Before we continue the design discussion, I'd like to get some feedback from you guys, first what is your favorite class? Go ahead answer this quick poll and let us all know.
I have a theory concerning what people expect from design. As I tend to view things from the perspective of a player, I tend to look at other aspects of the game through the lens of a rogue. I value three aspects of a class more than anything else, its damage, its usefulness in terms of skills, and how well does it avoid getting hit. I fully admit that I don't have much a fondness for druids or barbarians, and I haven't played them in any edition. As a DM, I understand their place, and what people like about them. I am slated to be playing a barbarian soon, but it will definitely be tempered by how I play my other characters. My barbarian isn't so much going to be an unintelligent hulking brute, but instead a warrior who relies on his instinct and his anger to solve problems. Although he is a well trained fighter, he comes from a sophisticated and intelligent nature-loving civilization. He is in all senses, one of their well-groomed predators
It isn't only my preference of class that shapes my play style. Thematically, I tend to enjoy swordsmen and swashbuckling. I prefer intelligent and complex characters over simplistic characters. My favorite D&D setting is the Feywild, as I have a fondness for Shakespeare's Midsummer's Night Dream and constantly draw from it when using aspects of the Feywild. My favorite video game series is Final Fantasy (Just beat Final Fantasy XV, in case you were wondering). My favorite movie series is Star Wars. Each of these has a driving force on my expectations, my preferences, and at times even my GMing style. Let's take a look at those and draw from what I normally want as a player and GM. As a real-life fencer and swordplay enthusiast, I love any chance I get to make combat feel more compelling. My love of swashbuckling themes only reinforces this. My love of the Feywild will tend to lead me to want to incorporate it in varying degrees in a campaign. As a fan of games like Final Fantasy I prefer things that are flashy and visually compelling. Star Wars has taught me that usually the best struggles are struggles of the heart, and that the greatest monsters aren't very alien at all. Ever notice that most of the Sith Lords we see from Episode I to Episode VII are all human, with the exception of Darth Maul? It has also taught me that there is nothing like a good show stopping lightsaber duel, but we'll categorize that under swordplay.
So what has this got to do with anything? Interests fuel expectations and creativity. If all of the above are examples of what I prefer in sci-fi/fantasy, it may be evident what themes you can expect me to enjoy as a player, and what I create as a GM. The inherent obstacle is to be able to expand from this and do more and enjoy more then one's predisposition. You can only use the same themes so many times before it gets stale. Branching out, even with the influence of your core interests and expectations is better than not moving from that.
This same concept also applies to homebrewing player options. A creator may tend to be biased with his or her favorite aspects of an existing class or race and aspire to create something too similar. In terms of creativity when it comes to the rules, what is ultimately most important is objectivity. You can say, "I want to mix X with Y." After that, leave those classes alone, and work farther outside those classes to see what similar implementations you can find. For example, when working on the slayer class, Starhelm said, "Hey for killing people outright, maybe do it like Destroy Undead." As I said in my last article, slayer is a thematic mix of ranger and rogue, but in this case it was more helpful to look at cleric which is totally unrelated in terms of theme.
Ultimately, our core interests should be a starting place, but only a wide lens can capture our potential as players and creators. Happy gaming, and see you all on Friday.
Love the monk but feel like Kryx's rework made him so much funner. Besides him I love the Bard, and Barbarian.
ReplyDeleteAnatoliy,
ReplyDeleteI just read Kryx's rework for the first time, and I think that rework illustrates my point further. Now, I personally don't know him, but I am, based on what I could gather, assume that a lot of what he has played prior to 5e was a system built on rules such as Pathfinder where crazy things were just available. That isn't a problem, if I am correct in my assumption, it explains why bother changing monk like that, it is what he could very well like, so he made it such a way.
In my opinion, the rework is a bit too strong, but if your game and the people in it can handle it, have at!
Bard is cool, I love what 5e did for Bard. If classes were a factor in real like I would be a College of the Sword Bard/Swashbuckler Rogue.
Speaking of monk, check out Way of the Fractured Mind, above this post!
DeleteI can only agree last time I played with it I got rid of the 3rd attack and made it so that the flurry of blows was only free if at least 1 ki point was used in some other way during that that turn such as sweeping strike or knockback kick or even a reaction using catch projectile. The idea is that once the ki is already flowing for whatever reason, supernatural speed is a biproduct. As for the tradition, you already know I love save spells and monks and you basically put them together so thank you. As I'm in the middle of writing this from, again, my phone I can't check back but if remember there was an ability that, at the expense of 3 ki, you can do 2+ half your monk level extra damage and I feel like that is a little much because that potentially adds +48 damage late game. It does match up to quivering palm but I feel like just adding your proficiency modifier instead might be more balanced.
DeleteWell, late game, rogues do an average. Key word, average of 35 damage with sneak attack. Contingent upon one successful attack, no less. In the case a monk has done 48 damage in a round with this ability, he has rolled 4 d20's successfully in a round, in a vacuum.
ReplyDeleteI'm not worried about it, for a related example, check out the sharpshooter archetype that was released last monday on the official D&D sight. That has a very similar ability.