TOPIC: New Players Handbook Beta

Matthew Hayward wrote: Normal play difficulty: Nightmare


Put on the Bard card in black and white:

"Many Bards players like to role play their Bardsong performance by singing, rapping, or tap dancing. However, this is not necessary. If a DM asks you to sing you may politely say: 'No thank you, but my Bardsong is still active.'"

• There are some vertical spacing issues in the layout, some subheadings are right next to their parents, and some are spaced out.
• In the "last updated timestamp" the L in last is lowercase
• To be consistent, "token's worth" should be "Tokens Worth" in "What are my tokens's worth?"
• The Wizard has both its basic and Sorcerer versions of the spell list in the index, the same is not true of Bard (Troubadour), Cleric (Templar), Druid, and Elf Wizard (Illusionist)

• "Rules and Policies" might be more clearly expressed as "Event Rules and Policies" or "Participation Eligibility and Policies". My concern is this whole books is 'rules' - but not the sort of rules that are being discussed in this section.
• "Ok" should be "OK" in "What's Ok vs. Not Ok"

• The list of classes in character classes should probably be capitalized (e.g. Barbarian, Bard, ...). If this suggestions is adopted the issue arises other places in the text, search and replace on each character class would be recommended.

• The highlights on the right hand side are on a white background, as opposed to the transparent background of the ones on the left, obscuring the parchment effect.

• "...whether it is a dexterity or a memory test." - A few pages back we called the figher tests "hand-eye coordination" tasks. I'd change this to "...whether it is a coordination or a memory test." to be consistent and to avoid confusing player "dexterity" with the D&D Dexterity stat.

• "If you have a token that increases your maximum HP"... would be more correct as "...modifies your maximum HP". (e.g. Fiendish Charm)

• "slotless" shoudl be capitalized

• Might be better to either call the whole section "Consumable Tokens" or to ditch the word "consumable" in the explanation, lest people think there are two categories involved. I like "Consumable" more than "Expendable."

• "Though it's technically only applicable to monks and rangers engaged in melee combat" can be dropped. Sll classes can use duplicate equipped thrown weapons.

• Eldritch / Grand Eldritch should be added to the line with Legendary
• I think the ! should be outside of the () on the "...quite valuable (especially orange!) Token traders..." part

• I like the note explaining Tokens override rules, but often tokens don't do what they say on the token due to errata (e.g. Bracelts of the Zephyr, Gnomish Fizzy Lifting Pack). I'd add a line here saying "A complete, detailed description of a tokens effect along with current rulings is always available at tokendb.com"

• The description of Lesser Maze here explicitly states time is stopped in the pocket dimension and the monster can do nothing. I think older character cards or rules explicitly stated the opposite, to the effect of "you can't interact, but the monster could also be brewing up a surprise." I think the change is good

• "Every combat room has its own set of sliders. Do not take the pucks out of the room!" - I'd call them both sliders, or both pucks.

• "...there are no individual character modifiers." - Monk Drunken Master gives a +3 to Party initiative.

• The language against wasting time seems a bit harsh, maybe something a bit more fun like: "If your party falls to bickering over who should roll the initiative die, the Monster will simply cackle as precious seconds tick by. The person physically closest is usually the best choice."

• When describing attack modifiers, should it be "to hit" or is it "to-hit", or is it "To Hit" - whatver it is should be consistent throughout?

• Not only are non-slide spells not ranged attacks, but also
• Slide spells aren't ranged attacks either (because they do not get damage bonuses that apply to ranged attacks).

Matthew Hayward wrote: Pg. 31 - Ranged

I thought all spells, or at least all slide spells, were ranged attacks.

This is in line with the TDb wording of various tokens which explicitly boost physical ranged attacks.

There would be no reason to have wording restricting tokens effects to physicla ranged attacks if spells were not ranged attacks, such as the wording found on: Bracers of Archery, Bracers of Supreme Archery, Gloves of Greater Archery ( tokendb.com/token/bracers-of-archery/ , tokendb.com/token/bracers-of-supreme-archery/ , tokendb.com/token/gloves-of-greater-archery/ ).

The description of ranged combat in the PHB Beta implies that:

• Not only are non-slide spells not ranged attacks, but also
• Slide spells aren't ranged attacks either (because they do not get damage bonuses that apply to ranged attacks).

I am pretty the opposite ruling was explicitly handed down by Jeff during token design in 2016 for the 2017 Pixie Lyre - where it was stated explicitly that its damage bonus would affect spells without requiring the use of Earcuff of Inspiration.

Now seems like a good time to clarify once and for all:

a. Are slide spells cast from the character card ranged attacks, or not?
b. Are non-slide spells cast from the character card (e.g. Magic Missle, Fire Dart) ranged attacks, or not?

I personally think it would be incredibly confusing to have spells like: Magic Missile, Firebolt, Fire/Frost Dart not be ranged attacks. However, if those are the rules, then I would change the proposed wording in the PHB to be clearer on this point and say something like:

"Note: Spells are not ranged attacks! However, as a special case, some ranged To Hit bonuses also apply to spells that require a slide and are cast from the character card. In no case do Ranged To Damage bonuses apply to any spells, unless explicitly stated otherwise by a token effect as described in tokendb.com."

• Example 2: ...but the sneak attack damage (15) is not doubled because the attack was not made with a Nightshade's +2 Short Sword... - This is all correct, but I think it would be clearer to say: "...but the sneak attack damage (15) as not doubled (sneak attack damage is only doubled under the influence of special tokens, such as Nightshade's +2..."

• Why does alertness cost a free action? If combat has started and actions are being tracked, it's too late to cast alertness, I don't see the point.
• Maybe this table would be better listing only the items which are not cast as a standard action?

• Wait... what? Lesser Maze recharges Cloak of Shadowskin?

• There is an extra "can" or "may" in "...the DM can may accept the Resurrection token"

• "A coin will be flipped..." - We don't use coins, do we?

• "...purely mental actions" - Maybe this is a good time to mention Psychic actions?

• Should Bardsong be mentioned as something cancelled by silence?

• I think this is the first time AC is defined as "Armor Class" despite earlier use.
• Perhaps Stats for Combat should have subheadings for "Armor Class (AC)", "Saving Throws" and "Hit Points (HP)" for ease of browsing in the ToC.

• Before listing out the types of standard actions, I'd include a preample: "Each character may perform up to one Standard Action, and one Free Action per round, in any order."

• Drink a Potion and Swap a Weapon (1 FA to ready the potion, 1 SA to drink it, 1 FA to swap a weapon)
• Read a scroll with Shield of the Scholar and Drink a Potion
• Apply an Oil and Fire of a Wand with Medallion of Mystic Mouth
• Drink a potion, and apply an Oil with Pouch of Tulz

• Under the list of things that modify Bardsong, Lyre of Echoes could be listed

• I think this section would be clearer if it began with a list of ability scores, e.g. "All classes have their base Ability Scores (e.g. Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma) printed on their character cards in the upper left. Base ability scores range from 9 to 19. ..."

• "Each point of CON Bonus increases..." - Calling Bonus amounts 'points' seems likely to cause confusion. I would suggest calling them 'modifiers' or 'ranks' or 'tiers'.
• CHA 19 - "...you may equip up to two Figurines of Power" - I would rephrase as "an additional Figurine of Power" or "a second Figurine of Power" - as written sommeone could be forgiven for believing you can equip no Figurines of Power at all if your CHA is less than 16.

6,  7  | -2
8,  9  | -1
10, 11 | +0
12, 13 | +1
14, 15 | +2
16, 17 | +3
18, 19 | +4
And so on...

• "AC for melee and missile (ranged)" - Can be simplified for "AC for Melee and Ranged"
• Special damage types (e.g. poison, fire)are also included on the party card
• I think this is the first time "Free Movement" is mentioned - maybe this calls for a paranthetical like (e.g. avoid hold, slow, and hinder effects)

• Opportunity to simplify by eliminating "missile" entirely and just saying "ranged".

• Might be worth mentioning Eldritch Due 100% Spell Res negation here. As written it seems like Spell Res -% can only be 10, 15, or 20.

• Shirt of the Valiant (2018 token) should be listed with other things that interact with dead players. Also perhaps the Berserker's Fight After Death ability.

• I'm just confirming, as at Gen Con 2017 there were different rules enforced by different volunteers: The rules say "you may remove ONE token from the box for each treasure chip you turn in." At Gen Con 2017 some treasure volunteers were allowing magnatic wand pulls that fished up multiple tokens to count as 1 pull. If it was correct to allow multiple treasure tokens per treasure chip if 2 or more tokens came stick to the wand the wording here should be changed.

• Thank you for allowing this - it makes my santa clause approach in PUGs permitted.

• I'd change the order of bullet 3 to say; "With the exception of damage healing consumables, when consuming multiple...." As written it first says "no stacking healing potions!" in the first sentence, and then says "Except you can stack healing potions!" in the second.
• Bullet 3 Example 1: This example would be more informative if they consumed four ORCISH RATIONS and got +4 HP and -6 To Hit (capped at -6).
• Charm Removing: I assume if the charmed person's roll allows them to act normally they can still chug their own Potion Siren Wine?

• "players receive experience points for the number of rooms they enter.." should say "players receive experience points for the number of rooms their character enters alive..."

• Is it actually a rule that you can't enter True Grind unless you are player level 2+?

• "...no single statistic can be reduced by more than 6 points..." - should say "Other than HP, no single statistic can be reduced by more than 6 points..."

• This section heading should be intercapped for consitency
• Why is Silver mentioned in the exception line when below it explicitly says Silver with +x is magical, and Silver without +x is not magical - there is no exception here?
• Staff of Focus and Baton of Focus don't have a +X, but are magical - so these are exceptions to the rule mentioned above.

• Recorded Items: I'd explicitly mention things that modify your 6 attributes as stow and forgettable.

• I manage my entire partys tokens, which fill two three ring binders. After coaching, I take the binder sheets that are "stow and forget" and check them along with the binders in the bag check. Please don't require me to lug two over the shoulder 3 ring binders through the dungeon just so I can have my 3x Defender Plate and 10x +2 Cloak of Resistance etc. on hand. If ever there is a circumstance in the dungeon where I need those tokens due to module design and don't have them, I'm fine suffering the penalty of not having them.

• I initially misunderstood this section to be a list of "notes" about what is "ok and what is not OK". Not "what is OK and Not OK regarding Notes." Maybe change this to "Note Taking Policies"
• Personally, I am much better at solving puzzles and such with writing. My character is a Wizard. I have a vial of ink and some parchment fragments. It annoys me a bit that I'm not allowed to take notes in the dungeon. I abide by this rule, but if the intent is to avoid _external_ notes can we say that? If the intent really is "you can't take notes on what you see in room 1 and use it in room 2" that's fine, I'm not entirely clear on intent.

• The bold "Ghosting at non-Gen Con events is not allowed" should be nearly the first thing in this section. It should describe ghosting and then say "Ghosting is only permitted at Gen Con, the following rules apply only to Gen Con. To reitetrate, ghosting is not allowed at non-Gen Con events."
• A few places in here it says "it's up to the group." This should say, "It's up to the hard ticket holder(s)." If I buy 4 tickets to a run and show up to a PuG with 6 other players, I will wear 4 wristbands and I will get 4 token bags, the group doesn't have any input into that decision. (I realize doing that would be a bad idea, and I wouldn't do it intentionally.)
• "...no more than five Ghost characters may receive any Treasure Chip bonus" - What happens of Alice and Bob, who don't know each other, each buy 5 tickets into the same run, and each show up alone with the intention to ghost. Monkey knife fight for the Ghost treasure?

• "Year Icon..." references tentacles for 2016, it should reference horned cap for 2018.

• The explanation for set bonuses and swapping says you lose your +2 STR from Orb of Might when engaged in Ranged. This is news to me. Amorgen's Spreadsheet appears to add your +2 STR from the Orb into Mighty ranged weapon calculations.

• Could be clearer as "Gains Free Movement (e.g. immunity to hold, slow, and other hinderances).

• So... we'll have 4 Eldritch Pieces in 2019 with the Kilt of Sudden Breezes, but won't get the set power till 2021? Hoo boy...

• If a player has the Mithral Trio and the Supreme Evasion ability and they fail a saving throw against a breath weapon, how much damage do they take? 1/4?

• Is this "retribution damage"? If so it should probably say so. As worded this would happen if the attack were a success but no damage was dealt.

• Sneaky sneaky... requiring a VS Fang to be wielded to benefit. Some folks will be happy to see this nerf no matter how minor.

• Gloves of Spell Negation could be added to step 2 for commpleteness.
• Are breath weapons magical? If not why are they being talked about in step 6? If so things that grant Improved Evasion should be mentioned too.

• The right hand column vertical spacing differs from the left.

• Maybe add: "Note: Some older tokens say they grant 'Free Action' - this term has been changed to 'Free Movement' (see below). They are: ...list of tokens that say free action on them...."

• Are we calling these 'hostile actions' or 'offensive actions'? Maybe stick to one or the other.

• "A change in your Constitution score will affect your base HP." - Change to "will affect your base HP if it changes your Constitution modifier, see ...link to where this is explained...."

• What is the "[q.v.]" annotation in the middle of this text?
• "A natural 20 against a monster is ALWAYS a hit." - Does this mean incorporeal creatures are always hit on a 20?

• For consistency "the easiest..." should be capitalized: "The easiest..."

• Maybe add: "The difficulty can only be changed from normal by unanimous vote of the entire party."

• The "NO TOUCHING" rules should probably also be mentioned in the general Rules and Policies section.

• There are redundant entries for both Commpletion Tokens and Participation tokens. One should probably be deleted, if not the description for one should just say: "See ...the other one..."

• Good grief, we've already got Ranged weapons and Missile weapons, now we have Projectile Weapons? Can we eliminate some of these terms?

• Maybe eliminate one - throuhout the rules I think Puck is used much less than slider. Maybe just have one spot where it is first introduced saying: "A combat slider (also called a puck)..." and a glossary entry for Puck that says: "See slider."

• We already have Consumable. Simplify by changing this to say: "See Consumable."

• I'd change "increase your available slot quotas" to "increase your available slot capacities" or maybe "restrictions" or "limits."

• "A monster with SR 100% cannot be affected by spells". Is this true even when the caster has Eldritch Duo? If so I'd change this term to "Immune to Magic."

• There are some places in the text where the URL is given as www.tokendb.com - I'd make it consistent and drop the www. everywhere.

• Do we need to distinguish between Magial and Mechanical traps?
• Both trap sections have a mysterios to me "[q.v.]" in their text.

1. First all 4th level powers.
2. Then a spell list of relevant with 4th, 4th, and RoSP spells color coded.
3. Then the "4th vs. 5th" block.
4. Then all 5th level powers.
5. Then all RoSP Powers.

• On my screen the 3rd line down "better off using that as opposed to a weapon" is strangely truncated - it's like the top is cut off the line.

• If a Berserker is mostly dead with negative -20 HP, and gets Pushed out of the room with 8 points of Push Damage, and they have a Figurine of Power: Cricket - what happens?

• The section mentiones UR instruments, however the 2017 Rare +1 Blowgun Flute also allows this, and should probably be mentioned if the URs are.
• I would request a clarification here explaining that you are free to role play your signing, and DMs might encourage you to do so, but this is not necessary and you may simply inform the DM you do not wish to actually perform but your character's Bardsong is still active if that is your preference.

• "...must include the taunter." - I would change this to "if possible, must include the taunter (if the monster is unable to include the taunter in any attack, it may behave as normal)."

• The spell list doesn't have the nice vertical margin marker that the Bard does, which I think helps a lot in terms of intelligibility of this section.

• The description says it does Divine Damage and that undead take +3 from Divine, elsewhere in the Glossary Divine is not listed either as a standalone type or an energy type. Sacred is listed, but elsewhere in the rules it says Undead take double damage from Sacred. Can / should we collapse Divine and Sacred? If not Divine should get a glossary entry, and possibly be included as an "energy type."

• Just like the Cleric mentions the thematic bit about only being able to use blunt weapons, mentioning that Druids may not use metallic armor might be a nice thematic touch here.

• This section is missing the vertical line for the spells section found in the Bard class.

• Taunt should specify what happens if the monster is unable to include the taunter in the next attack

• It might be better to break out the Polymorph rules into a separate section and link to them from Druid, Elf Wizard, and Wizard rather than repeating them 3 times.

• This section is missing the vertical line for the spells section found in the Bard class.

• Change to "If your AC is below 16, it becomes 16." - I don't think Instant Safeguard can lower your AC, can it?

• Initial AC for un-equipped Druid: Base AC 10 + 2 due to 15 DEX for 12 AC
• Initial AC for un-equipped Monk: Base AC 16 + nothing despite the Monk's 15 DEX

• I would describe in detail the procedure for how sliding works. As written you could slide two pucks at the same time like a Ranger and be complying with the rules.

• Lol... it's nice to see it officially acknowleged in the rules that "(Rangers are) one of the two classes that can peform two attacks per comabat round." Hear that Ranger apologists? Two attacks. Not one attack with two pucks. You get two attacks.

• It was previously ruled that rangers MUST slide two pucks when engaging in melee attacks, they could not choose to slide 1 puck if that was their preference, perhaps even to the point of being unable to attack if they only had two weapons and one was eaten by a Rust Monster. Whatever the current rules are should be mentioned here.

• "...distain." should be "...disdain."

• What's a missile weapon? It's not listed in the Glossary. Projectile weapons are listed in the Glossary. Isn't this benefit for all Ranged attacks anyway? Don't rangers get this if the are chucking a Skill of Doom (I mean, as a practical matter they definitely do as it's baked into the character card).

• This section is missing the vertical line for the spells section found in the Bard class.

• Change to "If your AC is below 16, it becomes 16." - I don't think Instant Safeguard can lower your AC, can it?

• Someone with Ash's Death Pouch can't bribe death on behalf of a different party member.
• Someone with a Pouch of Tulz can't let another player drink a potion as a free action.

• Casting a spell
• Using a wand
• Reading a scroll
• Performing bardsong
• Drinking a potion
• Applying an Oil or Salve
• Reviving another player

• +1 Melee To Hit (from the +1 Greater Scimitar)
• +3 Melee To Damage (from Ring of Brilliance)
• +1 to Spell Healing and Damage (from Baton of Focus)

• 5th Level Player (from Might Set)
• +5 to Spell Healing and Damage (From Drue's +5)

• +3 Damage vs. Wombats
• -5 Damage from Cold
• +2 to Fort Saves vs. Getting the Hiccups