So this is probably going to be a contentious post, because I think the following: the core rolling mechanic is bad, as it does not engage with the central mechanics of 4e (surges, powers, and items), explicitly or otherwise. What I mean by that is that I could take any ole system of dice rolling and plug it in, and have very little difference on how it worked. Yeah, I know there are powers that muck with a few things that the dice do, but it doesn't take that much tweaking to fix it. I'm talking about tying the d20 mechanic into these systems so much that you can't rip it out and put something else into it.
So first off, why use a d20? I mean, really, why use it? Besides the fact that DnD has always done it? If we're going to keep it we need to know how it worked at its best and try to replicate that feeling, that experience. And the answer here is going to be rather subjective, cause I have my own opinion about what experience of DnD connected the d20 in the best, and that's going to have to be Basic. Each action is a turn, which is ten minutes long, which feeds back into random encounters. You can try an action as many times as you like, but each time you have the chance of making a random encounter come up. And the d20 feeds into that uncertainty (yes, I know that not all actions were resolved with a d20 in Basic) extremely well. You're pushing your luck, trying to not screw it up, but each roll you're afraid you will. Basic is some of the tightest gameplay ever designed, even if it's a bit "primitive" by today's standards. And, at least in my opinion, it's the best model for basing other DnD editions off of, even if they do different things.
So in 4e you've got these three systems that everyone non-Essentials had to work with, and they all live and die off the d20 roll. Surges get drained indirectly because of failed d20 rolls, sometimes directly and powers of class and item varieties demand d20 rolls sometimes to be effective. But that's not really all that tied in. The incredibly swingy nature of the d20 is not being used in a way that is integral of the system. Also? I don't like rolling high systems in d20. The modifiers get really stupid, really fast, and there's a few extra levels of math that could be stripped out without any real effect on the roll. So let's change the system to roll under! Because I want to! Yay!
I wanna gut the central rolling mechanic and make it roll under d20. Besides that I flat out prefer it, this removes all the bad math that was in 4th, not to mention an entire step of the rolling process: generating an extra number. Roll a d20 and compare to the relevant stat, which is either indicated by the power being used or by the GM. Your stat is modified by the difficulty of the task, from -1 (easy) to heroic (-10). If you roll under the target number your task succeeds as you had stated. If you hit the target number exactly you critically succeed; not only do you get to name an additional task that the GM normally would have demanded a roll for (such as an Attack Power), but you also regain a Surge. If you roll over the target number by 1-4 you simply fail the check; you may try again. If you fail the roll by 5 or more you critically fail; the GM gets to introduce a horrible twist and you lose a Surge.
Stat generation is handled by random rolls, 3d6 and then assign where you like. No rerolling allowed. Change the leveling table to where anytime you would normally get a feat you get a +1 to any stat you wish, cap of 18.
"But Nathan!" someone will say. "That's a crazy mechanic! It punishes you for rolling, at the small possibility of getting an extra success!" Yup! It's a punishing mechanic, with the possibility that things can go really right. A free success? That you can set to whatever you want? That's pretty intense. And so, when you have to roll, you'll be praying you roll exactly the DC. And yes, the old-school wish to mitigate rolls is a key part of the d20 experience: to roll is to probably suffer. So make sure that you are rewarding Good Ideas: if a player comes up with an idea that is cool and makes sense and works with the fiction say yes and do not demand a roll.
The old-school mechanic of punishing rolling is the best of part of DnD. Yeah, I know you probably disagree, but I really don't care. Everyone should be trying to figure out how to not roll, even in combat. You've got so many more interesting things you can do if you don't want to screw it up, particularly in 4e when you've got so many cool things you can do with the dice, that those times you choose to use the dice are full of danger and drama, just inherently. And isn't that what we're supposed to be experiencing? Why not have that be on a mechanical level?
I mean, I'd go for it. Simpler, scarier, and fun!
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