Oh, and here's the article I was referring to earlier.
Will WOTC release an Open Game License for 5th Edition Dungeons & Dragons?
Yep, I followed that link posted in the Kobold Press google community page recently. I said the same stuff there about the 3PP support and a vibrant community.
I just find the "comments below articles" schtick so top-down/devgods to consumer paupers, and it is in stark contrast to the flow here. Sure the devs are still choosy where they invest their time/effort, but it is a common occurrence for them to show up and comment/clarify/disagree/support all manner of concepts/ideas/misconceptions/beefs.
And, for what it is worth, I conduct 95% or more of my Paizo stuff on an iPhone, even creating characters. Not because I prefer it by any means, but I'm out of the house as a student a lot, and on trains for upwards of three hours a day. So I have the time.
I find these forums very user friendly. I daren't even consider trying to find the DnD ones, there have been so many forums/spaces/sites from Gleemax to the WotC ones to I just don't actually find it at all user-friendly or even intuitive. All I see are difficult to enter spaces that feel claustrophobic. And black. And I *LIKE* black.
But I would love to see it all open up and be fantastic. Which is a change in my attitude I am very happy to admit. For a while I really disliked the "non-community model" and general atmosphere of a lot of the 4e development. Don't get me wrong, I actually really liked a few of the 4e mechanics (bloodied for one!) and the tactical stuff, but hated the balance-to-end-all-balance (real or perceived/blown out of proportions by 4e haters) and the general dumbing down of the genre. For me it WAS DnD, but it really ind't feel like it. And this from someone who is a card carrying grognard, largely missed 2e, came in very late to 3e/3.5 and picked up some 4e coz he likes art books.
I personally didn't feel bummed for the edition financial burn, but I could see the pain of others who did. It seemed entirely venal.
But, yes, let's hope 5e is awesome. It already feels like the simplicity of ODnD/BECMI, but with all the option of 3.5 and 4e. As long as every reference to 2e or anything contained therein is completely expunged, excoriated and finally exorcised and sent to the furthest sun/black hole imaginable. I'll be happy edition warrior. 1st level of course. But no kits. ;)
Phew, that rant felt great. OSW out.
I'm going on orders from tomorrow until the 17th in support of a pretty big event in my state. I have no idea how often I will be able to post while I'm gone (I just found out I was actually going an hour ago. -.-) so Torrin can either fade into the background until I get back or someone can move him around as needed for the week.
I'm sorry for the short notice! Like I mentioned above I only just found out I was -required- to go, meaning someone above me couldn't make it. The joys of leadership!
Your fine Torrin. Ill just move along with him in the background and you can pick him up whenu gey back.
Will update tonight.
Everyone, loving every minute of the roleplay so far. It is above and beyond what I had hoped for. Previously I was not planning to award roleplay experience, but I believe I will be changing my mind. And Rasp, loving the Thieves Cant!
Yep. Well done, great RP everybody.
Anyone else have anything to do, or want to respond to what Gorion said? Or is everyone ready to move on to leaving?
Yep. Good to go.
Seeing as how only Rasp responded, can I get a count of who all is still here? Im going to move ahead and do the next scene tomorrow. Qorin, Garick, Dagoliir, you still here? You did not reply to the last update. Torrin should he returning soon.
I'm still here.
In the interests of pacing, I'd like to suggest the following system, brought up in a PbP pacing and general thoughts thread in General Discussion - the Rule of Two. Essentially, where posting is slow, after two posts by PCs when faced with a choice, the GM moves on with the suggested direction.
So here, where Rasp and Kemek have outlined their preparations, GM Shadoven moves the adventure forward, assuming the others have also prepared themselves, said their farewells etc. The other PCs can fill in the blanks retrospectively if they feel like it, or just move with the new scene. Otherwise I fear this will lag, folk will lose interest and then it will lag further, then people will lose interest even more.
Basically I'd like this to move faster. If others don't I'm out of sync with you guys. But in every post given by long-term GMs of PbP's the consensus was, by all means keep the pace as slow or as fast as the players like, but don't do anything to actively slow it down.
Thoughts any one else? GM Shadoven? Feel free to boot me if I'm being too pushy. :)
Very here.
Sometimes when I do nothing (in inter-scene scenes like this) I tend to post nothing, because it in some way feels like needlessly cluttering a thread to actually say "Nothing." But when I actually type that out loud, it sounds ridiculous bordering on insane. That's comforting, because ridiculous bordering on insane means I know it's me thinking it and not the alien mind control lasers making me think it.
In general, I think it's pretty ok to move on without waiting for a sign from everyone. Especially if you're getting impatient. We're human with our busy lives and our own twisted ideas, but the show must go on.
Fair enough, and the rule of two shall be implemented. Big update later today then.
Looking forward to it.
"I'm sure if Gorion wanted you to know what was going on, he'd ahve told you," Qorin says to Corban, tactful as ever. "But if you think you know better than he, by all means, pry away. Try to steal the secrets a mage keeps hidden. What could possibly go wrong?"
LOL. Meddle not in the affairs of wizards...
Will update later, and damnit rasp I wanted you to pass! Dont worry, its not over yet...bwahahaha.
Well, then maybe someone here should stop rolling 20s. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'll be reading up on making a Mage Illusionist. ;-)
Believe me, I did not wanna roll a 20. Wish I had rolled that well with my drow bard when I played...
Again Dagoliir, Garrick, and Torrin. You guys still with me? I reopened recruitment, but I would much prefer to have you guys back. Please contact me as soon as possible and give me a status update.
Damn ... that blows
I had not noticed. PM them GM...
I PMed all 3 of them 2 days ago. Still no response :(
Well .. things do get wonky this time of year.
Absolutely. Im hoping they come back and can just join back in.
Outstanding. Major update in the morning for you Rasp. Morning my time, so 9 hours or so.
It's cool. Heading to bed now anyways. Good night.
Again Dagoliir, Garrick, and Torrin. You guys still with me? I reopened recruitment, but I would much prefer to have you guys back. Please contact me as soon as possible and give me a status update.
I think we should keep the game going in the meanwhile. We can just handwave that the other members of the dinner party disappeared, and then bring them back in later, if they want to rejoin. Any new players can come in after. Pausing until we have a full set will just take too long. It's been my experience that finding players is not too hard. Especially, if the game is updating regularly.
Oh im going to continue without them, do not worry.
1: The Concentration rules under Magic in the How To Play PDF talk about maintaining a spell, but nothing about Concentration for casting in Combat. Have I missed something?
The Play Test specifies 3 situations that can affect your concentration:
- Casting another spell that requires concentration
- Losing consciousness
- Suffering severe distractions
It then specifies that you make a DC 10 Constitution Saving Throw to see if you keep the spell.
If you specifically want to know about "combat casting" in the Pathfinder/3.5 sense... Well, apparently, casting magic doesn't provoke Opportunity Attacks.
2: In the Combat section, Knockdown mentions a contested check - your Strength vs the opponents choice of Strength or Dexterity. But do you need to make a successful hit first? What about using knockdown with a weapon?
Strictly speaking, no, you wouldn't have to make an attack check first. You just start off the contest. But remember it's always in the GM's discretion to ask for a check if they think the situation warrants it. D&D Next always favors GM common sense over rules lawyering.
As for using Knock down with a weapon, apparently how you do it is just flavor.
3: On my Wisdom (Insight) save, should I have added my Proficiency bonus (I did not, but it wouldn't have mattered much anyway...) ? Or to put it a little more clearer, do I add my Proficiency bonus to *any* Wisdom save?
According to your sheet, you add proficiency to:
- Wisdom Saving Throwss
- Athletics (strength)
- Nature(Intelligence)
- Surival (Wisdom)
You add proficiency bonus to all your selected skills, and any Wisdom saving throws. The Wisdom (insight) was a check not a save. So, no, you weren't supposed to add it there. But, you do add it to any Wisdom Save.
That'll typically come up, when...
Wisdom Saving Throws
The DM commonly asks you to use Wisdom when you make a saving throw to resist being charmed or frightened, to see through an illusion cast upon you, or to withstand an attempt to influence you.
Ssshhhh Rasp, don't give away all my secrets! But yes Kemek, Rasp pretty well answered everything I was going to say.
Essentially combat normally does not affect spellcasting at all. Just keep in mind you can only have 1 concentration effect going at a time, and if you cast ANY spells whilst concentrating, it breaks your Concentration Spell.
But if you were Concentrating on a spell and I hit you for damage, that would not do anything unless I felt the situation particularly called for it.
Essentially in Combat, you get a move and a Action. Knockdown is a type of Action you can take to make a Str roll contested by the opponents Dex or Str roll, and if you succeed they are knocked prone.
Rasp covered Proficiency very well. Essentially, think of Prof like your Base Attack Bonus, Base Save Bonus, and your Skill Modifier in a Pathfinder sense.
So you add Prof bonus too...
-Saves your Class states you are Proficient in.
-Skill Checks your Class and Background make you Proficient in.
-Attack Rolls that you use a Weapon you are Prof in.
-Spell DC's if you are holding an Implement, as described in the Spellcasting section of your class.
Corban snarls in rage and pain, his features shifting and sliding, almost as if something is moving underneath his flesh. He grabs at Qorin, obviously attempting to throw him from the Cliff!
Don't forget, Kemek, that you can use Thunderwave to knock the enemy off of Qorin, in case he gets grappled.
Indeed he could. Rasp, big update for you is up. I think you will be pleased with the outcome, despite the rather nasty outcome of the first combat of the game.
Ok, thanks guys!
You add your Proficiency bonus to attacks with proficient weapons too? Well obviously makes complete sense, but it wasn't clear to me. I think I need to revisit the How To Play pdf.
Having played most of the playtests to date for at least a session or two, I have to say, I get confused a lot too.
I think it's kinda due to the PDFs being broken up - in a collected Tome things would be easier to find, and hopefully more intuitively located. Even the PF CRB needs a serious overhaul in terms of layout - many of the rules that are related are scattered.
Will update in about 7 hours, will assume you are going for feeling. Feel free to go ahead and post or decide your next course of action. Just like the weekend, I will be available after that for back to back posting if anyone wants to move quick.
Raso you should be caught up in the timeline tiday, so be ready for action!
Rasp, you will not need a hit die. Gorion takes you all to the temple and gets everyone healed up to full. Update in a bit.
OK.
Last call for missing players...
Guys, a quick breakdown of what just happened. I realize in some ways, what just happened was a bit railroad, and I apologize for that. It will not happen again. In an attempt to stay true to the original opening of the game, as well as bringing the other characters into the game, I rushed the scene slightly and did not play it out as much. You did accomplish more than I expected though! So congrats all three of you, Rasp you slaughtered a Bandit, Kemek you Thunderwaves two Ogres, and Qorin you intimidated 4 of your attackers. More than the other group I ran this for was able to accomplish, so yay!
But again, there will not be any other form of railroading after this, and I apologize for the sake of the story!
And yes, we rocked those poseurs!!! Two Ogres bowled over? That's how Kemek ticks? Pulses? Rolls?
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As long as you know that you were playing railroad conductor then I think it is fine. My trouble is more with the GM's who don't seem to know they are doing it or don't care. I actually think that since the group played the intro, the escape felt like it had real stakes which made the narrative point "meaningful". I tend to think of railroading as especially problematic when it is either comprehensive or done on trivial things.
My 2 cp anyway ;p
Anyone in this group up for another Next campaign?
I do NOT want to hijack this one at all, but I'm thinking about starting a higher level campaign (a conversion of some old 1eAD&D modules I have - the GDQ series - very dungeon crawly) and just checking interest with the people I already know are a) fun to play with and b) into Next.
Id be stoked for it.
And yes..
Everyone is at full health by the way. You took a Long Rest.
@Qorin: I'd be up for it. I did DM G 1-3 and D1 for my brother back in the 80's, but I can keep a lid on player knowledge. Just wish there were more classes. I guess they didn't have all these newfangled classes back in the day...
Can it be set in Greyhawk? ;)
Did they include a Warlock in the playtest? I seem to remember there was one? If so I'd be up for playing one, otherwise a Monk...
Not in the recent packet. There was one awhile back. Id be up for either a Mage, Fighter, Fighter Mage, Rogue Mage...Rogue...Paladin....ummm everything? Heh, so whats the premise behind those modules?
And will update game tonight when I get home.
Don't believe there is a warlock.
And I believe the default setting is Greyhawk, but the last time I knew anything about Greyhawk was back in the 80s. Which is to say, if your backgrounds and whatnot aren't canon, I won't know.
Anyway, I'll probably start a thread in the next day or two. Think about 8th level characters.
I know nothing about Greyhawk beyond 3rd edition gods in the players handbook, so I will wing it.
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Mhhm Greyhawk where the world was relatively compact and the spells were named after the great mages of ages past; Bigby. Mordenkainen. Oh and that Vecna jerk came from there too I think ;p
8th level?
Hmmm
I assume we will roll like we did for this game? That would dictate what I think I can play...another 8 would be murder ;p
Evard, Leomund, etc.
Short answer, I'm not sure on chargen. When I put up the thread, I'll have made up my mind.