I didn't have time to read it completely but I have couple things to say. The more I read the more I will add in this thread.
1) Lack of new things - poisons, traps, diseases. After 3.5 editions of using same stuff we could use something new (like spells - great job!). Same goes for gear in Player's Guide but it is set in stone already.
2) Creatures
a) Please make them Name->Stats->Description. It will be easier to check up on during session and now when I am scrolling it's difficult to say if the stats are for correct creature or the one I scrolled by.
b) To save space you could present stats in the same way Spirit Mount in Player's Guide is presented.
c) It's great there are descriptions for powers in stat blocks but text "as a talent (PG, p. XX)" is in opposition to what you wanted to do and what you did with skills in Player's Guide (make it faster for GM to check how power works and to remove such texts from the book). Instead of writing "As a talent" write something like "Test vs Climbing Difficulty" or "Test vs target's Mystic Defense. -1 to target's all actions per success"
d) In Preview you wrote that you want to make more unique creatures like "Leader of the Pack Silverback Ape" but... All we got is this Ape... and Bats. You could at least put some guide how to create for example "Weak Bear for Circle One, Great Bear for Circle Fifth" etc. Some templates to put on regular creatures like in old Warhammer where we got Warrior, Shaman etc. to put at greenskins stats without need to have entry for each creature mentioned.
e) I don't get why we got "Bat, Messenger; Bat, Shrieker" etc. but not "Griffin; Griffin, Jungle", "Spider, Giant; Spider, Giant Trapdoor" and "Lizard; Lizard, ghoul; Lizard, Lightning; Lizard, Plague".
f) It would be nice if powers would have specified action type.
g) Tiers (Novice, Journeyman, Warden) can be better than Circle as challenge indication
I don't know how early this preview is but I see a lot of points which could make it better. Considering new poisons, traps etc. If you don't have time to make some new, you could ask people to post some of theirs on forum and then decide to put them in the book.
Sorry for the tone but I think that now is the time for complaing so we can say compliments later
[ED4] GM's Guide preview feedback
[ED4] GM's Guide preview feedback
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Re: [ED4] GM's Guide preview feedback
Thanks for the feedback. I am not as happy with the creatures chapter as I could be, and that is part of the reason I put it out there -- to get some thoughts about ways to improve it. I've already mentioned in another thread how the stuff with the "masks" and thoughts on how to adapt creatures may or may not make it into the GM Guide based on available space.
With regard to the other stuff (diseases/poisons/traps)... again we come down to available space. The items presented are examples, and I'm not sure how "different" other examples would be when all is said and done?
With regard to the other stuff (diseases/poisons/traps)... again we come down to available space. The items presented are examples, and I'm not sure how "different" other examples would be when all is said and done?
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Re: [ED4] GM's Guide preview feedback
That "rank/step" thing is one of those buggers that I've been wrestling with, and another reason why I'm not completely satisfied with the state of creatures right now.
I didn't really like the way creatures in ED3 were built so much like PCs, with ranks and the like driving the effect/duration of powers, giving the GM something else to keep track of. One of the things I was (and still am) looking to do with the revision to creature powers is to cut back on that sort of thing. GMs have enough to keep track of as it is, and I'm not really a believer in the kind and degree of system balance present in ED3.
There are some examples of that in the powers as they currently stand, but I don't think it's where it could be. I had spent so much time going through that chapter I was getting a bit of brain drain and needed to wrap up the first pass and move on to something else.
I didn't really like the way creatures in ED3 were built so much like PCs, with ranks and the like driving the effect/duration of powers, giving the GM something else to keep track of. One of the things I was (and still am) looking to do with the revision to creature powers is to cut back on that sort of thing. GMs have enough to keep track of as it is, and I'm not really a believer in the kind and degree of system balance present in ED3.
There are some examples of that in the powers as they currently stand, but I don't think it's where it could be. I had spent so much time going through that chapter I was getting a bit of brain drain and needed to wrap up the first pass and move on to something else.
Josh Harrison --
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Troubadour and Magic Theorist
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Re: [ED4] GM's Guide preview feedback
Oh, and to address art... just as with the Player's Guide, we are looking to do as much new art as we can (all new art if possible), and how much creature art we end up with will depend on available space. Until I finish the rest of the chapters and we get a look at initial page count, that will give us a sense of how much space we have for art, and how much stuff we might need to cut and move to the Companion.
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Re: [ED4] GM's Guide preview feedback
I'm confused by the new 'Holding Your Breath' rule under Drowning/Suffocation.
Under suffocation: "After being exposed to the stale air for a number of rounds equal to their Toughness Step, a character suffers Step 2/D4-1 damage, with no reduction for armor. Each subsequent round, the damage Step increases by +1."
But then under 'Holding Your Breath': "The character can begin to hold their breath again, but the accumulated modifiers to the Damage Step do not immediately reset. Instead they drop by one for every additional round the character is not holding his breath."
So if after Toughness Step rounds a character starts gulping down bad air, the damage step will be Step 2 for the first round, then Step 3 the next, Step 4 the one after, and so on. If the same character after Toughness Step rounds instead holds his breath for say two rounds - then starts gulping down bad air and no longer holds his breath- he would take Step 4 the first round, then Step 3 the second round, then Step 2 the one after?
I like the Hold Your Breath option, but if the idea is to simplify the rules then I would suggest the following:
"A character can hold their breath to try and avoid poison gas or similar hazards. Once suffocation damage begins, a character voluntarily holding their breath must successfully make a Willpower (5) or Toughness (5) test, and this Difficulty Number increases by +1 for each round they continue to hold it. Failure means they take a breath, suffering the appropriate level of suffocation damage. The character can begin to hold their breath again, but the accumulated modifiers to the Difficulty Number do not immediately reset. Instead they drop by one for every round the character is not holding his breath."
Under suffocation: "After being exposed to the stale air for a number of rounds equal to their Toughness Step, a character suffers Step 2/D4-1 damage, with no reduction for armor. Each subsequent round, the damage Step increases by +1."
But then under 'Holding Your Breath': "The character can begin to hold their breath again, but the accumulated modifiers to the Damage Step do not immediately reset. Instead they drop by one for every additional round the character is not holding his breath."
So if after Toughness Step rounds a character starts gulping down bad air, the damage step will be Step 2 for the first round, then Step 3 the next, Step 4 the one after, and so on. If the same character after Toughness Step rounds instead holds his breath for say two rounds - then starts gulping down bad air and no longer holds his breath- he would take Step 4 the first round, then Step 3 the second round, then Step 2 the one after?
I like the Hold Your Breath option, but if the idea is to simplify the rules then I would suggest the following:
"A character can hold their breath to try and avoid poison gas or similar hazards. Once suffocation damage begins, a character voluntarily holding their breath must successfully make a Willpower (5) or Toughness (5) test, and this Difficulty Number increases by +1 for each round they continue to hold it. Failure means they take a breath, suffering the appropriate level of suffocation damage. The character can begin to hold their breath again, but the accumulated modifiers to the Difficulty Number do not immediately reset. Instead they drop by one for every round the character is not holding his breath."
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Re: [ED4] GM's Guide preview feedback
"As with many aspects aspects of dwarf politics in recent years," p. 19.
I like what I've read of the new extended history! Will there be a novel?
I like what I've read of the new extended history! Will there be a novel?
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Re: [ED4] GM's Guide preview feedback
when can non-crowdfunders expect the gamemasters guide?
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Re: [ED4] GM's Guide preview feedback
I expect that the PDF for the GM Guide will be available sometime in late August or early September (depending on art delivery). Print copies will be made available when they come back from the printer.
Josh Harrison --
Troubadour and Magic Theorist
Line Developer: Earthdawn
Troubadour and Magic Theorist
Line Developer: Earthdawn
Re: [ED4] GM's Guide preview feedback
Duvvelsheyss
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