tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1724254580047847936.post419098899856715708..comments2024-03-27T20:09:00.283-04:00Comments on Tenkar's Tavern: Picking Nits From Mike Mearl's Latest Column - Turning & ChurningTenkarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05159289652051155824noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1724254580047847936.post-59491468957449476702012-03-14T21:53:32.517-04:002012-03-14T21:53:32.517-04:00according to mike, there's "undead" ...according to mike, there's "undead" and there's "summoned undead" - you can poof the summoned undead, but not the more natural typeErik Tenkarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05159289652051155824noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1724254580047847936.post-1213021301139260622012-03-14T21:53:31.919-04:002012-03-14T21:53:31.919-04:00according to mike, there's "undead" ...according to mike, there's "undead" and there's "summoned undead" - you can poof the summoned undead, but not the more natural typeErik Tenkarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05159289652051155824noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1724254580047847936.post-64423346445498643172012-03-14T21:50:02.641-04:002012-03-14T21:50:02.641-04:00What exactly is a 'natural' undead? Don&#...What exactly is a 'natural' undead? Don't all of them require some sort of evil ritual magic? I didn't realize that there was an 'ecology' of skeletons apart from Evil Necromancers...Patrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11135126779401658529noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1724254580047847936.post-38589203039014051982012-03-14T07:42:06.811-04:002012-03-14T07:42:06.811-04:00I commented to a fellow B/Xer on email that Mearls...I commented to a fellow B/Xer on email that Mearls is really in left field on some of these issues. <br><br>The turning mechanic is nice and simple as it is. If the chart is too easy bump it up.<br><br>His solution is to make stat blocks longer and more complicated? And make the gameplay longer and more involved than it needs to be. Lords of Light! Gimme a break.kiltedyaksmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08934958487613782595noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1724254580047847936.post-81405513318686386082012-03-14T06:29:15.151-04:002012-03-14T06:29:15.151-04:00Oh dear. That is all kinds of not good as a Turn m...Oh dear. That is all kinds of not good as a Turn mechanic. Well, I say mechanic, but all I can really see is some half-thought-out fiddle-faddle that needs severe pruning.<br><br>("Remember when he {Mike Mearls} fixed Skill Challenges? Sorry, remember the first <b>seven</b> times that he announced that he was fixing skill challenges?"<br>-- Frank Trollman)Chris Hoganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04072272223837426211noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1724254580047847936.post-52796827088967245772012-03-13T22:58:34.522-04:002012-03-13T22:58:34.522-04:00I agree that his whole premise is waaaay too compl...I agree that his whole premise is waaaay too complicated. You need more than a page of rules to explain one ability? Fail rule.<br><br>He and a few others have lived under this massive illusion that clerics are way too powerful in early editions of the game. So how come my powergamers never want to play one? All because a spreadsheet somewhere equates healing potential and buff mechanics to damage potential doesn't mean they are the same in practice.<br><br>Heck, I think the illusionist was the most powerful, if played creatively. Good thing they completely eliminated that sort of play in 4e.Mr. Bluehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07027893907355004146noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1724254580047847936.post-74780561021911746352012-03-13T22:34:30.045-04:002012-03-13T22:34:30.045-04:00thanks for the kind words guys, it means a lot.mik...thanks for the kind words guys, it means a lot.<br><br>mike isn't throwing us marketing speak and "unity in gaming " bullshit, but he's looking to tweak rules for the sake of tweaking. that's annoying in it's own right ;)Erik Tenkarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05159289652051155824noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1724254580047847936.post-926027065140079652012-03-13T22:34:28.777-04:002012-03-13T22:34:28.777-04:00This comment has been removed by the author.This comment has been removed by the author.Erik Tenkarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05159289652051155824noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1724254580047847936.post-14670046474202555512012-03-13T22:29:57.161-04:002012-03-13T22:29:57.161-04:00Man, I hated the "Turn Undead" mechanic ...Man, I hated the "Turn Undead" mechanic in 3E. Mike's idea to use a DC/level bonus roll seems a lot like the 3E version. <br><br>Pathfinder is not as complicated, but by default, all Clerics do is "blast" undead for damage (the fireball effect he mentioned). They need to spend a feat to make them run away, when instead they could be doing xd6 damage to all the undead within 30 feet. I haven't seen a Cleric in PF use the Turn Undead feat yet.<br><br>Not sure how it works in 4E.<br><br>Anyway, Tenkar, you hit all the salient points about old school Turn Undead. It's a gamble for roughly equal level undead whether it works or not. It doesn't affect every undead in the area, only a limited number of hit dice. Weak cannon fodder undead get vaporized by higher level Clerics, but powerful undead are not even at risk of being turned by lower level Clerics. It's a nice simple system, and it works perfectly for what it's intended to do.<br><br>Mike's ideas about binding undead/demons sound interesting, though...Lord Gwydionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03053699552003336733noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1724254580047847936.post-74019178561219075232012-03-13T21:24:51.233-04:002012-03-13T21:24:51.233-04:00I agree. Not a simplification by any means, at lea...I agree. Not a simplification by any means, at least not compared to older editions. Worse yet, too much of it seems to be based on his personal biases. He's trying to write the undead into his adventures as though the adventure was a novel. They're supposed to do something dramatic and "cool" and then the cleric shows up and ruins it for the DM. It seems D&D is becoming little more than fan fiction in the hands of whoever is writing it at the moment.Matthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02310914386482078369noreply@blogger.com