3rd March 2008, 7:39 PM
Well the giant scorpion knows acrobatics... yeah it doesn't make sense.
Eventually leveling up does have a noticable effect but it's in terms of very broad "over the course of many battles" odds rather than "over the course of one battle".
Really that's my least favorite part of the whole system of "D20". By it's very nature the odds swing wildly between being totally awesome in one battle to completely wiffing it the next. You may have noticed this in KOTOR. That's why I prefer systems where the odds, where they exist, are much more "local" in scope and having high stats is immediatly noticable in every battle. There really shouldn't be a chance of that low level idiot getting a lucky shot if you are at level demigod.
Here's an example. If you are fighting, say, a thief, sure they should by their very nature be dodging your attacks like crazy, but to make up for it when you do hit, they take really high damage, or they can't dodge wide area of effect magics, that sort of thing. A giant dragon, unless it's some crazy "wind dragon", shouldn't be dodging anything. Basically, odds should be limited to things like "critical hit chance" like being able to critical hit 70% of the time vs 5%, or stacked versions of it, or certain "binary" abilities like "instant death" being a very powerful ability with very low chance to hit.
I'm fine with high math in my RPGs, but when the stats are so dependant on a widely varying random number that even at high levels you run into battles, often, where you just die a horrible death due to "bad rolls", it sucks.
I prefer my games to be determined by skill, not luck. Hopefully this "D&D4" system coming out will drastically change how odds work so it's more in line with how video games that totally ignore the system work.
Eventually leveling up does have a noticable effect but it's in terms of very broad "over the course of many battles" odds rather than "over the course of one battle".
Really that's my least favorite part of the whole system of "D20". By it's very nature the odds swing wildly between being totally awesome in one battle to completely wiffing it the next. You may have noticed this in KOTOR. That's why I prefer systems where the odds, where they exist, are much more "local" in scope and having high stats is immediatly noticable in every battle. There really shouldn't be a chance of that low level idiot getting a lucky shot if you are at level demigod.
Here's an example. If you are fighting, say, a thief, sure they should by their very nature be dodging your attacks like crazy, but to make up for it when you do hit, they take really high damage, or they can't dodge wide area of effect magics, that sort of thing. A giant dragon, unless it's some crazy "wind dragon", shouldn't be dodging anything. Basically, odds should be limited to things like "critical hit chance" like being able to critical hit 70% of the time vs 5%, or stacked versions of it, or certain "binary" abilities like "instant death" being a very powerful ability with very low chance to hit.
I'm fine with high math in my RPGs, but when the stats are so dependant on a widely varying random number that even at high levels you run into battles, often, where you just die a horrible death due to "bad rolls", it sucks.
I prefer my games to be determined by skill, not luck. Hopefully this "D&D4" system coming out will drastically change how odds work so it's more in line with how video games that totally ignore the system work.
"On two occasions, I have been asked [by members of Parliament], 'Pray, Mr. Babbage, if you put into the machine wrong figures, will the right answers come out?' I am not able to rightly apprehend the kind of confusion of ideas that could provoke such a question." ~ Charles Babbage (1791-1871)