Hi, Welcome to the show. This episode Fattig and I are talking about another Rob Donoghue article: Druid’s vs. Color. What happens when the description of a power all flavor and has no mechanical effect?
Hosts: Sean Nittner and Eric Fattig
Length: 24:38
[00:29] Intro to the show. Flavor vs. Crunch. Inspired by Rob Donoghue ’s post.
[00:46] Excerpt from Rob’s article. http://rob-donoghue.livejournal.com/335247.html
[01:56] Rob’s stuff. Don’t read it all or your head will explode as per Panty Explosion.
[03:09] The cons of a disconnect between a powers description and its effect: breaks suspension of disbelief.
[04:18] Pro: gives players total liberty to add in any flavor or description to the game.
[05:45] A moment of silence.
[05:47] Ahhh… the Druid. I loved the wild shape power so much… and then I found it did nothing (or Rob told me so).
[06:67] Wild shaping doesn’t mean anything. You can be a Bearmotar!
[07:44] Bearmotar can make diplomacy rolls!
[08:21] Beast form powers balanced with human form powers.
[08:32] Sean’s major problem. Beast Form powers are powers that only a druid can do anyways. So how does wild shaping do anything?
[09:50] Narrative Control’s first split. Fattig disagrees. He’s wrong. But he’s got an argument. Giving mechanical effects can get broken very fast. His proof: Pun-Pun.
[11:24] Why Wizards did this? Balance. Druids work exactly like every other class.
[14:01] Where do they give back some oomph to the Bearmotar? Feats. Is this enough? That you can spend a feat to make your power actually mean something mechanically?
[16:17] We still don’t agree. Sean’s story of Sadric.
[17:27] Fattig: “Well, you can die inside a little. Cause I think it’s just fine.”
[17:53] Skills in octaNe mean nothing.
[18:44] I hate mechanics that feel like they are just wasting time. Most combat mechanics.
[19:51] Fattig gets the soggy Doritos! Customizing powers to suit your character is awesome.
[21:04] The evolution of 4.0 from 3.5 putting a focus back on the narrative and away from the mechanics.
[21:41] An all flavor game that I LOVE: Wushu gave me a lot of freedom. Here we come soggy Doritos.
Direct download: NC_Episode_047.mp3
