Re: 4E:- Previews for May & beyond (long)

On Fri, 30 May 2008 01:20:42 GMT, "Christopher Adams"
<mhacdeinvalidbhandia@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

Keith Davies wrote:
Christopher Adams wrote:

Why put this stuff in and make people who don't want to use it take
it out?

Presumably it's easier to remove rules than to make new ones.

Why not make these own rules up for your own damn campaign?

See above.

I've seen a lot more misbegotten rules created by amateurs than I have
seen rules removed due to poor consideration by amateurs. Dropping a
rule rarely has the implications or effect that adding a poorly-
considered one does.

Yeah, but Keith, we're not talking about rules which need balance, the way
combat rules do.

Why not? The characters ask to do what she did, what does it cost and
how hard is it? Do you just say no, you can't? Do you wing it and
throw out a quick guess as to membership requirements and costs?

The try to convince her to let them join her order. What is her sense
motive ability? What do they have to roll on diplomacy to convince
her to let them? If she has to choose between raising a PC or a towns
person and the PCs try to use intimidate on her, what is the required
roll?

These are social situation that need rules that balance in the same
way that combat does...unless she is a brightly painted cardboard
cutout that is provided only to cast a few rituals.

There is absolutely no balance problem with saying that you need to be a
member of a specific order of priests to be able to cast Raise Dead. Players
who want to be capable of using the ritual will create PCs which belong to
that order, and there is no check *whatsoever* on the DM's ability to place
a member of that order in any location where she wants an NPC capable of
raising the dead to be available.

Given that, why put unnecessary restrictions on the rule as written? They
already have rules designed to provide a reasonable opportunity cost for
rituals in the form of feats and gold pieces; the cruft of flavour text
which says you have to join this specific in-game organisation in order to
get them doesn't add *anything* to the damn game.
Kyle Wilson
email: kylewilson@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
.

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