Dungeons & Dragons Online Forum News (Dec. 01, 04)

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Here are today's Dungeons & Dragons Online forum highlights, collected from Dungeons & Dragons Online forums. Please take into account that these are only single parts of various threads and should not be taken out of context. Bear in mind also that the posts presented here are copied as-is, and that any bad spelling and grammar does not get corrected on our end.

Xundau, Community Relations

Will there be Crap-onics..I mean psionics?

Personally, I think psionic characters have a place in the PnP game, provided that everyone's on board. Because the game mechanics of psionic powers are completely different from magic, it's essential that the DM, and ideally all of the players, understand the system. Problems pop up when a player buys the XPH and decides to play a Psion, and the DM's not really familiar with the system. (My recommendation -- if you really want a psionic character, but the rest of the group's not too familiar with psionics, try playing a Soulknife.)

As far as psionics being part of fantasy -- it's really just a matter of personal preference. Sure, there were no psionics in Tolkien, but I don't remember Gandalf casting magic missile either. On the other hand, psionics have always been optional in D&D (except for the Dark Sun setting), so they're not as integral to the game or its settings as divine and arcane magic have been.

For DDO, psionics definitely aren't on the table for release. We haven't ruled out doing something with them post-release, but if we end up doing them, they'll take a back seat to things like getting the Monk and Druid classes implemented.

Death

Welcome to the community, THX!

That's an interesting blog post, and a good summary of the death issue. Personally, I feel that the death penalties in some of the more recent games have been trending towards being too easy -- I find myself not really caring whether or not my character dies while I'm playing.

The death penalty in DDO will be a little more painful. Not too painful, mind you, but we want it to be bad enough that you definitely don't want to die. Of course, there's a fine (and variable) line between a death penalty that's too lenient and one that drives people away from the game, so we'll be actively collecting feedback on this during beta.

Thomas Oakstaff, DDO Dev Team

Groups and getting to the dungeon

I can address this. First, let me define some terms.

Private space - This is where most adventures will take place. Each party exploring one of these dungeons will have their own version, or "instance".

Public space - This is shared space, where anyone can go. Towns are an example of public space.

Abstracted travel - We're not ready to give specifics, but essentially this will be similar to the Indiana Jones-style red-line.

Abstracted travel is actually very similar to pen and paper D&D. I don't remember a DM ever forcing us to roleplay every step of the journey, only the significant landmarks and encounters.

Me: "Ok, I take a step."
DM: ...
Me: "Ok, I take another step."
DM: "Roll D20"
Me: "I rolled a 1"
DM: "You stubbed your toe... Make a save vs. disease."
Me: ...
etc.

Any good movie abstracts travel to keep the pace moving. It is our goal to achieve the same effect through our abstracted travel mechanic.

Example: Let's say you're traveling from Point A to Point B on a quest. You might be attacked by assassins on the road who are trying to prevent you from completing your quest. Rather than walk the entire distance of the road every time, you only walk the part of it where you're attacked. Sometimes, your trip from Point A to Point B will be uneventful. If so, why make you walk it for the 100th time?

Now, as to the specifics of travel: Getting to an adventure area or dungeon will usually involve a loading screen, because you're transitioning from public space to private space. Getting there may also involve some walking or abstracted travel. How much depends on where you're going.

Sometimes the entrance to the dungeon will be in a public space, possibly the one you're already in. For example, there could be a building in town that you are asked to investigate. Entering that building would put you and your party in a private space.

Sometimes the dungeon will be in a remote location that you have to travel to using the travel mechanic. So, for example, there's a crypt... in a graveyard... in a different city. You would first travel to the city, then to the graveyard, then enter the dungeon. Part of that travel, perhaps between the cities, may be abstracted away. But that doesn't necessarily mean you won't encounter anything along the way...

As far as immediate teleportation, there may be NPCs who provide some kind of travel service, such as a caravan driver who only gives passage to those in good standing with House Orien. Giving him the money might immediately start the travel, rather than having to actually walk out of the city to start the travel, for example.

I hope that helps.

David Eckelberry, DDO Dev Team

Character Downtime & Regeneration

Raistlin_Majere has gone a long way in answering the question here, but with any luck I can explain a bit more on our thoughts on resting and recovery.

From time to time, your character may suffer the indignity of taking a few points of damage here and there. Hopefully, your friendly cleric, bard, ranger, or paladin can tend to those injuries before they become too life-threatening. Those characters, along with the ability to consume somewhat expensive potions, are just about your only hope you have to regain hit points in tactical situations.

Now, after the battle is won, you may need to find a place to rest and recover. Indeed, that healing spellcaster also needs a place to regain his spells. Of course, so does the wizard. But fear not, brave adventurer, for within the dark sewers and crypts of Eberron, there lie many a hidden nook, quiet chamber, and sealed hall that you may rest. Your party can set up camp and recover hit points and spells in these "safe rooms." They may even hold ancient, powerful shrines and monuments – but that's a topic for another time.

When resting in one of these chambers, you'll recover some of your lost hit points, as noted here. You'll recover additonal hit points based on your character's Heal skill, or the skill of one of your companions.

Hope this answers your question.

Jason Booth, DDO Dev Team

Character Downtime & Regeneration

I feel the need to point out that none of this requires you to actually sit and wait for any length of time, as thats just not fun.

[ December 04, 2004, 15:28: Message edited by: chevalier ]