2005-09-03 Homework answers for KatieZenke
1. In D&D, class and race are crucial elements that define a character's role in the party and his place in the world. It's no coincidence that they're among the most important game mechanics for developers to understand.
a) What is the most powerful class in the Player's Handbook, and why is it the most powerful?
I have kind of a strange answer to this one. I would say a bard, actually. Bards kind of suck by themselves (they can't usually hit shit and without armor get hit easily and can't cast a whole lot of spells), however since no one ever plays by themselves, that shouldn't matter. Bards are incredibly powerful in a team. Groups that have bards do more damage, make more saving throws and are often better protected against enemies that ignore armor. Thus, even though the bard is less powerful than anyone else on their own, they are more powerful in a group because of how they enhance the group as a whole.
b) What is the least powerful race in the Player's Handbook, and why is it the least powerful?
Hard to say. Halflings and Gnomes do less damage, but they are harder to hit which gives them an advantage. I think the races are balanced fairly well.
4. You're part of the development team for the next D&D sourcebook. If these two feats were part of the design turnover, what are some comments that you would make about them?
Arcane Defiance
Your knowledge of one school of spells enables you to better resist spells from that school.
Prerequisites: Int 12, Spell Focus in the chosen school, ability to cast one spell from the selected school.
Benefit: Select one school of spells that you can cast and for which you have the Spell Focus feat. You get a +1 bonus on saving throws against spells from that school.
I like this feat a lot. In fact, I think it should be included in the game (and should have been from the start, but that's another issue). Perhaps it should only be available to wizards, however, since it is only really wizards for whom magic is about study and it idea is that they learn how magic works and not just how to do it. It makes sense that if you have come to understand how a certain type of magic works by studying it intensively (specializing) then you would have a better idea of how to defend against it. A +1 is maybe not a high enough bonus to entice people to take it, so I might go up to a +2 or 3, but that may be a balance issue with other feats (I don't remember how similar feat bonuses are set up).
Burning Barrier of Breath
You can channel the power of your breath weapon to create a barrier of flames.
Prerequisites: Cha 13, breath weapon.
Benefit: Use your breath weapon to cast wall of fire.
This doesn't fit into the main book. In fact, the only place I see it being really appropriate is in the Dragon book because that is the only book with playable races in it who come with breath weapons (to my knowledge, anyway). It just isn't appropriate in the main book because too few characters can even think about using it.
7. Describe a game mechanic (from a game other than a roleplaying game) that you think is good, and explain why you think it's good.
Since I've played it recently, a mechanic from the Winx Club game comes to mind. In the game each player builds hands to fight against an outside enemy with. In a cooperative game, players can share cards that they can not use, but another player can. This allows for faster play (less time building hands, more time fighting witches) and builds the feeling of the game being a team effort. This mechanic can also be dropped (along with a few other rules) to make the game competitive. It is a versatile mechanic and it allows for a game with wider variety and potentially more appeal. It also plays into the psychology of the players during the game, which most card-based games fail to do.
Katie