2005-09-03 Homework answers from BrianDeSmet
Extra credit is awarded for extra answers right?
3. The concept of the "swift action" (as described in such books as Expanded Psionics Handbook and Complete Arcane) is a relatively new addition to D&D. Why were swift actions (especially swift-action casting time spells) added to the game? What's the downside of adding swift actions to the game?
Swift actions are intended to give the designers more granularity when designing spells. Most notably it would allow a spell to made a touch more powerful by allowing to effectively be cast for free, allowing the magic user his full action to do something like moving or attacking.
The downside is that they add more possible action types, which is a list that should be shrunk not expanded. I particularly say this as apparently the Psionic book also added "immediate actions".
2. Longstrider is a 1st-level ranger and druid spell that increases movement by 10 feet for 1 hour per level. Is this spell more powerful, equally powerful, or less powerful than most 1st-level spells? Why do you think this is true?
Equally powerful, which is to say it is a lame spell, like the rest of the 1st level spells on the ranger list. While the one hour per level is quite an impressive duration, it is quite rare when that increasing my speed by 10ft/round is actually useful. I suppose it could perhaps be useful if the GM actually had anally retentively tracked chase scenes. Thankfully I don't know any GM's that would do that.
6. Your development team has decided that this rule is mechanically balanced, but the team lead tells you that it needs to be rewritten for clarity. How might you rewrite this rule and why?
"While this effect affects you, your Reflexive saves are improved by +2 if you're a rogue or other kind of character with evasion, except when she's flat-footed or loses her AC Dex bonus, in which case she doesn't get any bonus, but if she has improved evasion improves you to +4."
Provides a +2 (monkey spanking bonus) on reflex saves when the character to rogues or other character with evasion (the bonus is +4 if the character has improved evasion). This bonus does not apply if the character is flat-footed or has lost their AC Dex bonus.
This needed to be rewritten as it was originally rewritten by someone must have been sleep deprived.