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I think the 4E trifold is pretty neat but I have to admit I find square grids simpler and more convenient from a perspective of "whip up a quick map on a whiteboard," and also I don't mind square fireballs possibly due to some inherent moral degeneracy. How much work do you figure it would be to convert over to gridded measurements? Is it just as simple as saying "squares, go" or do bursts/blasts have to be refigured in some fashion?
Kai Tave fucked around with this message at 08:42 on Aug 3, 2014 |
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Aug 3, 2014 08:39
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wallawallawingwang posted:I just finished up with grad school, so I can switch my rpg tinkering from thing I do to procrastinate to normal person hobby. So, sorta? I think the big thing that's really worth preserving in any sort of 4E retroclone is the monsters (post MM3 obviously). The ability to simply drag and drop stuff from the MM3 or Monster Vault and to keep using the same sort of monster building guidelines would be a huge boon in my opinion, because this is the area where a lot of D&Dalikes fall down, and it gives 4E fans and GMs a way to continue using stuff that by and large is still pretty good and worth using. Beyond that, the thing I like about 4E that a lot of attempted clones doesn't really fulfill for me is an extensive list of unique powers and abilities per class. A lot of attempts at making 4E-esque games try and genericize powers or pare them down somehow and the end result always winds up feeling like the boring parts of Essentials to me, where you wind up with a tiny handful of stuff that you spam over and over and leveling up unlocks minor variations on a theme instead of something exciting and interesting. The problem with this is, of course, it's a lot of loving work just writing all of that, let alone balancing it. I wouldn't see anything wrong with an enterprising 4E clone going through 4E's powers and paring down the options by, like, 50% (because as much as I like 4E there's a lot of bloat, stuff nobody ever takes, abilities that aren't worth it), tweaking some stuff, changing some names around, and simply running with it. Filing the serial numbers off works for Pathfinder. Feats can get hosed though.
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Jun 2, 2015 06:50
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Gizmoduck_5000 posted:As for powers, you could both keep diversity and pare down the list by leveling existing powers at each tier, rather than replacing each with a similar, but higher-level power. For every power in 4E that's like a lower level one but with more bigger numbers there are plenty that aren't, is the thing.
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Jun 2, 2015 10:40
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Maxwell Lord posted:Trying to think of some good class features for the Gunner. I'm thinking of grouping them together under the heading "Heavy Weapon Mastery", and I can think of one that gives a +1 accuracy bonus, but not quite sure what else. Well what's the purpose of the class? That's what's going to provide the springboard for your class features. A +1 accuracy bonus is honestly kind of a dull feature in my opinion. It doesn't really tell the player "this is what you ought to be doing, this is what this class is all about" because everyone in a D&D-alike, or most RPGs in general, wants to win on dice rolls regardless of what their character is. Compare a +1 to hit to something like the Avenger's "you get to roll twice and take the best result provided you've isolated an enemy you've sworn an oath of holy murder against." It's not just more flavorful but it pushes the class into a particular playstyle, hunting down and isolating one chosen enemy as opposed to a Striker like the Barbarian whose deal is "smash whoever's in reach, then charge over there and smash that rear end in a top hat, just find someone and gently caress poo poo up, who cares" or the Rogue who looks for ways to flank with teammates and strike from concealment in order to get bonus damage. So what is the Gunner's deal? Martial Controller, heavy weapons guy. So we're talking machine guns and grenade launchers I assume. This guy doesn't sound like steely sniper picking and choosing his targets, this sounds like a class where you want the point to be "starts shooting, doesn't stop shooting until everything else has stopped shooting back, maniacal laughter optional." Something that creates difficult or even hazardous terrain every time they attack, or applies forced movement regardless of whether it's a hit or miss as people scatter, panic, or run for cover could help feed into the "control by overwhelming firepower" motif and give the Gunner a feel of being this rampaging destructive force. Marking could actually serve as a type of "suppressive fire" mechanic when at range even though that's generally seen as a more Defender-specific capability, but slapping a -2 to-hit on everyone you attack unless they focus on you seems appropriate to a beefy, ranged Controller sort of character. Combine it with an appropriate punishment mechanic of some sort and you can force difficult choices on enemies at a distance. Something else to consider might be using keywords. For example, 4E introduced both the Invigorating keyword to certain attacks, which gave you some temp HP when you used them, and simultaneously introduced the Battlerager Fighter whose primary schtick was "gets more and better use out of Invigorating attacks." So maybe some attacks have a keyword such as "Heavy" or "Suppressive" which has a concrete effect, and then the Gunner happens to be able to enhance the effects of those keywords beyond what other characters can.
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Aug 6, 2015 09:04
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