Menu
News
All News
Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
Pathfinder
Starfinder
Warhammer
2d20 System
Year Zero Engine
Industry News
Reviews
Dragon Reflections
Columns
Weekly Digests
Weekly News Digest
Freebies, Sales & Bundles
RPG Print News
RPG Crowdfunding News
Game Content
ENterplanetary DimENsions
Mythological Figures
Opinion
Worlds of Design
Peregrine's Next
RPG Evolution
Other Columns
From the Freelancing Frontline
Monster ENcyclopedia
WotC/TSR Alumni Look Back
4 Hours w/RSD (Ryan Dancey)
The Road to 3E (Jonathan Tweet)
Greenwood's Realms (Ed Greenwood)
Drawmij's TSR (Jim Ward)
Community
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Resources
Wiki
Pages
Latest activity
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Downloads
Latest reviews
Search resources
EN Publishing
Store
EN5ider
Adventures in ZEITGEIST
Awfully Cheerful Engine
What's OLD is NEW
Judge Dredd & The Worlds Of 2000AD
War of the Burning Sky
Level Up: Advanced 5E
Events & Releases
Upcoming Events
Private Events
Featured Events
Socials!
Twitch
YouTube
Facebook (EN Publishing)
Facebook (EN World)
Twitter
Instagram
TikTok
Podcast
Features
Top 5 RPGs Compiled Charts 2004-Present
Adventure Game Industry Market Research Summary (RPGs) V1.0
Ryan Dancey: Acquiring TSR
Q&A With Gary Gygax
D&D Rules FAQs
TSR, WotC, & Paizo: A Comparative History
D&D Pronunciation Guide
Million Dollar TTRPG Kickstarters
Tabletop RPG Podcast Hall of Fame
Eric Noah's Unofficial D&D 3rd Edition News
D&D in the Mainstream
D&D & RPG History
About Morrus
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
The
VOIDRUNNER'S CODEX
is LIVE! Explore new worlds, fight oppressive empires, fend off fearsome aliens, and wield deadly psionics with this comprehensive boxed set expansion for 5E and A5E!
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
D&D Older Editions
4E Retroclone
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="Jacob Lewis" data-source="post: 8574984" data-attributes="member: 6667921"><p>Start by looking at dungeon crawl board games. Lots of them. See what makes them work, what you like, what you don't like, etc. The best ones, IMO, have efficient mechanics that are able to have more than one purpose. I recommend <strong>Journeys in Middle Earth</strong> to see how exploration and combat are handled, as well as the unique mechanics designed to give player decisions and strategies more weight.</p><p></p><p>Hit points are a real sticking point here. 4th edition used very high amounts, arguably too high. So either the hit points should be reduced overall, or the damage outputs need to be increased, or a combination of both. Damage alone is not the only factor, however. If you use d20 for attack rolls, there's always a higher probability of missing attacks and failing to cause damage on a turn. </p><p></p><p>In my own project, I have been leaning towards a different mechanic using a bell curve roll (3d6). The idea is that attacks are more consistent to hit the mark, but normal damage is still minor. The real trick is rolling criticals for extra damage and activating effects. This is done by rolling high doubles (i.e. two 4s, 5s, or 6s). There is also a critical fumble aspect rolling double 3s, 2s, or 1s, but that's another deal altogether.</p><p></p><p>Thing is, my approach will change a lot of the built-in mechanics of the system. I can't explain everything in brief without raising a lot of questions and doubts. That's also why a lot of clones and projects by others don't work for me. But I firmly believe that 4e has always had a great framework for a game system buried beneath the bulging layers of predetermined expectations fueled by an entrenched fan base. Take away the D&D name and you could make it whatever you want, and it would be better for it.</p><p></p><p>So, not any real advice to give here, but I hope you see this as encouragement. Otherwise someone else should be along with something you can use. Good luck.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Jacob Lewis, post: 8574984, member: 6667921"] Start by looking at dungeon crawl board games. Lots of them. See what makes them work, what you like, what you don't like, etc. The best ones, IMO, have efficient mechanics that are able to have more than one purpose. I recommend [B]Journeys in Middle Earth[/B] to see how exploration and combat are handled, as well as the unique mechanics designed to give player decisions and strategies more weight. Hit points are a real sticking point here. 4th edition used very high amounts, arguably too high. So either the hit points should be reduced overall, or the damage outputs need to be increased, or a combination of both. Damage alone is not the only factor, however. If you use d20 for attack rolls, there's always a higher probability of missing attacks and failing to cause damage on a turn. In my own project, I have been leaning towards a different mechanic using a bell curve roll (3d6). The idea is that attacks are more consistent to hit the mark, but normal damage is still minor. The real trick is rolling criticals for extra damage and activating effects. This is done by rolling high doubles (i.e. two 4s, 5s, or 6s). There is also a critical fumble aspect rolling double 3s, 2s, or 1s, but that's another deal altogether. Thing is, my approach will change a lot of the built-in mechanics of the system. I can't explain everything in brief without raising a lot of questions and doubts. That's also why a lot of clones and projects by others don't work for me. But I firmly believe that 4e has always had a great framework for a game system buried beneath the bulging layers of predetermined expectations fueled by an entrenched fan base. Take away the D&D name and you could make it whatever you want, and it would be better for it. So, not any real advice to give here, but I hope you see this as encouragement. Otherwise someone else should be along with something you can use. Good luck. [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
D&D Older Editions
4E Retroclone
Top