Black Flag Tales of the Valiant is out (in PDF)! What do people think?

[Micah Sweet]

Of course it does. That's how the player gets a say in the outcome of an event they really want to have happen. That's different than it being a method to "make the game even easier."

That's subjective though, as the mechanical effect is the same.

 

[fettpett]

5E is already a geared towards success for the players without giving them extra bonuses to rolls just because.

Not really...players can either use it or not...they just can't horde them. Give's them a little more agency in if they want to use it. Add a point or two and succeed or try again and reroll it.

But do what you want.

 

[Reynard]

The thing about "5E is too easy" is that if you are the GM and you think that, it is a failure on your part. If you are a player and you think that, you need to enact some agency and head down another couple dungeon levels or off into the next tier wilderness. "Easy" is relative to the challenges presented in the game. If it is too easy, up the challenges.

 

[DarkCrisis]

The thing about "5E is too easy" is that if you are the GM and you think that, it is a failure on your part. If you are a player and you think that, you need to enact some agency and head down another couple dungeon levels or off into the next tier wilderness. "Easy" is relative to the challenges presented in the game. If it is too easy, up the challenges.

It’s not even a matter of the DM asking the game harder to compensate for the players abilities like easy access to healing etc. Inspiration/Luck is just there to turn a loss into a win. That’s it.

Atleast in say Shadowrun or Cthulu it’s tied to a stat. In D&D it’s just the DM actively making the game easier. I mean I’d rather fudge a roll behind the DM screen then just have a player just officially fudge their own rolls.

 

[Reynard]

It’s not even a matter of the DM asking the game harder to compensate for the players abilities like easy access to healing etc. Inspiration/Luck is just there to turn a loss into a win. That’s it.

Yes, it is a player facing narrative tool.

Atleast in say Shadowrun or Cthulu it’s tied to a stat. In D&D it’s just the DM actively making the game easier. I mean I’d rather fudge a roll behind the DM screen then just have a player just officially fudge their own rolls.

Not me. I hate fudging as the GM. I avoid doing it under 99% circumstances.

But again the DM sets the difficulty. The DM has no excuse for saying "5E is too easy."

 

[DarkCrisis]

Yes, it is a player facing narrative tool.

Not me. I hate fudging as the GM. I avoid doing it under 99% circumstances.

But again the DM sets the difficulty. The DM has no excuse for saying "5E is too easy."

I disagree. If the DM has to put forth extra effort to balance things it means the initial product is either "Too easy" or "Too hard". 5E as written is "too easy". This is also shown in the CR system, where any real fight starts at (lol) Deadly.

 

[Micah Sweet]

Yes, it is a player facing narrative tool.

Not me. I hate fudging as the GM. I avoid doing it under 99% circumstances.

But again the DM sets the difficulty. The DM has no excuse for saying "5E is too easy."

I honestly have a hard time not seeing those kinds of narrative tools in an otherwise pretty traditional game like D&D as a kind of "player fudging".

 

[Reynard]

I disagree. If the DM has to put forth extra effort to balance things it means the initial product is either "Too easy" or "Too hard". 5E as written is "too easy". This is also shown in the CR system, where any real fight starts at (lol) Deadly.

That doesn't alleviate the GM's responsibility to set the parameters of play, including difficulty.

 

[Weiley31]

Im looking for fairness and whim of the dice. Plus 5E already gives the players much better the average chances to do the things they are skilled at.

Inspiration just makes an alr say easy game easier. You can tell it’s just to make things raise because the monsters don’t have it

I think (could be wrong) Doom is going to be the monster equivalent to Inspiration/Luck.

 

[Shardstone]

I've never felt 5E was too easy or that the game even really had to be balanced at all.