#140

[@mcolville]

In a world where "Flee, Mortals!" Is a monster book title, "WOO! I hit the bad guy!" is a GREAT NAME!

[@angelalewis3645]

YES!

[@garion046]

Well Matt, you have the title of your player tactics book.

[@BobWorldBuilder]

Someone already mentioned it, but DC20 has pushed the damage roll into the d20 roll, with tiers of damage based on how high the d20 result is. And on the comment of 'dropping HP altogether' you have games like Crown & Skull with no HP (which I'm no expert in but here's my understanding:) where hits result in losing skills or equipment, with losing equipment being very similar to Cairn and all the games Ben Milton loves to talk about!

[@Veggie13]

Check out the recent video by Bob World Builder for a balanced take on DC20! 😉

[@MagiofAsura]

DC20's no damage roll makes way more sense than MCDM's rendition of it. It's insane to just say no one ever misses and how ridiculous that is.
The fact hp is so low also makes it feel better to roll higher to hit.

[@schemage2210]

@@MagiofAsura So it's a choice between "always hit but variable damage/effect" or "variable to hit/miss with fairly static damage" (as in if the DC is 16, there isn't a great deal of range of difference between 16 through 20, even if you then multiply that number by a tier rank). DC20 still results in dead turns where you miss and nothing happens, and even if you do hit having to do the d20 roll multiplied by tier level etc etc, is more maths than anyone should be doing. Which also has the effect of bloating out monster HP to accommodate the huge damage amounts. Which would be meaningful if the monsters actually survived longer then a 5e/MCDM counterpart, but they won't. It is very clear that one of these two projects (MCDM RPG and DC20) is being made by professional, seasoned game developers. And the other can barely homebrew 5e without running into game breaking problems.

[@lanthorn9910]

​@schemage2210 Hey, go easy on MCDM...

[@schemage2210]

@@lanthorn9910 apologies for the confusion, I am totally being critical of DC20 and am entirely eager to see the final product of the MCDM game.

[@joelwest6507]

I would buy a "Wahoo, I hit the bad guy" shirt.

[@Veggie13]

Adam moves to Fantasy Grounds, next day Demiplane is acquired by Roll20. Hmmm....

[@basselstineart]

Add that to the Conspiracy Cube!

[@schemage2210]

@@basselstineart No I completely agree with @Veggie13 comments made in the Character Sheet youtube interview, suggested that "there was a way forward.... But Adam decided to leave..." And that is pretty much a direct quote. Obviously the merger has been in the works for some time before the announcement which probably allowed Bradford to line up this new job.

[@velvetimpulse]

Shawn's take on the AI "non-news" is the most based. I work in corporate, and I see this crap happening all the time. Investors don't even know what AI really is, they just need to have the keyword dangled in front of them to calm down, not so different from babies and shiny toys.

[@matthewsnow-zj1cu]

Ok, Lorecast. Bring on the “Conspiracy Cubes” and “Triple S Coin” merch. “It’s all hitpoints.” “Mouth-feel and Math-feel.” “Less Teamwork, more Shawnwork.” “Dale-out” “Beep-boop-bop!” This episode is eminently quotable and is the stuff that fandoms are made on.

[@tslfrontman]

"I'm not a villain, I'm your wife!"

[@matthewsnow-zj1cu]

Nice PB reference!

[@jeffcallahan5467]

I created a filthy human archeology and earth based wizard quest giver named "Delvrand the Deep" who only referred to his apprentices by number because he had had so many abandon his apathetic tutelage. (One player joined the game as Apprentice 47) He had a bunch of bounties out on him for various things: Defiling a grave, exposing a political conspiracy, trespassing in a holy site...you know typical things Heroes would do, but immediately took a huge disliking of him. Lol, it was fascinating. (I also loved the wizard/hard hat I came up with that he wore.)

[@flanbeau]

Did he have a whip ?

[@Veggie13]

Funny how you mention the to-hit versus damage rolls the day after the DC20 Kickstarter dropped. It keeps to-hit and loses damage rolls.

[@Veggie13]

I swear, TTRPG news waits to drop the day after you record.

[@chrisg8989]

Forsure! And DC20 looks alot more interesting than either Dagger Heart or MCDM. Where is the coverage? Thought this was an RPG News Podcast? Guess they only cover the big corporations like Wizards and Critical Roll.

[@johnqglass]

Crown and Skull dropped the to-hit and kept the damage roll, and opponents defense lowers this roll.

[@minimoose7890]

Not really dropping the damage roll, but combining it with the hit roll into one single roll for both

[@halanhart]

I very much miss the 3e and 3.5 covers! They made me feel like a wizard.

[@jeffcallahan5467]

They still make me feel that way! 😄

[@helixxharpell]

Me too. We may be developing an alternate crunchy style system to match up to my Khor The World of Many Portals Kickstarter next yr. 😉 Despite the current trend of "oversimplification" of TTRPGs these days. 😊

[@danrimo826]

It's so wild that not long ago the very idea of combining "to hit" and "damage" rolls into a single roll was seen as absolutely insane crazy talk and now... the fact that they are two separate rolls feels like a bizarre throwback. Things are changing fast. I'm loving the innovation in the RPG space.

[@SeattleFira]

i freakin love this podcast.

[@graynanuuq]

James described a system where you're playing a team and each hit kills a person. Isn't that exactly how hit points started in the war games GG et al played that evolved into D&D? Each unit had X number of individuals and when a hit did Y amount of damage it killed that many members of unit. When they started adding individual heroes into the mix, they just started giving them the same kind of hit points to keep the system unified. I'm sure I remember reading or hearing that somewhere.

[@shamuswilliams]

I'd also like to see a conspiracy cube.

[@kurtoogle4576]

Nice intro! Also fun & interesting discussions!

[@alexchaston4367]

DC20 rpg actually does do the To Hit Roll and drops the damage roll, increasing the damage for every 5 over the target number

[@chrisg8989]

Yup! And DC20 looks alot more interesting than either Dagger Heart or MCDM. And it went into Kickstarter yesterday! Where is the coverage? Thought this was an RPG News Podcast?

[@jerichojeudy]

I agree. Feels more fun than both MCDM and Daggerheart, to me.

[@ross8093]

These are recorded in advance pf the day they come out afaik byt a couple days maybe. Its literally a runninga joke that they always miss news because of their recording/release schedule. Tbh I always thought that meant they should change it haha​@@chrisg8989

[@kahlinwhatley8640]

I was just about to comment exactly this!

[@spooderous]

​@@chrisg8989It literally just dropped. Learn to excerise some patience.

[@AndyReichert0]

45:49 "help me out here! help me out here!" is the first "The Thing's Thing Of Everything" style expansion for MCDM's "wahoo! I hit the bad guy!" game.

[@angelalewis3645]

😂 Yes!

[@samuelteare8160]

I totally relate to Ben rocking back and forth in his chair during the discussion (47:33).

[@JoeSlucherArt]

I am unbelievably excited about the Adam Bradford news. I've been using Fantasy Grounds since 2010 and it is an absolute nightmare to learn and onboard new players (even heavier lift for new DMs). Amongst our group it's even a joke to share a video clip of the founder saying "some things are intuitive and others are not". There's so much that someone like Adam could improve and he's shown how much user experience means to him.

[@EbonxGaming]

Dael's breakdown of ML and usage was perfect.

[@joeb3688]

Shadow hood with a reflective surface so the holder of the book is the villain or DM.

[@angelalewis3645]

YES. THIS!

[@Veggie13]

Conspiracy Cubes sound like a breakfast cereal.

[@fortunatus1]

The new DC20 game (currently on kickstarter) does in fact have the "keep the to hit roll and lose the damage roll" structure. I prefer that structure over MCDM's "no to hit roll and roll for damage". There are other rules in the game which make me hesitant about the RPG but that's not one of them.

[@chrisg8989]

Right! DC20 looks way more interesting than either Dagger Heart or MCDM. Where is the coverage? Thought this was an RPG News Podcast? Guess they only cover the RPG Whales like Wizards and Critical Roll. Sad.

[@facelessone86]

@@chrisg8989 We get it dude, you like DC20.

[@ChuckSeville]

Is the hit=kill combat system not just how battles work in the Risk boardgame?
Also, for sure one of the most clippable episodes in a while. Put me down for 1 conspiracy cube and a Wahoo shirt!

[@paulbenfield7840]

Learning Fantasy Grounds is one thing. But if you're playing published adventures there's less prep time - everything is digitized for you and hyperlinked for accessibility to the referee. You have to buy the content of course, but I buy mostly Paizo stuff on FG and get the digital copy from Paizo for free so it's not double-dipping. Plus the rules automation is great for players who aren't so into learning new systems. It's a great system for slick play, but not the best way to learn rules.

[@WeirdMole]

Make all the t-shirts!

[@angelalewis3645]

This is my favorite episode so far! So funny, so smart, such great discussions, so much interplay, great comments highlighted from the chat, just AWESOME! 🌟

[@GhostfirePodcasts]

Yay, thank you! 🙏 Thanks for tuning in each week.

[@R2D_YT]

Good episode!

[@AndyReichert0]

pathfinder Adventure Card Game had the most elegant mix of to-hit/threshold/damage roll. it's an incredible, phenomenal system, but its fatal flaw is that you play a character from the lore of the world instead of a custom pc of your own. if they'd change that, it would be the world's best simplified D&D.

[@sylvansmithy5262]

Cypher does get rid of the damage roll and keeps the to hit roll, with different systems in place to mitigate the circumstance of their damage reduction being higher than your damage

[@tonysladky8925]

Oh man, I don't have an iconic, recurring villain from any time I've *DM-ed*, but my Curse of Strahd PC has become a recurring villain in our campaigns. Turns out feeding Strahd von Zarovitch to the bloated, tentacled alien Parasite that replaced your internal organs and thus becoming the new Dreadlord of Barovia is a good way to both end a campaign and become an iconic villain. Who knew?
Also, holy crap, I didn't realize the new DMG art was modeled on Kate Welch. I'm gonna have to take a closer look to try and recognize her.
Props to Dael for the conspiracy theory deep cut on Avril Lavigne being replaced.
I, too, want a conspiracy cube, whatever they are. Put some conspiracy cubes in the merch store!
Keep the to-hit roll but lose the damage roll would certainly be an interesting take. I have a hard time imagining such a system.
Ben's comment about rolling armor saves in wargames brings up another angle here. A lot of games I've looked at and been interested in (but tragically not yet run or played) have the PCs make all the rolls. On your turn, you're rolling your attack. On the monster's turn, you're rolling your defense. I definitely wonder how that plays into the frustration over null results in present-day D&D and similar games.

[@RecklessFables]

You guys were on fire today!

[@michaeljpastor]

The pro to rolling separate hit/dam is the only one that you need - rolling all of the different kinds of dice and lots of them. Every other reason is superfluous!

[@DustyLensCap42]

As a DM who has fallen in love with a workflow that involves FGU for my homebrew campaigns, thanks so much Dael for backing them up. I fully understand why someone meets FGU and recoils, but they get shat on way too much. Let me just say for me, the effort of learning it has more than paid off for me. It's incredibly powerful in getting my ADD brain to focus on what will actually matter at the table. Once you understand it, it enables you to easily pull up things quickly at the table. For instance, I've organized it to live create amazingly detailed maps in FGU while we play. My players love it. Its organizational system has made me a better DM both in prep and improv.

[@chaoticgoodra]

really good episode this time!

[@donaldcrankshaw1627]

Mutants and Masterminds has to hit with no damage roll, but the character hit makes a Toughness roll (save) againt the Damage rank of the attack to determine what status applies. There's no hit points--it's all statuses, though with M&M the degree you fail determines the status that affects you, and each time you fail a Toughness roll, you get a stacking -1 to future Toughness rolls.

[@423RedWolf]

Over a decade ago I bought a TTRPG called Within the Ring of Fire - never ended up playing any sessions of it though, for a variety of reasons. The game was pretty similar to D&D, but replaced the d20 roll with a 2d8 roll, with an exploding dice mechanic if you rolled eights. In that game, there was no damage roll, but weapons had a set amount of damage it would deal. Exceeding the AC of the target by a certain threshold incresed the damage. The book had a bunch of nudity in the art, which I didn't expect, and was one of the factors in me never putting together a game for it.

[@BelleMuerte]

Excited to see what Adam Bradford brings to Fantasy Grounds.

[@kencutpro]

The concept of mouth-feel was introduced by Brooklyn 99, in which the character of Boyle used it as a metric for tabulating his score of Brooklyn’s finest Pizza’s: True or False? 44:15

[@akashambatwamiller6924]

Star Trek Adventures RPG 2nd Edition is maintaining the "Too Hit Role" but dropping the challenge dice (Damage Role).
In my opinion I thin the answer depends on your setting and the style of narrative you are trying to achieve.
Star Trek weapons are what they are a phase does an specific amount of damage. any changes to that would be based on choices made, not random occurrences. so for some games I think this works well, but for others I can see the need for rolling for damage as a viable options.

[@RodrigoKuerten]

Funny how WOTC is using the characters of the Dungeons & Dragons cartoon in the books, but cut off the support for Brazilian translations, a place where the cartoon is really big.

[@sixoffcenter80]

I suppose you could apply a similar thought to other sorts of spells, but I've always seen the primary function of summoning to be to provide temporary hit points to the party.

[@Cassapphic]

One of my friends in her first game was streaming her dnd beyond character creation to us so we could help, the randomly generated name suggestions offered, I kid you not, "Jesus Wolfbasher". This was such an incredible name that I had to put him into my campaign as an npc, I was originally planning for him to just be the head of a group of bandits, but one of my other players dmed me suggesting jesus would be his character's runaway son who resented the gold dragon curse his family had, which eventually overan jesus, elading to a tragic battle against the wolfbasher, he wasn't really a "villain" per se, but he has been mythologised to the point during a game if any of us accidentaly say "jesus!" as an expression, we'll quickly add "...wolfbasher".

[@MonarchsFactory]

🔥🤘 Jesus Wolfbasher 🤘🔥

[@shallendor]

Palladium fantasy has 3 things that happen when attacking, 1-4 is a miss, 5 to the AR of your armor damages the armor, above the AR damages you!

[@KaleDavid]

We should get the Dungeon Coach on the podcast while his Kickstarter for DC20 is still live!

[@lanthorn9910]

I understand that Bradford approached Roll 20 to sell Demiplane.
So, did Bradford approach FG or was it FG's approaching Bradford that triggered the move(s)?
What amount of Bradford will continue at Roll 20/Demiplane?
Is my memory serving me on these points?
Would working on Roll 20/D and FG at the same time be a conflict of interest?

[@stewi009]

Have they said they're using AI for ART in the video games? Because "AI Engineers" can be used on the programming side to great effect. Not only in the traditional areas of making enemies that behave intelligently or to procedurally generate environments that make some kind of sense (expanding your ability as a player to explore the world on your own terms), but it an also be used just for raw programming to generate code quickly. That code still needs to be reviewed and altered by human programmers before it can be considered good to go, so it's not stealing anyone's job the way generative AI does to artists in the art domain.

[@fortunatus1]

No, they have not said its for AI art. People immediately jump to the worst possible conclusion when it involves WotC. This is getting old.

[@randomyoutubecommenterr]

The red flags are that it says multiple times things like art assets, 2d, 3d, and audio creation/generation.

[@donwebster9292]

Dragon Magazine had some rules about any hit having a chance to crit. I think you had a 1% chance for every number over your to hit. Adds extra time though

[@lazerbeams2536]

There are actually games where getting hit just kills you. 2400 has consequences based on how much you want to accomplish. If you roll to kill something outright, then failing the roll could outright kill you, but if you go for less there's less risk. In Viking Death Squad taking damage kills you, but you can use armor to tank hits for you. If you have no armor, getting shot just kills you

[@kataro100]

Ai thing is still limited, the only reason all this Image generator work is because of the large data base. Even if WotC has a huge collection of art it's Image Generator will still be extremely limited. It will still make 1 to 1 or hallucinations cause there is not enough variation. Ai Training can not be done in a fair way for creator.

[@davinci451]

38:00 but can we all agree that missing three turns in a row then rolling a 19 (no crit) and then rolling a 1 on the damage die is one of the all-time buzzkills in TTRPGs? Anything that makes that less likely (or impossible) has some merit, in my book.

[@TonyRobetson]

another great episode! i appreciate that you guys dont feed into the internet rage machine!

[@DraculDraconis]

regarding AI in PC-games: If you want to have a single-player strategy game you want to have a AI that "plays" non-player entities.

[@gwavana7996]

People need to see the AI controversy the other way around : what business in any industry right now can really ignore AI? It would be crazy to not have at least a few employees working on it.

[@DorsonKieffer]

Everyone is trying to design a game that cuts down on die rolls. The problem with that thinking is that people like to roll dice. Joseph Goodman figured it out. DCC actually increases the amount of dice rolls and everyone loves it.

[@cernunnos_lives]

The greatest villain used by everyone is still WOTC. Half the company is laid off (just before Christmas) how much more damage can they do?

[@luckwhisker]

Many Forge in the Dark games follow Blades in the Dark's example and have a more or less "mandatory" downtime scene every session. It's not seen as bothersome in any way and is just a normal part of the game.

[@Flaraen]

Isn't a to hit roll but no damage roll equivalent to a damage roll with a damage threshold?

[@galaxyfoxnightsky2042]

Love the DC20 its soo much fun too play go too the kickstarter if anything just too get the free rules pdf

[@CCalDM]

My Warduke grew an immunity to chairs by micro dosing chairs after facing one of my player's characters who fought with chairs. You know that now. Enjoy.

[@alanleckert1]

Don’t objects in 5e already have a To Hit and Damage Threshold system in place?

[@hodgepodgesyntaxia2112]

Inanimate materials technically do, like metal or stone, but very few GMs actually use those rules as written.

[@Lycaon1765]

There IS a system out there that's just "you're hit, you're dead", I've forgotten the name but it's about mexican drug dealers and trying to talk your way through your career. It's a oneshot rpg i believe?

[@MonarchsFactory]

Nice!

[@toddpickens]

Dramatic shocked face 😲

[@danddjacko]

I don't think the AI is for Art, it's for the writing of Adventures. Not that that is any better

[@GateKeeperPat]

EZd6, 3 strikes... YOU'RE OUT

[@andrewshandle]

I'm sorry, if a gaming company creates their own "AI" engine that doesn't steal from outside sources to create realistic NPCs in a video game, that's a good thing. The idea that the talented engineers who accomplish that aren't "artists" and therefore somehow evil is just ignorant.
A game like BG3 doesn't exist without a crapload of talented, software developers who are just as creative as any other member of the studio. Without them none of the vision of BG3 is realized.
The discourse around AI and WotC is beyond ridiculous at this point and just seems to be about rage baiting now.

[@miscprojects9662]

When a company is no longer relevant there are no controversies.

[@armorclasshero2103]

The only people who deserve to be replaced by AI are CEOs. They do jack-all anyway.

[@shadowmancer99]

Their is NO reason to lose the hit roll and damage roll (and DC20 is losing the damage roll BTW) but this modern notion that you should always succeed that you never have a chance to fail is a good one. What is the fun there? I am not saying that you need to played flaw characters, or weaknesses are good characters, or that jazz, but that the element of chance to succeed or fail IS good. the possibility of dying is good. This world believes everything should be a little safe space where any sort of obstacle is removed. pathetic in my mind.

[@mkklassicmk3895]

What do you mean you don't want AI in your video games? You all need to get over your fear of AI its entirely unwarranted.

[@agilemonk6305]

DC20 is and will demonstrate absolutely what you are calling out and talking about and you will love it. Check it out. ❤

[@NyctophileXIII]

I absolutely support AI art for DM's to use to create imagery for their game. For many years I've used copyrighted images from movies and whatnot for these purposes, and it's honestly a huge relief to no longer be reliant on that to give my games the visual cues that are so helpful to visualization.

[@imayb1]

I think Adam Bradford's move has more to do with the Demiplane/ Roll 20 merger. The spokespeople for the merger said they laid out the new path for the merge and it wasn't Adam's path; they wished him the best and had all good things to say about him.

[@lanthorn9910]

Unless "AI" is defined in the context of conversations about it, those conversations are not useful. For example, AI has been used in movie vista views for 20 years. Do you have a problem with that use of AI? Were there human jobs lost? Would those movies have had to have been "less epic" without it?
The way forward is how will AI be used, not whether it will be used. I come from 30 years in the print publishing world and to say desktop publishing or even the internet shouldn't exsist because it threatened staff was a fools errand.

[@randomyoutubecommenterr]

The issue is it specifically states generative Ai, including art asset generation, 2d and 3d content, even audio. All plagued with ethical issues (and lawsuits galore currently being litigated)

[@johncox8835]

Play a video game without AI.... That would be aweful.

[@spark-dunor]

Don't get me wrong, I love listening to you, you are very interesting and relevant. BUT, it's amazing how you always avoid talking about DC20 in the big 3 new RPG actualy in dev. There's absolutely no way you haven't heard of DC20... WOW!!! that's crazy!

[@badmojo0777]

WOTC controversies are here to stay as long as long as the bad content creators can find suckers to click on their CLICKBAIT. Salves to the Algorithm

[@Giantstomp]

I could not disagree more with Shawn more. They will use AI eventually in regards to the tabletop game and for the same reason that he says they might be placating them stockholders, because its a corporation and it will be demanded, not to mention its a cost cutting tool. There is a reason they prefer to contract so much work out to freelancers and not keep a full staff of writers and artists, because it saves money. AI is a hot topic right now so of course they will steer clear of it now, or make sure they do it on the down low, but their idea of the future of AI is a digital online version of the game that is a hybrid of video game and traditional tabletop, with AI DM's and randomly generated dungeons etc. Not being a doomsayer here, just pointing out the inevitability of it all. Its not a matter of if AI will be used, just when and to what degree.

[@shadowmancer99]

DnD is NOT historical issues. A -2 to Str for Women isnt terrible given how it started as a simulation game and generally speaking women as physically weaker in lifting than men. Its not an attack to acknowledge the obvious. Doesnt mean women cant be strong but to ignore the obvious is idtiotic. DnD today has taken out all the parts in the lore, art etc that was fun, and enticing and just made it bland. That's why I run my games with older materials, even if using 5e rules cause they are just COOLER than the PC fluffy versions that people are churning out now...

[@chrisg8989]

@40:40 y'all are sleeping on DC20. That is exactly the system they use. And to be honest. DC20 looks alot more compelling than either Dagger heart or the MCDM game. I thought this was a news show? DC20 went into Kickstart yesterday! Common y'all! Let's cover some of the smaller Creators instead of only focusing on the Big Whale corporations like Wizards and Critical Roll.

[@nonyabusiness890]

Saw this pop up in my feed and decided to check it out. Saw the pronouns and decided, nope.

[@HyperEwok1]

begging the D&D youtuber community to stop doing the Obligatory Reaction to WOTC Bullshit every time WOTC does bullshit

[@DarkinQusitor]

Wotc are pissing their pants. The new D&D 5.5 books are the old 2014 system with some new feats. But with 100% more woke, and more Ai artwork.
Dont give Hasbro/wotc any money, they have you. Take a look at Free league, paizo or kenzer and company, Troll lord games, better games🎉

[@IhaterequiredReg2]

You're hit-> You Die is an existing system. It's being a level 1 Wizard.