rjshae

In the general sense though, I wonder how complex this system should be? Computer games can handle a lot of mechanics that would be unpleasantly detailed for a tabletop game. But you can reach a level of diminishing returns. Sometimes simpler can be better, with just enough detail to allow interesting decisions to be made, but not enough that it turns into a grind just to pick the right armor for the right occasion.

Okay, a couple of points here. First, this is not medieval Europe. The chronology will be different, as will the introduction of technology. All the authors need to do is create a timeline where the two-handed appears at or before the events in this story. Second, in many instances the characters will not be fighting a pitched battle against a well-armed and armored force. A two-handed weapon employed against a wild creature need only make contact with sufficient force to inflict damage. It doesn't have to fence with a rapier wielded by a bear. But in the situations where parrying does matter, it's up to the game designers to take that into account. Perhaps some weapons will provide a defense bonus against frontal attacks, in which case two-handed swords probably wouldn't receive that. Or they could just fudge things over and assume things will balance themselves out. If they want to simulate the unwieldiness of two-handed swords, the designers can do so with Strength minimums; just give the great sword a high strength requirement. Anybody below that strength will get a penalty and most likely won't use it, Thanks.

The background graphics look like they will be stunning and I assume the character animations will be visually appealing and anti-aliased. What intrigues me though is what the effects will look like. The old IE spell effects were clunky looking, even though they improved on the GoldBox games. The effects were greatly improved by the time of NWN2, but that game was pretty hard on the graphics engines of the time. I'm wondering what quality of graphics they are looking at for visual effects and what generation of GPU we'll need to drive them at a satisfactory rate?

That would make sense in lieu of the fact that the game encourages mages to wear some form of armor. Bullets that freely penetrate the defenses of an arcane veil (or whatever it was called) would do full damage against an unarmored target. Damage-reducing armor would probably be a nice way of modeling that (as well as being a more realistic approach in general).

But only if the game allows 23 different types of polearms...

Mmm... I'm going to guess 'cost'. The Romans had lorica segmenta, but it was costly and harder to maintain.

Or the miser's variant: the Bag of Hoarding.

Would I like it? Well no, but it would make for good drama. Yoshima's betrayal in BG still stands out for me because the character was otherwise likeable.

It's easy enough to come up with non-copyrighted monsters that serve the same ecological roles as the Illithid and the Beholder. They could even combine elements of the two: a single-eyed, pale-fleshed humanoid with waving, tendrillous stalks protruding out of their scalp. Each tendril possesses a unique Cipher-like power, and the number of tendrils increase as the creature gets older. Known as the Vassil, it is normally found in small communities located deep underground... Perhaps give it little suckers along its hands and feet so it can move along the sides of tunnels, plus a puckering mouth orifice so it suck out people's brains once the skull is cracked open.

I think that really depends on the variety of tiles they decided to use. Not enough and you end up seeing the duplication everywhere. Too much and you might as well draw the whole picture as one unit. There must be a happy median in there somewhere. Then use non-periodic tiling!

The practical aspects of the weapons are what tie them into role playing. The rapier is a civilian weapon, intended for unencumbered combat; whereas the longsword or warhammer are meant for warfare. The latter in particular is primarily for use against plate armor. It's not a contradiction to have a soldier carry a warhammer into battle then later roam the city streets carrying a rapier.

If you've played Baldur's Gate, Icewind Dale, Temple of Elemental Evil, or Neverwinter Nights, you've played D&D. Otherwise... what are you doing here?

Loose it? Mmm, I hear that eating a lot of fiber usually helps. This is all a lot of misplaced nonsense anyway.

Or guarderobe, as it was once called...

From what I've read it seems like they want much of the flavor of D&D, but with their own unique rules set. That would give us the Baldur's Gate-like experience and allow them to escape the licensing baggage. However, that does leave them with the problem of having to re-invent a lot of the meat of the D&D system: the spells, creatures, classes, magic items, and rules set.

If it doesn't, I'll bet some mod will come out to support it. Maybe they can make the font an option so it can include OpenDyslexic for those who struggle with that issue?

That's where Torchlight kind of got it right: sending off your pet to sell your extra loot. Too bad that mechanic is completely implausible.

Some damage avoidance can come from armor designed to deflect weapon blows, like angled surfaces on plate armor. But yeah, armor should mainly be about redistributing energy and reducing penetration.

If they have background feats, then a nice touch would be to have the pick also determine your starting equipment.

Don't be so sure On the other hand, I'll bet weresnarks haven't been snatched up yet. I call for a weresnark hunt!

I'm fairly sure that the Romans "power gamed" their way into owning an empire. Their tools and tactics were steadily optimized over time, and if something didn't work they changed it. I don't think there's anything intrinsically wrong with building your character with the optimal set of skills to be an adventurer. But it is more fun when there are a number of different optimal paths, just like there are a number of different ways for a player to contribute to a winning sports team.

Tough. Fine weapons and armor being priced out of reach of a peasant character is realistic. So is having to scavenge for some extra cash. What, do you want everything handed to you on a plate? Sheesh, suck it up.

They could simulate a lot of weapon variety with a min and max weapon strength ratings: below the min you start taking a penalty; above the max you stop receiving additional Str bonuses (because otherwise you might break the weapon).

D&D 'Armor Class' is an archaic approach that deserves to go into the dustbin of history.

I really like the GURPS approach to combat, with the swing/thrust attack forms, parry/block defenses, and the bash/slash/pierce damage types. Once you have a general mechanism like that in place, then implementing distinctive weapon and shield variety isn't a big leap. In practice, of course, the mechanics would be handled by the characters so you don't have to micromanage everything. But it would present some tactical decision making with regard to your weapon and shield selections.