Seems applicable to more than just games. Or rather, to more than games in the tabletop space and including games in the arenas of parenting, policing, economics, etc. Design rules toward good behavior rather than punitive towards bad. Anyway, nit to derail the conversation.
Did this approach influence how you handled cleric weapon proficiency as well? The old prohibition against clerics using bladed weapons always struck me as a bit eccentric, and it seems arbitrarily derived from the example of one person — Adhemar Le Puy, the papal legate who joined the First Crusade and wielded a mace instead of a sword. I liked how you handled that more subtly, using weapon proficiency to influence what weapon a cleric would likely use.
Yeah, that was absolutely part of it. It always struck me as weird that the evil priest performing human sacrifice was apparently doing it with a mace(?)
I like the idea of looking for ways to say "yes" in your design. When a game system says "no", it's worth it to look at the design and try to figure out why it's saying no. Saying yes can be the path to a much more player-centric design.
In theory, because you spent all your time and power healing others rather than doing cool stuff yourself. You were more of a party resource than a character. I don't personally identify with that outlook, but that's the feedback we got back then.
Seems applicable to more than just games. Or rather, to more than games in the tabletop space and including games in the arenas of parenting, policing, economics, etc. Design rules toward good behavior rather than punitive towards bad. Anyway, nit to derail the conversation.
100% agree, and so do most psychologists. Positive reinforcement.
Did this approach influence how you handled cleric weapon proficiency as well? The old prohibition against clerics using bladed weapons always struck me as a bit eccentric, and it seems arbitrarily derived from the example of one person — Adhemar Le Puy, the papal legate who joined the First Crusade and wielded a mace instead of a sword. I liked how you handled that more subtly, using weapon proficiency to influence what weapon a cleric would likely use.
Yeah, that was absolutely part of it. It always struck me as weird that the evil priest performing human sacrifice was apparently doing it with a mace(?)
"Let the dark god behold our sacrifice! I know there's no blood... but I gave him a really nasty bruise...." True, that doesn't quite work. :D
I like the idea of looking for ways to say "yes" in your design. When a game system says "no", it's worth it to look at the design and try to figure out why it's saying no. Saying yes can be the path to a much more player-centric design.
Do you know why many people didn't want to play clerics?
In theory, because you spent all your time and power healing others rather than doing cool stuff yourself. You were more of a party resource than a character. I don't personally identify with that outlook, but that's the feedback we got back then.