D&D General Should ENworld Posters Design a D&D?

[Micah Sweet]

I don't mind those saves, but I'd prefer something simpler and I think the 3e saves are easier for people to understand. For instance, It makes more sense to me that dodging a fireball and a dragon's fiery breath uses reflex instead of one being a save against a breath weapon and the other being a save against spells.

Fair enough. I have no preference for simplicity in general. Mechanics should be as simple or complex as they need to be to make sense to me.

 

[Velderan]

Yeah, but it's impossible to determine all the things you can save against. So many times I saw "save against breath weapon" used for completely random things. And then you get things like "should area spells be counted as saving against magic, or as saving against breath weapon? Arguments can be made for both. Because your ability to withstand a fireball should be different than than your ability to withstand a charm.

Having three or six saves is simple and useful. There may still be better ways to do it than using your physical/mental abilities, but I don't think saving against something is the way to go.

I’m with you on being confused sometimes by 2e calling for a random save that on the surface didn’t make sense. To me, 3 options makes the most sense. Reflex, Fortitude, and Willpower covers what I’d expect saving throws to handle and it’s generally easy IME to on the spot pick which is needed.

 

[Zardnaar]

Fort, Ref, Will makes most sense. Probably steal 4E idea about a dual abilities eg fort best of con or strength.

 

[ichabod]

Anyone with a vastly different opinion can right their own

Way ahead of you. In fact, 108 pages ahead of you.

 

[Minigiant]

And don't auto-tie each save type to a stat - have the specific effect state whether a stat applies to a save or not; and if so, which one. Example, where three different things are forcing a death save:

Banshee's Wail: death save, Cha applies (or Wis, depending which stat "strength of soul" resides under this week)
Deadly Poison: death save, Con applies
Massive Damage: death save, unmodified.

One could in fact easily make an argument for there being more than 6 save categories, especially to break out the catch-all "magic" category into smaller bits. There might, for example, be different save categories for area spells, targeted spells, psionics, and devices; and-or to account for whether the effect is arcane or divine in origin.

Just cut ability scores out saving throws.
End the headache!

Or make that a bonus via a class feature like Aura of Protection.

1. Death or Poison
2. Stability
3. Mental Attacks and Psionics
4. Transformation (petrification/polymorph)
5. AOE and Traps
6. Magic (everything else)

 

[Lanefan]

Just cut ability scores out saving throws.
End the headache!

For me there's just too many times when a base stat would reasonably apply* to chuck them completely as a modifier.

* - e.g. a hardy (high-Con) person should have better odds of surviving a deadly poison than a feeble (low-Con) person.

Or make that a bonus via a class feature like Aura of Protection.

That's another possibility, but in addition to everything else rather than replacing anything.

1. Death or Poison
2. Stability
3. Mental Attacks and Psionics
4. Transformation (petrification/polymorph)
5. AOE and Traps
6. Magic (everything else)

What is "stability" covering, here? Nimbleness, or steadfastness, or ... ?

 

[Minigiant]

What is "stability" covering, here? Nimbleness, or steadfastness, or ... ?

pushes, knocdowns, and grapples.

"Strength saves"

 

[beta-ray]

As the title says. Basic idea name a 100 page document for an ENworld D&D.

Start off small eg 4 classic classes, 5 levels.

Basic idea is use 5E engine but mire streamlined tighter game drawing on previous editions to fix

I'm stopping the quote right there because in it lies my opinion. The question is "should", and I think probably not if you are talking all of us as a body because it would indeed be mired in all kinds of… stuff. Maybe a few members could, but imo the mass of us would probably not get very far.

 

[Composer99]

Okay, so chiming in on saving throws anyway...

TBH for a "5e-like" where streamlining is the goal, I'd consider doing the following for saving throws:
(1) Adopt the "save DC" that 4e uses - a net result of 10 or higher is a success. Everyone uses this base mechanic, but they continue to use saves the way 5e uses them - for death saving throws, for spell durations, and for resisting spell effects, traps, breath weapons, poisons, diseases, etc.
(2) With some kind of keyword/tagging, you can give creatures specific bonuses to saves against specific effects (such as dwarves having advantage on to saves vs. poison, or rogues having a feature letting them add their Dexterity (*) to saves vs. area effects or traps). Some characters can have flat bonuses to saves across the board (legendary monsters, say, or monks, or even fighters if you want to bring back their AD&D survivability). Maybe player characters add half their proficiency bonus to saves.

This also means we don't have to have rules to establish saving throw DCs, generally speaking. Most effects that force saving throws just... force saving throws.

(*) If streamlining is a goal, I'd do away with ability score/modifier split and just make ability scores be the modifiers.

 

[Crimson Longinus]

First I though that this community designing a game would be a bad idea, but then I started to read all the rules suggestion in this thread and concluded that instead it would be an utterly terrible idea.