tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post2684348438325518485..comments2023-10-14T03:58:59.333-06:00Comments on The Tao of D&D: WowAlexis Smolenskhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10539170107563075967noreply@blogger.comBlogger17125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-91722605236898987862017-01-14T11:22:42.525-07:002017-01-14T11:22:42.525-07:00Really cool from top to bottom.Really cool from top to bottom.LTWhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14280926541054573911noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-23981934739996255332017-01-14T03:16:29.501-07:002017-01-14T03:16:29.501-07:00Long time lurker, first time commenter (apologies ...Long time lurker, first time commenter (apologies for that tired adage) - I truly feel obligated to say that it is brilliant ideas like this that keep me coming back to read your blog month after month. Well, that and the excitement of the Senex campaign, which I have been slowly reading from the beginning for several weeks... one day I hope to catch up with the modern continuation! <br /><br />Keep up the great work Alexis. You have outdone yourself this time!Glintwinehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06022779016485481157noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-37725204318360875092017-01-13T16:22:17.778-07:002017-01-13T16:22:17.778-07:00So... I'm guessing this is how patrons can bec...So... I'm guessing this is how patrons can become a thing. The bard spends NO money, everyone else funds the bard's XP work.Kismethttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12005331812426126009noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-27126457104132951672017-01-13T14:29:04.268-07:002017-01-13T14:29:04.268-07:00This is an awesome idea.This is an awesome idea.Jameshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02846071799831004752noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-34449170115159286222017-01-12T22:21:18.247-07:002017-01-12T22:21:18.247-07:00Let me try to reassure a couple of those points, J...Let me try to reassure a couple of those points, JB.<br /><br />Part of my conception for the bard is a whole field that has nothing to do with 'art' but has everything to do with staging, publication, production and commercialization. In short, it will be possible to "be a bard" without being able to produce art at all.<br /><br />This element will mean that artistic bards CAN'T stage their own work; at least not as better than amateurs until they're quite high level. Until then, they will be at the mercy of others who will seize most of those receipts. Moreover, to get those higher bonus for increasing the venue will cost A LOT of money; it won't just be a bard on a stool in a big room. Nothing in that era gets done without profoundly expensive sets, costumes and massive amounts of planning, planning, planning. So the amount of work, and the number of participants, will reduce (a) the ease of creating such a production, (b) will severely limit those who can attend, not just because of the money but because of competition for seats; and (c) will soak up most of the profits, as those margins are going to get very narrow.<br /><br />Regarding Sukha and the "mini-game" ~ you likely view it as much more game time-consuming than I do. To make art will require time, yes; but there are also henchmen to wander around with the main party while the bard is working and there will always be a great need for more money.<br /><br />It won't be a "solo" combat if everyone's x.p. hangs on the balance. Particularly if the bard gets nothing except the pleasure of giving x.p. to others. That's the key: the bard works, others get the x.p., the bard just gets the benefit of giving. That's part of the genius. Most "mini-games" fail because the winner is the solo player. Here, the winner is everyone else.<br /><br />In part this discourages the bard from getting too high and mighty about projects; spend all this money and maybe it will fail? Really? Naw, I'll just adventure, thank you.<br /><br />Yes, I have already touched on magic item creation with the druidic sage abilities, specifically how wands would be made, along with other small semi-magic items. All those things are sage level knowledge, however; it would take 100 knowledge points in a study to make magic items.<br /><br />If you could see the whole scheme in my head, how the creativity study, the performance study, the practical study and the agency study are all needed to make an artist rise, you would know I'm the shit. But I haven't started describing that yet. More is to come!Alexis Smolenskhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10539170107563075967noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-72093994857650303072017-01-12T21:39:34.309-07:002017-01-12T21:39:34.309-07:00Yeah, I came to pretty much the same destination (...Yeah, I came to pretty much the same destination (for similar reasons) in my "skald" class (for a yet-unpublished, Viking-ish setting book)...though I did it by heading north rather than east. Not trying to piggy-back here (won't bother posting the link to my blog), just saying I very much agree with the logic here.<br /><br />I'm not a fan of increasing the bonus for an increase of venue...it would seem that there's already an inherent reward in playing to larger crowds (for the audience: more folks affected; for the bard: more receipts in-pocket). For players seeking out such entertainment, a larger theater would still be desired as the owner would be more likely to higher a better (higher level) bard. Folks pony up more dough to see the bigger name, and that's been the case since at least Elizabethan England if not going back to the ancient Greek theaters.<br /><br />However, the sukha part feels a bit problematic, because...well, I understand the value of immersion in a rich world, but it seems the mini-game within a game might detract from the overall, "cooperative adventure" spirit of the game. Sure, the players will hang on the dice rolls, but it's still the bard PC having a solo "combat" that the other players are forced to watch. Do you have similar systems in place with regard to magic item creation and spell research? If not (and if this approach to bardic composition works) would you consider including such in your game?<br /><br />I don't know if you're the most brilliant person to write about D&D, but you are one of the most brilliant I've read.<br />; )JBhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03263662621289630246noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-45962037624888567082017-01-12T20:09:53.957-07:002017-01-12T20:09:53.957-07:00Love it. The best ideas always seem to be the ones...Love it. The best ideas always seem to be the ones which take something established (in this case, both your strictly-combat-and-cash XP system and the common perception of bards) and throw out an assumption about it. This looks like a wonderful way to breathe new life into bards.<br /><br />I'd say your bardic blogging roll was a critical success here. ;)Timhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03496502173819113887noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-68377536432169735042017-01-12T18:25:55.772-07:002017-01-12T18:25:55.772-07:00This, I like. This makes the bard a unique class w...This, I like. This makes the bard a unique class with an ability orthogonal to all the other classes. Having some experience with classes whose ability is to "make stuff" (alchemists, &c.), I've been disappointed in how it played out as the classes ability is tied into income rather than personal ability. But this sounds very different, and is an expression of an internal ability. Quite intriguing!Baron Opalhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07035904533197305820noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-62990423660907247812017-01-12T17:21:37.745-07:002017-01-12T17:21:37.745-07:00I'm kind of retreating into numbers here becau...I'm kind of retreating into numbers here because my mind is a bit blown. :-DJonathonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12424548045152722964noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-43454132179567427532017-01-12T17:21:08.820-07:002017-01-12T17:21:08.820-07:00Ah, I see. That's where I went wrong, I was as...Ah, I see. That's where I went wrong, I was assuming a failure at each stage - so 85%, yes, but 10 rolls means .85^10, should've written that out more clearly. Having a failed roll mean no forward progress would be monstrously frustrating without meaning the whole project of years would be wasted. I think you've got a better balance going there with what you're planning.Jonathonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12424548045152722964noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-83467531483714630912017-01-12T17:03:46.945-07:002017-01-12T17:03:46.945-07:00I think you have that backwards, Jonathon. A 17 i...I think you have that backwards, Jonathon. A 17 in the appropriate stat makes an 85% chance of success. Doesn't make it less white knuckling.<br /><br />I see a series of "stage" rolls that determine how LONG a project takes; failed rolls add to the length of the project. If the player decides on a really big project, and the rolls keep failing, then they might change their minds and give it up, particularly if it is something expensive with each failure. The only pass/fail roll is the last one, the check against the ability stat chosen for the artwork to be based upon.<br /><br />Since the stage rolls would not be based upon the character's ability stats, but rather upon flat chance rolls of success, there isn't as much difference between a 15 charisma and an 18 charisma, as you suggest. Even if I did base it on charisma, say (though wisdom would make more sense), since we're only talking about time for stage rolls, it would only mean an 18 took, on average, less time than a 15, not that the 18 had a greater chance of success.<br /><br />Still, part of the answer is yes, ONE ROLL would be the final arbiter. That's how opening night works ~ and no one knows for sure how opening night will go. Did the makers of 2004's Catwoman or 2016's Alice Through the Looking Glass know those films were going to tank? Nope.<br /><br />Art can be pretty rough.<br />Alexis Smolenskhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10539170107563075967noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-4158879603629686242017-01-12T15:35:13.049-07:002017-01-12T15:35:13.049-07:00So if I understand what you're thinking mechan...So if I understand what you're thinking mechanically, the bard determines how ambitious she is and makes a number of checks over time based on that ambition...<br /><br />Next question for me to determine how much to shoot for: how does failure work? Does one failed roll turn a _Citizen Kane_ into a _Transformers 3_, ruining the work, or do you imagine a scale of success based on success/failure ratio, or something else?<br /><br />The everything-rides roll would certainly lead to a white-knuckled table for every roll, and make truly great works rare - even a 17 in the appropriate stat would have less than a 20% chance of making that year-long effort pan out. Maybe that's as it should be, for the kind of impact you're describing.<br /><br />If you're a Charisma-works bard, it also makes the relatively small range of Bardic CHA extremely meaningful - an 18 CHA bard is much, much, MUCH more likely to make it to the finish line of that marathon than a 15 Charisma bard.Jonathonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12424548045152722964noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-16102394413479919382017-01-12T14:47:31.651-07:002017-01-12T14:47:31.651-07:00Pardon my french, but HOLY SHIT Alexis, which is w...Pardon my french, but HOLY SHIT Alexis, which is what I just said out loud in public.<br /><br />Gonna need a minute to process this one.<br /><br />Jonathonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12424548045152722964noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-34005617304252649042017-01-12T14:36:14.826-07:002017-01-12T14:36:14.826-07:00So the Bard, by way of performance or creation of ...So the Bard, by way of performance or creation of an artwork, is creating an experience 'bonus' in other characters? Much like the way a Hero standing by your side before a battle increases morale?<br /><br />Would the benefit be almost immediate for Upeksa (performance) and decay over time? As memory of the passion it generated fades? If I attended multiple performances of the same work by the same Bard would the bonus be greater and last longer? As I start to learn the words and am able to recite some of them the memory will be stronger.<br /><br />Sukha (I'm assuming) is probably going to move the viewer less initially (we don't shout and sing back at artwork). <br /><br />In both cases, the gestation period and experience/level of the Bard being factors in how high the bonus and duration of the effect. <br />Scott Stringerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07994332286193655530noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-35385332232252535412017-01-12T14:29:58.351-07:002017-01-12T14:29:58.351-07:00BOOM
Bards just became the most popular class in ...BOOM<br /><br />Bards just became the most popular class in the party. In your daughter's example I would have used the cleric. Do I save the character that can save me from malaria, a poisonous sting and an axe wound or the one that will get me to next level. Hmmm...<br /><br />Have you considered the authoring bard getting a cut of the XP in Sukha only along with the rest of the party? <br /><br />Would observing a Sukha sculpture, building or painting have any effect on the viewer if the artist/ bard is not present? I hope so. I could see a party journeying to observe the Hagia Sophia or the Sistene Chapel being a great adventure. Acting in character the Senex party has sought out such things, now it won't just be window dressing. <br /><br />When the bard is risking failure, he's risking the XP of the entire party right? Can party members opt out if they don't want the risk?Sofia Viktorova Kolevahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04274559794233411590noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-48588686213056941402017-01-12T14:24:33.378-07:002017-01-12T14:24:33.378-07:00I think you just inspired every reader of your blo...I think you just inspired every reader of your blog. Amazing!Discordhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08043118219587453293noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-64723904511692164872017-01-12T14:14:19.268-07:002017-01-12T14:14:19.268-07:00WOW. If I survive to level 5 I'm getting a ba...WOW. If I survive to level 5 I'm getting a bard as a henchman.Lothar Svenssonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03195099273437009840noreply@blogger.com