Narrative Control - Episode 47

Narrative Control

Hi, Welcome to the show. This episode Fattig and I are talking about another Rob Donoghue article: Druid’s vs. Color. What happens when the description of a power all flavor and has no mechanical effect?Hosts: Sean Nittner and Eric FattigLength: 24:38[00:29] Intro to the show. Flavor vs. Crunch. Inspired by Rob Donoghue ’s post[00:46] Excerpt from Rob’s article. http://rob-donoghue.livejournal.com/335247.html[01:56] Rob’s stuff. Don’t read it all or your head will explode as per Panty Explosion [03:09] The cons of a disconnect between a powers description and its effect: breaks suspension of disbelief.[04:18] Pro: gives players total liberty to add in any flavor or description to the game.[05:45] A moment of silence[05:47] Ahhh… the Druid. I loved the wild shape power so much… and then I found it did nothing (or Rob told me so).[06:67] Wild shaping doesn’t mean anything. You can be a Bearmotar![07:44] Bearmotar can make diplomacy rolls![08:21] Beast form powers balanced with human form powers[08:32] Sean’s major problem. Beast Form powers are powers that only a druid can do anyways. So how does wild shaping do anything?[09:50] Narrative Control’s first split. Fattig disagrees. He’s wrong. But he’s got an argument. Giving mechanical effects can get broken very fast. His proof: http://community.wizards.com/go/thread/view/75882/19869366/The_most_powerful_character._EVER.[11:24] Why Wizards did this? Balance. Druids work exactly like every other class. [14:01] Where do they give back some oomph to the Bearmotar? Feats. Is this enough? That you can spend a feat to make your power actually mean something mechanically?[16:17] We still don’t agree. Sean’s story of Sadric[17:27] Fattig: “Well, you can die inside a little. Cause I think it’s just fine.”[17:53] Skills in octaNe mean nothing. [18:44] I hate mechanics that feel like they are just wasting time. Most combat mechanics.[19:51] Fattig gets the soggy Doritos! Customizing powers to suit your character is awesome.[21:04] The evolution of 4.0 from 3.5 putting a focus back on the narrative and away from the mechanics. [21:41] An all flavor game that I LOVE: Wushu gave me a lot of freedom. Here we come soggy Doritos.

Post Feedback Here: Comments