Official Errata: Changes and fixes to the game (Subscription Recommended)

No, it was just a consolidation error. Thanks for the catch. I'll let Kindulas know, he's been handling the merging.

It's great. So much easier for updates and use. It's also revealing a lot more errors that were in one of the handbooks, now both sets of eyes are looking at the same thing (like mentioned above) - so we can fix them more efficiently.

The berserker's "Rampage" in the tabletop version has had its conditional damage upped to 1d12, because as a melee attack it didn't have anything over the rangeless skype version

The Ultimate of the Necroscythe, Death Stalks you, has been errated from Target Creature to Target Enemy because I broke it with Plaguebearer's robes. Turns out being immune to damage (save ends) and being able to spread Death Stalks you as a minor action was just a bit to much for a 2000 gold item.

Death Stalks You heals you for however much damage the target takes. So, when you put it on yourself, as long as no one spikes you down to death you'll heal back up for however much damage you just took.

exactly

Attack keywords are fixed. They now read the same in both tabletop and skype versions.

Attack - An ‘attack’ is, ‘any combat talent that is labeled as an attack’. It’s genuinely that simple. This only matters as a keyword for certain powers that let you do things when a creature uses an attack against you, or affects your own attacks. For example, being blinded really messes with you if you try to use an attack. However, if you use the other kind of combat talent - a utility combat talent - then being blinded doesn’t affect you at all. In short, don’t worry about this keyword unless some effect specifically talks about attacks.

Misdirection is now 4 PiPs

I don't suppose that's a nerf that you'll reconsider, is it?

It's very useful, and its inability to block save ends or some of the like prevent it from being overpowered. It certainly seems comparable in power to many other 3 pip talents, and interrupts in general don't usually get their costs that high...

Either way, a one sentence post just TELLING us we're getting screwed over is rather tactless, don't you think?

Sure, we reconsider all nerfs. I much prefer to buff things than nerf them, nerfs make people sad.

However, Misdirection is a relic of the original system's concept of treating combat as a delicate puzzle to be solved rather than a strategic skirmish to be enjoyed. Moves like Misdirection were essential to the basic strategy and careful use of them could mean the difference between victory and defeat.

The combat system turned out to be a lot more fun than we expected though and it evolved along the more natural route it is now, with many more flexible build options and less of a 'have the tools you need and apply them correctly or lose' approach. We much prefer this change, as it makes combat easier for multiple DMs to run and a lot slicker for casual players to enjoy.

Once you look at Misdirection under this new lens, from one of the essential tools to 'just another cool move' - it really is way too powerful. Effectively you spend 3 pips (after possibly going +3 on your turn) to cancel an opponent's attack and hit some enemy with the attack instead. This nullfies their action and gives you an action in terms of damage. And it only costs you one action (going +3) to set up. That's a 2 action swing for the price of 1 every time you get to trigger it - which is way above the curve.

It isn't always this good, as enemies need to hit you with noticeable damage in order to make it work, but that just means it's not 2x as good as everything else *all* the time.

And let's not even talk about the combo with Lightning Reflexes (which is probably the most OP trait of all right now and will be addressed in the next patch)

You can turn it into costing only two pips by that Lightning Reflexes...

Exactly, hence why twas brokentastic.

Sorry you feel you're getting 'screwed' Z2 - nerfs are never pleasant. Still, I think PT being balanced helps keep the game alive and feeling fresh so people can play lots of different builds without feeling they're taking strictly worse options than a few powerful ones. We like to let more powerful moves and strategies have their day so people can discover them and enjoy them - but we like everything to be at least roughly balanced by the end.

Yes, Lightning Reflexes is crazy strong. If I ever want to build a nutty strong character, I just need to make one around Lightning Reflexes and the rest does itself. A trait is worth about 2000 gold, and if you use 2 things that LR reduces the cost of each round, you'll have generated 10 pips of advantage for yourself over 5 rounds. Compare that pip gain to the other pip gain items in the system. Ritual Knife costs 2500 and only gives you 3 pips or less *and* you have to pay life.

Just FYI, Misdirection does NOT do all the things you said: there are ALREADY a ton of ways to neutralize single target attacks, often for no pips at all... and Misdirection only protects the USER from the multi-target attacks... so there's that. In fact, the ONLY thing it affects in ANY way is damage, which is only a facet of the combat even at its most simplified. Misdirection is nowhere near as disastrous as that interrupt that STUNS enemies: thus blocking the attack AND ALSO BLOCKING ALL THEIR MINORS AND INTERRUPTS and all that other jazz... I think you're vastly overestimating the damage that is done by... damage. Also, it might be nice to limit yourself to one disastrous nerf per week/month: that way a few players might get a chance to use Lightning Reflexes before you destroy it too.

Z2 wrote:Just FYI, Misdirection does NOT do all the things you said: there are ALREADY a ton of ways to neutralize single target attacks, often for no pips at all... and Misdirection only protects the USER from the multi-target attacks... so there's that. In fact, the ONLY thing it affects in ANY way is damage, which is only a facet of the combat even at its most simplified. Misdirection is nowhere near as disastrous as that interrupt that STUNS enemies: thus blocking the attack AND ALSO BLOCKING ALL THEIR MINORS AND INTERRUPTS and all that other jazz... I think you're vastly overestimating the damage that is done by... damage. Also, it might be nice to limit yourself to one disastrous nerf per week/month: that way a few players might get a chance to use Lightning Reflexes before you destroy it too.

Z2, Misdirection has been in playtesting for nearly a year now. Believe it or not, we've had time to evaluate it. Lightning Reflexes has been in the system since the trait revamp and the math clearly explains why it's overpowered. Your complaint addresses not a single issue with the idea that LR is overpowered, you're simply complaining and doing it in a rather unpleasant fashion. The post explaining why Misdirection is overpowered addresses that it isn't *always* twice as good as everything else, but the fact that it is *often* twice as good is terrifying.

And saying, "but sometimes this other ridiculously powerful interrupt is better" does not mean the first interrupt is balanced. Heron's hoof is also a relic of the original system where such talents were essential and should be revisited. However, it hasn't been as prevalent as Misdirection and has overall caused less problems in playtesting thus far.

@Dan
I'd probably be less compelled to be snippy about you constantly messing with things if you ever actually did things on the forum like start a game or recruit new players to join... Instead of keeping to the same cabal and doing nonspecific 'playtesting' until you feel like laying down from on high (nigh-exclusively) worsening of various cherished player combos or independent community members' ideas... Also, you haven't seen me be 'unpleasant.'

Given that you stress SO MUCH that the 'spectacular successes' and endless flavor possibilities are a core part of the system, I'm a little surprised that you are so dead set on applying the 'nothing is too good' method of balance rather than the 'counter broken with broken' method. I've certainly heard other players say that that's a preferable method of balance, and I know ~I'm~ having the most fun when I'm getting more out of my moves than I suspect I'm supposed to. If removal of those things is just because you are always a DM rather than a player, you can control them without altering the rules if you really must.

Honestly, aside from me genuinely not liking pretty much every change I've seen you make, I feel less than inclined to give you the benefit of the doubt anyway. It feels like you're keeping this community as a 'pet' to do with as you please, and a lot of your posts seem unpleasantly condescending or patronizing (and your picture certainly doesn't help with that.) Whether or not that's how it IS, all I PERCEIVE from you is you stating your will and defending your choices... often with statements that amount to "I've proved that it fits with my idea of how it should work, and that's the only important criteria." Leaving no chance of actually fixing things.

This is likely to be my last post on this thread, given that one can't change another's method of thinking over a forum; and I think a significant difference therein will prevent either of our arguments from working on the other...

I agree with Fury on that particular point but, have a few similar sentiments to what Z2 expressed in that post. (I can also see why Dan thinks you're being a bit confrontational but, that's more to do with himself and how he thinks others should behave than anything else.)

As for Misdirect itself, I do see the change as unnecessary but, this difference is likely a lot to do with what Dan sees GMs doing with monsters. Which, as basically anything that doesn't do an always equal effect, is basically as strong as the GM is making it be. So certain things are going to be completely broken in one campaign and could just as easily be completely useless in another. Raising the cost up to four pips is pretty much guaranteeing it's only going to be used in games where it's strong, eliminating the option for games where it's not.