 2018 17:00
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So my son is learning to play D&D and I am trying to learn with him, is there a resources for old dumb people like me who need someone to walk step by step on how to play? It has to be REAL dumbed down. I haven't played since 1st Edition and have forgotten everything. Alternatively, is there a resource he can use to become a better DM, we play 1 shots every night, but he has a tough time conveying the rules to us and setting up the world. He plays every Saturday night at the local comic shop during their Encounters program which has been helpful, but I would like to have a better understanding of the rules. I have dozens of questions on the most basic stuff that I think he is getting confused on. We have tried the Starter Set, and we have all 3 of the main books.
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May 30, 2018 17:01
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Flaggy posted:So my son is learning to play D&D and I am trying to learn with him, is there a resources for old dumb people like me who need someone to walk step by step on how to play? It has to be REAL dumbed down. I haven't played since 1st Edition and have forgotten everything. Alternatively, is there a resource he can use to become a better DM, we play 1 shots every night, but he has a tough time conveying the rules to us and setting up the world. He plays every Saturday night at the local comic shop during their Encounters program which has been helpful, but I would like to have a better understanding of the rules. I have dozens of questions on the most basic stuff that I think he is getting confused on. We have tried the Starter Set, and we have all 3 of the main books. http://media.wizards.com/2014/downloads/dnd/playerdndbasicrules_v0.2.pdf (Most of this stuff is in the PHB but the simple version may help.) I just found a site that offered a beginners guide. Have no idea how helpful it will be as I did not really need it. http://www.wasd20.net/resources/beginners-guide-to-dd-5th-edition/ As for becoming a better DM the DMG is quite helpful and given that you own it I would give it a good once over. Edit: Out of curiosity anything specific that is giving you trouble. MonsterEnvy fucked around with this message at 17:16 on May 30, 2018 |
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May 30, 2018 17:12
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MonsterEnvy posted:Those are the most basic rules. I think the biggest issue is, for example, lets say we are doing a perception check. Do I use just the Perception under skills, or Wisdom + perception since perception is a wisdom check? Or is it as simple as dice roll + character ability (the number above your main stat) + proficiency bonus? Or am I all just turned around. Feel free to make fun of me if these are dumb questions. And how does my proficiency bonus add into all of this? Flaggy fucked around with this message at 17:43 on May 30, 2018 |
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May 30, 2018 17:39
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Flaggy posted:I think the biggest issue is, for example, lets say we are doing a perception check. Do I use just the Perception under skills, or Wisdom + perception since perception is a wisdom check? each skill is described in the book as like Wisdom(Perception) checks, which mean you always use your wisdom bonus (14 wisdom is +2) and then if you are proficient in perception you add your proficiency bonus it works that way with almost all checks, like a melee attack with a battle axe is really technically a Strength(Battle Axe) check, but they dont bother going into that much detail when it comes to attacks (especially not spell attacks where everyone's just considered proficient in their spell slinging)
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May 30, 2018 17:42
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 I am using this as an example because I am dumb. So for perception, I would use the +1 on Wisdom and the +3 in skills. And if I happened to be proficient in Wisdom under Proficienecies at the bottom, I would add my +2 proficiency bonus.
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May 30, 2018 17:51
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No, the wisdom bonus is already factored into those numbers. The bonus you get on a skill roll is your stat bonus + your proficiency bonus if you're proficient in that skill. The +3 on your perception is the +1 wisdom and the +2 proficiency. Edit: The dot next to the skill means you're proficient in that skill.
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May 30, 2018 17:58
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Glagha posted:No, the wisdom bonus is already factored into those numbers. The bonus you get on a skill roll is your stat bonus + your proficiency bonus if you're proficient in that skill. The +3 on your perception is the +1 wisdom and the +2 proficiency. That's it. Thank you. That makes a ton of sense.
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May 30, 2018 18:03
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Flaggy posted:I think the biggest issue is, for example, lets say we are doing a perception check. Do I use just the Perception under skills, or Wisdom + perception since perception is a wisdom check? You also have a proficiency modifier. This starts at 2 and goes up every 5 levels or so, capping out at 6. This is unironically an improvement on 3.x and 4e. When you make a check you roll a d20, add the relevant ability score modifier, and add your proficient bonus if you are proficient at whatever you are trying to do. If you equal or beat the DC (difficulty check) you succeed! Sometimes you will have a passive (something), like passive perception. This is 10 + mod + proficiency if applicable. It's a way to make a DC out of a skill or whatever. So if I want to sneak past a goblin I can roll to beat their passive perception or they can roll to beat my passive stealth or we can roll off or just compare passives, whichever seems most appropriate. Armour class is (armour rating) + (capped dex) and being proficient in an armour does not mean you add your proficiency bonus to AC that would be silly!!! This is the DC to hit someone. Many spells and some abilities call for a save. This is the recipient rolling the appropriate mod + prof (if applicable) and trying to beat the caster's save DC, which is 8 + the caster's casting mod + proficiency. The caster does not have to roll anything. If a spell instead calls for a spell attack the caster rolls like an attack and no save is made, unless the spell also calls for a save as well. Splicer fucked around with this message at 18:10 on May 30, 2018 |
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May 30, 2018 18:06
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FYI, I played the previous two editions, and it took me forever to understand the d20 + mod + prof formula. The players handbook does a terrible job of explaining such a central part of the mechanics.
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May 30, 2018 18:09
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Jeffrey of YOSPOS posted:My group did a full-invisibility stealth mission also. They were smelled by yetis but managed to hide from the giants. (It was their second time their so they knew the layout a little better.) I'm not sure how to do it - they're entering the fire giant base now. There’s a tool for tracking plan progress in AW and Blades in the Dark, you should use countdown clocks. I can explain the concept if you’re not familiar with it. Not being given detail or stats, on the other hand, I can’t help with.
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May 30, 2018 18:47
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Storm King's Thunder related Spoilers ( Since most are unmarked )DalaranJ posted:There’s a tool for tracking plan progress in AW and Blades in the Dark, you should use countdown clocks. I can explain the concept if you’re not familiar with it. Not being given detail or stats, on the other hand, I can’t help with. I don't understand what this initialism is, or Blades in the Dark. Not sure those are actually spoilery, but I am not going to make someone mad on a whim. if you could point me in the direction, I can make up the stuff that I'd need most likely. Super interested in including this though. Jeffrey of YOSPOS posted:
it's definitely a lot of fun so far. They are doing well, but they haven't truly engaged with the big bad's real crew ( Just Ogres/Hobgoblins/Goblins falling so far, with one Hill Giant dying, and another falling through the floor ) As for the Casino Ship I didn't read far enough ahead to realize to introduce it early. I actually was reading a guide posted on DM's Guild, that was compiled and expounded upon from blog posts: http://www.dmsguild.com/product/193601/A-Guide-to-Storm-Kings-Thunder I downloaded it free at first, liked it so much I went back and paid for it. I had not caught nearly as much about the later content that I needed to know up front that I should have, which would have put me exactly in the same shoes as you.  It makes preparing for each session SO much easier.
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May 30, 2018 19:11
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Yeah that guide to storm king's thunder is like, required reading imo. That guy knows how to read a campaign module and fill in the gaps. My group went pretty far off the rails from his prescribed progression also but I made it work.
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May 30, 2018 19:39
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I'm about to run SKT with my group in, like, two weeks, so thanks for that! Any other resources for first time DMs in D&D but not their first time DMing? I'm sure these have been bandied about before, but figured I'd ask since we're on the subject 
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May 30, 2018 20:12
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Drowning Rabbit posted:Storm King's Thunder related Spoilers ( Since most are unmarked ) The things I said were not spoilers but if I say them in the open someone will guess what Jeffery is talking about. The first acronym was Apocalypse World. In these two games opposing factions have plans that could have disastrous consequences, and the plans are tracked using “countdown clocks”. Take a factions plan and draw a gauge for it labeling each segment of the gauge with potential consequences. The first half should mainly be labeled with foreshadowing elements and the last half with in game changes, with the final segment representing the ultimate goal of the plan. The length of the gauge is typical six segments but can be adjusted to the expected length of campaign. The shape of the gauge is a clock in these games, partially because it’s good thematically especially if you’re showing an unlabeled version of the gauge to players, but you could just make a bar gauge if you prefer. At the end of each session where the players did not inhibit the plans of the faction you fill the gauge, if the players directly messed with the factions plan you might empty the gauge. You can also add a degree of randomness if you want by rolling for how well the plan is progressing. Then during any session after a new section is filled be sure to showcase the phase of the plan that you described by that segment.
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May 30, 2018 21:03
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Drowning Rabbit posted:I don't understand what this initialism is, or Blades in the Dark. Not sure those are actually spoilery, but I am not going to make someone mad on a whim. if you could point me in the direction, I can make up the stuff that I'd need most likely. Super interested in including this though.
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May 30, 2018 21:16
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mormonpartyboat posted:each skill is described in the book as like Wisdom(Perception) checks, which mean you always use your wisdom bonus (14 wisdom is +2) and then if you are proficient in perception you add your proficiency bonus The last bit is wrong. The ability check rules specifically exclude attack rolls. If they didn't barbarians would just have advantage on all attacks while raging.
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May 30, 2018 23:58
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rodbeard posted:The last bit is wrong. The ability check rules specifically exclude attack rolls. If they didn't barbarians would just have advantage on all attacks while raging. bazinga'd again
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May 31, 2018 00:04
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Splicer posted:Oh I'd say they understood their audience perfectly. The way I'd put it is, they understood the audience they thought they would have. They didn't and don't understand the much, much wider audience they've Mr. Magoo'd their way into having on the brand alone.
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May 31, 2018 00:13
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Here are the psychic subclasses from Mike Mearls's stream: https://thinkdm.wordpress.com/psychic-warrior-fighter/ https://thinkdm.wordpress.com/soul-knife-monk/ https://thinkdm.wordpress.com/mentalist-wizard/ The fighter gets psychic divine smite. CJ fucked around with this message at 00:55 on May 31, 2018 |
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May 31, 2018 00:49
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What's a good resource for learning to be a better actor for NPCs as a DM?
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May 31, 2018 01:35
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kidkissinger posted:What's a good resource for learning to be a better actor for NPCs as a DM? Take an improv class.
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May 31, 2018 01:54
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Toshimo posted:Take an improv class. Do you think the world is ready for a cis het white male introvert to join the world of improv?
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May 31, 2018 02:19
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| # ? May 14, 2024 00:29 |
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kidkissinger posted:Do you think the world is ready for a cis het white male introvert to join the world of improv? 
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