Thursday, May 13, 2010
Vote
Could you clarify... would we just be changing or replacing the rules or playing a whole new game. Would there be classes?
My tentative answer is to vote for the second option. Might as well give us some reading material to study up on before we reconvene this summer, but given the time it makes sense to just make the jump. If we were meeting next week and not going to travel, I would rather adapt our rules to dnd.
XB: If we adapted Fallout to 4e rules, we'd keep the current game. If we started playing D&D stright up, it would be entirely unrelated to our Fallout game.
Since Amanda is going to be away until September, we might consider playing a D&D game for the summer so she doesn't miss anything.
My tentative answer is to vote for the second option. Might as well give us some reading material to study up on before we reconvene this summer, but given the time it makes sense to just make the jump. If we were meeting next week and not going to travel, I would rather adapt our rules to dnd.
XB: If we adapted Fallout to 4e rules, we'd keep the current game. If we started playing D&D stright up, it would be entirely unrelated to our Fallout game.
Since Amanda is going to be away until September, we might consider playing a D&D game for the summer so she doesn't miss anything.
jletourneau, 9:28 PM
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Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Change is coming to the Core
What would be happier to everyone:
* Playing our Fallout game (with rules, imperfect as they may be, intact),
* Switching our Fallout game to (more professional and) sexier D&D4,
* Playing our Fallout game (with rules intact), but maybe playing some actual D&D?
The last possibility could serve as a test bed. If we like one game more than another, we can focus on it. If we like them same, we could try going back and forth. If we like one notably less, we can abandon it.
Please use your authorship privileges to discuss this, so it's easily visible when we pop by to check the blog.
Xaos_Bob, 11:22 PM
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Monday, May 3, 2010
New Skill System?
Got an e-mail from Chris that stated the following:
I'm sending this to you because it most directly affects Ivan. When I was working out how to do skill points, there was something I failed to notice in D&D. In 4th Edition, there aren't skill points. Well, there are, but not that you assign each level. In AD&D, 2nd Ed. and 3.x there were always skill points gained on level up, but the new system doesn't.
Now, since we aren't running D&D RAW (Rules As Written), that might not be a problem, except that it skews things in a weird way I hadn't pieced together before. Before too many levels, everybody is going to be uber-good at anything they invest skill points into--like "Hercules wielding Excalibur, slicing a tomato for a sandwich" good. Since we also use combat skills (which D&D doesn't), this will make combat a nightmare very quickly--either things will be way too easy to kill or way too hard, with nothing really in-between.
This problem is amplified hugely by Ivan. Each level, you will gain almost as many skill points as there are skills, allowing you to effectively max out all of your skills except a couple you don't care about anyway. Thus, what I noted above is even more true of Ivan. Now, I know you want him to be a real bad-ass, and I want to see him get there, but if most things are so easy for everyone, and everything is so easy for you, it will not be possible for me to effectively challenge you guys without being arbitrarily unfair. No challenge, no fun--think about video games that are just way too easy, god-modes, cheats, that sort of thing.
So here is the idea I want to run by you (first the general, then for your case specifically):
1. Nobody gets skill points. 3 tag skills as normal on character creation (D&D is built with this idea in mind). Development of skills comes courtesy of the "half-your-level" mechanic.
2. For the Skilled trait, instead of the increase of skill points, you instead Tag two additional skills. This still makes Ivan competent in 167% as many skills as the others.
3. Educated and Comprehension perks need to be retooled or eliminated. Instead, I can make skill perks I said we weren't going to use.
These changes will make leveling easier, Skilled actually becomes about 17% more effective, and there will be a more flexible selection of perks available. DMing will become easier, too, since I won't have to struggle with the balance so much.
Thoughts?
Message part ii
I misjudged the numbers difference between the original and the revamped idea for Skilled. I stand by my conclusion, though. :p
Oh, and in D&D, training in a skill (what we call Tagging) is not +3 but +5. Without additional skill points added into the mix, though, I think that works.
jletourneau, 2:20 PM
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