tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post6656062465108332029..comments2023-10-14T03:58:59.333-06:00Comments on The Tao of D&D: Plans for EncumbranceAlexis Smolenskhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10539170107563075967noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-1506799690610847682016-07-24T21:14:19.514-06:002016-07-24T21:14:19.514-06:00Believe me - in my highly tactical combat system, ...Believe me - in my highly tactical combat system, it will be noticed immediately.Alexis Smolenskhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10539170107563075967noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-49084602269232171572016-07-24T16:59:10.333-06:002016-07-24T16:59:10.333-06:00Rules to facilitate meaningful player choice. Boom...Rules to facilitate meaningful player choice. Boom. Save the guy in plate? Abandon him? Drop the treasure and run or risk the fight? Good stuff. Critics misunderstand things like this by thinking it's about realism, as you mention.<br /><br />I suppose you'd find an abstract "coin" system to be unsatisfying? 1981 D and D has a flat cost for all small miscellaneous items and values for armor and treasure. We've been writing the number to the left of each item and keeping a running tally. Not a huge deal really. No push back from the players. Maybe because they haven't played before.<br /><br />One of the players observed that it hadn't had a significant effect yet. Between sessions I realized that it actually had. Less distance covered per wandering monster roll.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-87530450433311780202016-07-11T16:08:31.927-06:002016-07-11T16:08:31.927-06:00Not your fault! You're merely the victim of y...Not your fault! You're merely the victim of years of casually scattered thinking regarding the bleeding together of words and concepts that's the result of a role-playing publishing industry that never saw fit to hire proper editors or be self-conscious about the endless logical conflicts they themselves perpetrated.Alexis Smolenskhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10539170107563075967noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-75536502799054093082016-07-11T15:49:00.984-06:002016-07-11T15:49:00.984-06:00Good points all around and I SHOULD be doing more ...Good points all around and I SHOULD be doing more research before spouting off random things.<br /><br />On the plus side, this information fixes one of the issues I had in my own game, so thank you.J. Cormierhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06775658681126093604noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-21400098881642916602016-07-11T13:32:35.346-06:002016-07-11T13:32:35.346-06:00It is my opinion that "constitution" doe...It is my opinion that "constitution" does not refer to endurance but to health and composition. I consider endurance to be a condition of strength. I feel that the aspect of constitution that refers to 'vigor' has been misconstrued by gamers to mean endurance, but in fact I believe that vigor is in reference to the body's ability to fight off diseases and poor nutrition, not exhaustion.<br /><br />I suggest giving a good look at a definition of constitution and particularly its etymology. You'll find that endurance is not fundamentally part of the meaning of the word.Alexis Smolenskhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10539170107563075967noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-61323684563551254392016-07-11T13:03:38.227-06:002016-07-11T13:03:38.227-06:00Have you thought about basing encumbrance (at leas...Have you thought about basing encumbrance (at least slightly) on Constitution. It always seemed weird to me that encumbrance was solely based on Strength when the penalties seem more endurance based.<br /><br />Maybe a combination where the max amount you can carry is based on your Strength, but it slows you down based on your Constitution. So a high strength/low constitution character can power lift, but tires quickly and cannot carry that weight around for very long without penalties.J. Cormierhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06775658681126093604noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-28836200364088479162016-07-06T02:48:20.834-06:002016-07-06T02:48:20.834-06:00I really like the sound of this. I've always t...I really like the sound of this. I've always thought that a series of minigames within a larger game was an interesting way to make the more 'book-keeping' aspects of the game more engaging. Things like inventory management, party resources, and things that allow players to organise things beyond just their backpacks such as personnel and assets can give extra, cool dimensions to the game.<br /><br />In a way, it could be said to approach realism from a slightly oblique angle. Attempts at verisimilitude that convert the humdrum into something with which to illustrate the challenges of negotiating the world, but in a way that makes it a more gratifying experience rather than a slog, are always a good thing in my books.<br /><br />I'm quite interested in how this all might be done with spreadsheets etc, but personally I quite like a more tactile approach. I wonder if there could somehow be some kind of synthesis- the computers for the number crunching, and some kind of tabletop manifestation simultaneously?Reckless Dweomerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17775134699863149622noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-80525628615097647902016-07-01T22:07:36.729-06:002016-07-01T22:07:36.729-06:00Excited to see how you convince Excel to pull this...Excited to see how you convince Excel to pull this one off. Sounds like quite a task to me, but it's not my chosen medium.<br /><br />Also: I hope that you have been able to extract some enjoyment from moving in and settling into your new place. With any luck you're reading this from your favorite computer chair, fully moved to your daughter's home.Maxwell Joslynhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02309867478186083339noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-60537906441198357492016-07-01T13:42:34.344-06:002016-07-01T13:42:34.344-06:00I can't wait to see what you come up with for ...I can't wait to see what you come up with for this.<br />If it speeds things up at all, the last time I tried using encumbrance in Excel I made a formula to easily keep track of the ounces/pounds conversion ratios when calculating the total:<br /><b>=SUMIF(units_column,"=" & "oz",weights_column)/16 + SUMIF(units_column,"=" & "lbs",weights_column)</b><br />units_column is the column of units, which are text of "oz" or "lbs." Logically this can be extended to any other unit, like stones or tons.<br />weights_column is the column of numbers matching whatever the unit is beside for some given item.<br />The division by 16 is so that the sum of all the ounces is divided by sixteen (since sixteen oz = one lb) and then added to the sum of all the pounds.<br />Good luck!Timhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03496502173819113887noreply@blogger.com