This list includes all of the errata in version 1.0 of Heroes Against Darkness: Page 6: Method 1: Normal Player Characters should say ‘cumulative total of 63’.Pages 19-21: ‘Common’ should be ‘Middle-Tongue’.Page 57: Ranged Attack Powers does not specify that they require line of sight.Page 75: Winging Shot damage should be ‘+ Ranged’, not ‘+ […]
There’s already been a lot of discussion about the advantage/disadvantage mechanics in D&D Next, but here are a few more quick thoughts about this mechanic and the general trend in D&D for each edition to become easier than the last, and easier than any other version of the game (apologies in advance). First, a quick […]
The other day I posted my early thoughts and opinions of the playtest rules for D&D Next and tonight we finally got a chance to play the rules. First some background. Those of you who are close followers of my adventures will know that a just a year ago I GMed a Basic D&D campaign […]
I’ve been looking forward to the D&D Next open playtest for quite a while. I previously blogged about some of the expectations that I had of this new edition and ways to approach making a modular edition of D&D: • Mechanics of Attack Bonus Progression• D&D 5th Edition DDXP Play Report• Making D&D 5th Edition Modular – Part I […]
First, a quick confession. I’m generally such an isolated throwback that I hadn’t even heard of ‘niche protection’ until just a few weeks ago. In spite of not having heard the damned term, the idea that each class in a RPG should have its own thing was apparent during the development of Heroes Against Darkness. One […]
In previous posts in this series I’ve listed a few examples of spells with X costs in Heroes Against Darkness, but costed scaling isn’t just limited to damage and bonuses or penalties, it also encompasses other areas like healing, manifestation, and animation. Let’s look at some examples that demonstrate how scaling works for healing. Healing Flash […]
In this entry in the Remaking Magic series, we take a look at the steps taken to ensure that no spell gets left behind. The side-effect of changing most spells to have scaling X is that they never become redundant as the character gains levels. In the previous examples, Burning Touch and Burning Ray, the spells […]
Heroes Against Darkness employs a number of techniques to keep magi relatively balanced against the martial classes. First, the combination of the total pool of anima that magi have (5 + Magic Bonus) plus the speed with which they can spend their anima (Level + 1 anima per turn) limits the speed with which they […]
Let’s get this out of the way: I strongly dislike Vancian magic. When I started work on Heroes Against Darkness we’d just finished playing a long 4th Edition campaign followed by a shorter Basic D&D campaign. The switch from 4th Edition to Basic was caused by a general dissatisfaction with 4th Edition (don’t get me wrong, […]
One of the goals for the classes in Heroes Against Darkness was that each of them should be easily able to gain +2 to their Attacks, whether it’s a melee attack, a ranged attack, or a spell attack. The game’s combat powers are all based on class specialties, situational bonuses, or trade-offs, so each of […]