Originally Posted by Will (Post 794783) I had an interesting revelation a while back, that class systems do a nice job evoking the mood of a fantasy game while point systems are more evocative of a modern (or scifi) mindset. Jungian archetypes and functional 'he's John the Smith' elements of identity in older societies, people ARE what they do. We can quibble about whether that's really what's going on, I don't think it matters. What matters is that a fantasy culture is likely to conflate identity/job/birth/etc. On the other hand, the modern mindset is more about freedom to grow in any way. You might have advantages (or disadvantages) due to upbringing or folks' attitudes toward you or some starting talents, but after that? Learn Nuclear Engineering! Or Basket-weaving! And then Zero-G fighting and Capoeira! WEEE! One problem I see with D&D is that I think at times the Devs haven't had a strong grasp of what the underlying principle is with classes. D20 Modern did poorly, I think, because it treated classes as 'point bundles' almost -- they would have done better, IMO, by sticking to archetypes or moving to some actual d20-compatible point system. (Like M&M or something) Multiclassing is another tricky one. It's appealing but it moves in a more modernist viewpoint, and can ruin the conceptual integrity (and consistency) of the core system. Better, IMO, is the move toward wiggle room within a class, and well-staked-out subclasses (like some of Pathfinder and 5e's approach). When a fantasy game uses a point system, I'm naturally inclined to view it as a modern-minded gritty fantasy, where everyone is ultimately an adventurer in a tavern hoping to knife someone for cash. This is obviously not always the case, but that's the direction that feels most natural to me, and I THINK it might be a more common skew (though I am TOTALLY speculating here) When a modern/scifi game uses a class system, I'm inclined to think the reverse -- space opera or pulp. |
Greetings friends, Today, we have news that is both sobering and hopeful. Wizards of the Coast and Trapdoor Technologies will no longer be working together to develop DungeonScape for Fifth Edition D&D, and we will not be releasing the product in its current form. The beta program on all platforms will be shutting down at noon (MST) on Friday, October 31. Although we can’t reveal all of the details regarding the future of DungeonScape, we are happy to say that there is indeed a future—so fear not! This project, 100% internally funded, conceptualized, and built by our talented team at Trapdoor, has been a labor of love from the very beginning. We set out to change the way RPGs are played at the table—making our game night more about enjoying the adventure than searching for rules. We still hold true to that quest. We believe that our Story Machine™ is a powerful tool for converting information into something more useful and rich. We’re working hard to solidify the details of what’s next for DungeonScape, and we’ll share that information with you when it’s appropriate. Until then, please continue to follow us on Twitter and Facebook. We’ll do our very best to answer any questions you have through social media or email. Long live the adventure. Love, The Trapdoor Technologies Team |
Originally Posted by Haffrung (Post 794663) If a DM aspires to design a kick-ass dungeon, he should consider the following:
And it goes without saying that all of the above is best presented in a fantastic and vivid fashion, rich with menacing or weird atmosphere. |
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