Comment from discussion
Dunno if you’re still looking at this, but:
You guys did a good job on this one…and goes to show that execution is just as important as the mechanics themselves; lots of needless overcomplication that didn’t add anything thrown out the window. It almost feels like 3 was ‘how can we make the best simulation’, 4 was ‘how can we bring in new blood from similar hobbies [big box board games / MMOs]’ (Edit: Or possibly ‘How can we get the tactics without the crunch’), and now 5 is ‘screw it. Let’s just make a good game.’
As someone trying to teach himself how to do the probability of and in turn create a good underlying model for a game’s mechanics: How do you arrive at that original playtest prototype, balance-wise? One of the things I’ve struggled with is getting the mechanics and math to where I’m happy taking it to a table, feeling reasonably sure it’ll play ok and need tweaked, rather than being so far out in the weeds the numbers need redone. I’m sure experience comes into play [other devs have even stated as such], but there has to be a rhyme or reason to it.We started with the game design and then focused on the math second because it helps to start by looking at the effect you want a mechanic to have in play.
Think of a mechanic like its own, short story. What story does it tell? What emotions do you want to evoke?
Advantage and disadvantage grew out of that approach. I wanted you to hate that second d20 on disadvantage, or see that second die as your best friend with advantage. If the emotional pay off is strong enough, you can twist your math around to make it work.AMA: Mike Mearls, Co-Designer of D&D 5, Head of D&D R&D.
Hello Mike. I had the pleasure of meeting you at Gen Con. Thanks again for taking your time then and now to answer questions.
Travel Pace (pg 182): Is this a blanket table regardless of the speed of the creatures involved? I know the rules list exceptions for flying creatures and the like, but the table seems to be based on creatures with speed 30. I also note the line about horses going faster over short distances. I’m just having trouble seeing a horse with speed 60, a wagon drawn by draft horses and a dwarf all travelling at the same pace if they are travelling separtely. Is this something that will be more detailed in the DMG?
This is an area where we erred on the side of ease of use. Someone (maybe Crawford?) did some research on travel times of mounts vs. people on foot, and came to the conclusion that it was pretty exceptional and required a lot of support for mounts to provide a significant, long-term speed boost.
IIRC, the Pony Express required riders to swap out horses several times per day, and the animals themselves had serious risks of injury.
So, for that reason and to keep things simple, we standardized travel times.Comment from discussion
AMA: Mike Mearls, Co-Designer of D&D 5, Head of D&D R&D.
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