B/X & 5E hybrid, built as an experiment

Cadence said:

I wonder how this compares to @Sacrosanct 's "Bugbears and Borderlands" (available on DriveThruRPG )

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• I don't understand why Alchemy is explained before Magic Items, since I'm guessing the rules to use Alchemy tie into magic item creation rules
• I don't get why Druids have such short spell preperation descriptions when it feels like they should have the same amount as Clerics
• I love your spells and the First/Second/Third level dynamic; it creates fantastic paradigms here and I love it a lot
• But I think the description for Wizard stuff is a lot of (no offense) useless information that doesn't really add a lot. I'd just give the Wizard some Metamagics instead of all this stuff with Elements, Polarity, etc, none of which actually amounts to anything other then fluff and categorization for the sake of categorization (which is fine worldbuilding but I can't engage with it in the game as presented)
• I appreciate the rules cyclopedia-take on adding new actions, like Charging Attack, though ironically you end up making this into a more combat focused game in doing so
• I like your area of effect stuff like blasts and how the active defense stuff operates with them; they are very applicable outside of combat, which is key

Shardstone said:

So it is incredibly difficult for me to understand the Skills and Saving Throws in this game. Sometimes it feels like new skills are coming out of nowhere, and you'll list Saving Throw Skills and then come up with new Saving Throw Skills later in the document. Then when I look at the character sheet, each skill has its proficiency, dice, and then another + column?? I'm just very confused on how to actually use this Skill System.

Other critiques and praises:

• I don't understand why Alchemy is explained before Magic Items, since I'm guessing the rules to use Alchemy tie into magic item creation rules
• I don't get why Druids have such short spell preperation descriptions when it feels like they should have the same amount as Clerics
• I love your spells and the First/Second/Third level dynamic; it creates fantastic paradigms here and I love it a lot
• But I think the description for Wizard stuff is a lot of (no offense) useless information that doesn't really add a lot. I'd just give the Wizard some Metamagics instead of all this stuff with Elements, Polarity, etc, none of which actually amounts to anything other then fluff and categorization for the sake of categorization (which is fine worldbuilding but I can't engage with it in the game as presented)
• I appreciate the rules cyclopedia-take on adding new actions, like Charging Attack, though ironically you end up making this into a more combat focused game in doing so
• I like your area of effect stuff like blasts and how the active defense stuff operates with them; they are very applicable outside of combat, which is key

Click to expand...

• Dodge always uses your reaction. When you Dodge an area effect, you still take half damage if you can't leave the area before it "goes off".
• Parry always uses your reaction, and only works vs attack rolls.
• The Evade action lets you get your reaction back after you successfully dodge; the Guard action lets you get your reaction back after you successfully parry.
• Brace uses your reaction, but lets you Keep Bracing until your next turn unless something moves you or knocks you prone.
• Resist happens when an effect first hits you, and doesn't take any action.
• Shrug it Off happens at the start of your round, if you're taking ongoing damage or have some other debilitating effect.
• Cling to Life happens automatically whenever you start your turn at zero hit points.
• Snap Out Of It happens at the end of your round, when you have some mental effect (charm, fear, etc) that you can try and snap out of
• Disbelieve require your full action to realize something isn't right about an illusion effect
• Deny happens immediately whenever a mental effect (charm, fear, etc) first hits you.

HephaistosFnord said:

Super appreciate this feedback! Lemme see if I can make it clear here, which will help me rewrite what I need to rewrite:

- Certain skills are used to make saving throws. The saving throws themselves are named, so that I don't have to keep repeating "unless you make an Acrobatics saving throw to halve the damage"... instead I can just say "unless you dodge".

The saving throw skills, and their associated saving throw names, are:

Attack Proficiency -> Parry
Acrobatics -> Dodge
Athletics -> Brace, Keep Bracing
Endurance - Resist, Shrug it Off, Cling to Life
Insight -> Snap Out of It
Investigation -> Disbelieve
Presence -> Deny

One inconsistency is that sometimes Insight saving throws are still called "Deny" instead of "Snap Out Of It".

Each of these saving throws has specific rules. For example:

• Dodge always uses your reaction. When you Dodge an area effect, you still take half damage if you can't leave the area before it "goes off".
• Parry always uses your reaction, and only works vs attack rolls.
• The Evade action lets you get your reaction back after you successfully dodge; the Guard action lets you get your reaction back after you successfully parry.
• Brace uses your reaction, but lets you Keep Bracing until your next turn unless something moves you or knocks you prone.
• Resist happens when an effect first hits you, and doesn't take any action.
• Shrug it Off happens at the start of your round, if you're taking ongoing damage or have some other debilitating effect.
• Cling to Life happens automatically whenever you start your turn at zero hit points.
• Snap Out Of It happens at the end of your round, when you have some mental effect (charm, fear, etc) that you can try and snap out of
• Disbelieve require your full action to realize something isn't right about an illusion effect
• Deny happens immediately whenever a mental effect (charm, fear, etc) first hits you.

Click to expand...