OK, we got together this Sunday for our first session. I had five players, one of which left after character generation (not because of the game, I hasten to add).
Terry – Human Universal School Wizard
Michael – Human Cleric of Pharesma
Cody – Elf Rogue
Joe – Human Fighter (close combat specialist)
Robert – Human Fighter (archer)
We discussed the playtest style campaign, and what that would mean. They all agreed to run with it. I decided to run Module TC1, as I figured it would be short and sweet. We actually got to play the first encounter with the dogs, and made it to the inn before the end of the session.
We discussed how characters would be generated, and the players chose point allocation (I went with 28 points).
Several of the players were disappointed that I mandated that only the current draft classes would be allowed, but they went along with it. They are anxious to see the other classes.
We discussed adding more hit points, using the options discussed on pg. 11. Two of the players liked the flat option, and three preferred standard, which surprised me. The players noted that the majority of the other options seemed excessive.
We discussed experience option, and again the players chose the standard options. One suggested that the rapid option would be good for a playtest, but he was outvoted. I might revisit this in the future.
Specific Feedback
* The list of school and domain powers should be included in the class descriptions. It seemed like it was too much trouble to flip back and forth.
* The player with the Elf wanted the return of the elven racial attack bonuses.
* The player with the cleric wanted 0-level spells to be adjusted for high stats, and pointed out that having more first level than 0 level spells seemed kind of odd, even though he acknowledged it was already like this in 3.0/3.5.
* The majority of the players liked the skill system. They liked both the fact that all skills had the same modifier, based on training, and they liked the idea of gaining more skills as their character rose in level. The only trouble they seemed to have was distinguishing between Trained and Trained dross-class. I still believe dropping the cross-class distinction would not be unbalancing while making skills simpler to deal with. Some skills could restricted to certain classes (like UMD) but otherwise, if the player wants a stealthy Wizard, why not let him have it?
* The players were very enthusiastic about the skill consolidation, which they thought was an obvious improvement.
* We did not get to use the CMB, but when I explained what it was, they seemed to like the idea. I’ll have a chance to use it extensively if there is a bar brawl next session.
* One of the players noted that there should be pre-generated characters made available, along with customization options. I have to agree with this, as it will give us an idea about the ‘baseline’ for PCs, as well as making character creation easier for those who don’t wish to invest all that much effort in it.
* The players flat-out refused to worry about equipment unless I actually made them, or promised serious consequences for not tracking it. Based on this, I suggest dumping the encumbrance rules altogether. I have yet to run a group that actually kept track of encumbrance or enforced any penalties based on it. They did keep track of the armor based skill-check and movement penalties, and since the 3.0/3.5 says the weight and armor penalties don’t stack (right?) it probably needs to be junked anyway as a useless rule. I suggest keeping a flat cap on weight based on Str with a simple draconic penalty for a single pound over the limit.
* I used a fan character sheet, which they actually had quite a bit of feedback on, even after I explained it was a fan effort. I suggest you guys take the time to come up with a character sheet and get feedback on the sheet as well. They suggested that the Trained bonus have it own column in skill calculation, and they thought it would be confusing for it to be called the level bonus. The sheet should be easy to read, and include spaces for CMB as well as Maneuver Defense.
* The spellcasters seemed nonplussed about the Domain and School powers. That may change after adventuring for a while.
* I wouldn’t mind seeing some level based ‘style’ choices for the non-spellcasting classes, like fencing and other basic weapon styles for fighting classes. The players seemed to gravitate toward this anyway, so why not reward them for distinguishing their characters? This might reduce the need for 50,000 different prestige classes. :)
* The general reaction seemed good, with one caveat; the players said they wanted the game to be as much like 3.5 as possible, especially the more experienced players. But when actually exposed to a sub-system they perceived as better, they were more than willing to adapt to what they considered to be a positive change. Given that attitude, I applaud your decision to take a year and a half to openly playtest this thing, as that will be the only way to build consensus about your final product.
Any questions or comments are welcome.
Doyle
