Comments for DnD Corner

Comment on Dungeons and Dragons is Evil by Korkem

Korkem — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 19:55:32 +0000

ok, you had me going (since im reading this at the end of novmber and not anywere near april). at first i raged, then i loled.

Comment on Becoming a Diceless DM by Chris

Chris — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 20:05:49 +0000

I realize this is an old post, but I wanted to point something out. The “average” of 1d4 is 2.5, not 2. By using 2 you give the creature 20% less damage. You might say this evens out if both PCs and monsters use it, but it depends. If you have a PC wielding a 1d12 weapon, you only lose roughly 8%, thus there is an unfair advantage.

If you and your players are happy then go for it, I just wanted to point out that it could potentially change game mechanics. Also, to me, the randomness adds a lot to the game. There is an emotional component with particularly good or bad rolls, and the anticipation of seeing which side the dice will favor.

Comment on The Character Optimization Controversy for Characters in DnD by Pushkins

Pushkins — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 05:44:21 +0000

First off, This is a great point!. The CO is abusive, not only to the DM but to other players. If one guy shows up with an Uber character, that in turn needs to be met by the DM offering challenge. As this cycle progresses, the non CO characters get swallowed and die off like gnats.
This is a Role playing game, not a strategic combat game. The point is, when home spun worlds offer up ALL that the books offer, there is a tendency for things to go awry. My suggestion is give the Gods some time. For instance, while I was DMing a character wanted a cohort Pun-Pun, he got it, and as soon as the Sarrukh form was taken A god came down and cast the nasty thing into the abyss. Ended that attempt. Even though a character may attain a god like strength, it doesn’t mean the God of Strength doesn’t get major P-Oed and come challenge that lowly mortal, because face it, if you stacked all you could into attaining an uber strength, you do not have the ability to face down divine ranks.

Make the mortals pay for their insolence, DM’s take control of your game, it’s about story, not combat

Comment on When Character Death is a Bad Thing by Unwinder

Unwinder — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 05:28:04 +0000

The worst is when a funny, well-loved character dies.

I hate to play favorites, but when the most interesting character in the party is up against overwhelming odds, I feel like it’s my duty to step in and save him. I don’t want my party, or myself for that matter, to get bored without him.

Comment on Being Party Leader – The Role Not The Role by Unwinder

Unwinder — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 05:21:27 +0000

While some parties can easily manage without a designated leader, it is absolutely essential with others.

I typically set up my quests to contain way more enemy encounters than the players can handle, with the expectation that the players will come up with clever ways to bypass most of them. The vast majority of the players prefer to outwit their opponents, or find a smart way to take them out without putting themselves at risk.

However, about midway through the campaign, the party gained a couple of fighters who were very combat-oriented types. Whenever the party would start discussing strategy, and trying to figure out if an encounter could be avoided, these two would invariably get bored and charge into battle, ignoring everyone else’s input, and putting their less hp-endowed companions at risk.

I tried a couple of solutions to the problem, and even confronted the worst offender on the matter, but the same thing just kept on happening time after time.

In my new campaign, I’ve designated a trusted veteran player as the leader. I know him well enough that he will listen to everyone else’s solutions, and only use his power to decide disputes.

More importantly, though, in this particular campaign, the party is working for a company, and receives a wage for adventuring. The leader character is in charge of payroll, and if a character gets too far out of line, he is authorized to dock paychecks.