Comments on Tenkar's Tavern: Picking Thru "The Rule of Three" - Looking at Bala...

started with AD&D 1e. random stats and HP is ...

2012-02-14T20:18:47.100-05:00

started with AD&D 1e. random stats and HP is all i know ;)

I can see from your blog post that your ideas of f...

2012-02-14T18:06:16.366-05:00

I can see from your blog post that your ideas of fun are at the extreme other end from players of the Fourth Edition. Random abilities and hit points are not fun for us since they can screw you for the entire campaign. I do occasionally play the Old School games, and when I do, I revel in all the grim fatalism, but a small dose of that is enough for me.

took a little longer than expected (I'd hoped ...

2012-01-27T01:43:41.731-05:00

took a little longer than expected (I'd hoped to get it posted two days ago, expected to get it posted yesterday, just posted it half an hour ago), but Falling off the RNG is done.

@Matt -- I haven't seen you much since your RGFD days. How goes? I've got a copy of Tome of Adventure

I dunno, based on the way I read that article, I t...

2012-01-25T10:21:17.519-05:00
I dunno, based on the way I read that article, I think I agree with the basic concepts -- although I might be misreading them because I see them through the old school lens.

Balance as a way of making everything equal all the time is poor game design for an RPG, although it's key for a board game or any other sort of game that's head-to-head competitive. And you can have

I stand corrected. Arcana Unearthed was updated as...

2012-01-25T06:08:39.597-05:00
I stand corrected. Arcana Unearthed was updated as Arcana Evolved.

Monte Cook created "Arcana Unearthed" an...

2012-01-25T04:11:47.065-05:00
Monte Cook created "Arcana Unearthed" and upgraded it later to "Arcana Evolved".

Unearthed Arcana was a 3.5 ed product and Monte was not involved.

But Monte also published his houserules of the 3rd edition (Book of Experimental Might I & II) which heavily modified many of the 3rd edition rules.

I fully agree with Norman. Who cares about balance...

2012-01-25T03:25:46.637-05:00
I fully agree with Norman. Who cares about balance? I've played for years in a RQII campaign having possibly the less powerful character combat- and magic-wise. But I have been building up a network of relations in Pavis and in the Zola Fel valley-- much more useful than sheer puissance!

huh, I was just starting an article on a similar t...

2012-01-24T21:22:51.650-05:00
huh, I was just starting an article on a similar topic -- 'falling off the RNG'. I'm starting to think it's not necessarily the problem a lot of people believe it to be.

I couldn't agree more, Norman. I'm glad t...

2012-01-24T21:01:41.883-05:00
I couldn't agree more, Norman. I'm glad to see balance is not going to take precedence over fun.

I don't believe balance to be important at all...

2012-01-24T20:56:23.780-05:00
I don't believe balance to be important at all. **RPGs aren't that kind of game.**

Balance is euphanism for "equally powerful in combat". A third or less of the time should be "combat". Balance fanatics even try to mash non-combat activities into a combat framework/mechanic (contests, tests, challenges).