Status of Development

[dlsellers]

I personally like the appendices and optional rules being included right there in the three books. In fact, not having a particular nostalgic attachment to the 3LBBs or their organization, I'm in favor of rearranging things to be more logical and practical. One of DD's main charms for me is that it takes the meat of the original game, which is already so dang solid, and presents it in such a clean, functional (but still flavorful) way. If I want just stream-of-conscious, I could just print out and use the 3LBBs instead. I like that DD forges its own path to a degree, while remaining faithful to the spirit and the solid bones of the original.

I don't know if that feedback is helpful or not. I thought the organization adopted in V4 was already very solid and made sense to me, so hewing closely to that wouldn't go wrong in my book.

[cavalier973]

I will begin by saying the two most harmful words in the English language: good job!

Seriously, I’ve been searching back and forth among each of your revisions, and the original white box booklets, and I really like what I see. I’ve also been comparing the rules in the S&W White box, and, right now, I like DD better. I’ve *also* been reading through the Rules Cyclopedia, so I have those rules rolling around in my skull.

Things I like:
>The cross section dungeon and first level sample dungeon, along with guidelines for creating dungeons, last seen in version 2. For some reason, the usefulness of designing a cross section of the dungeon levels didn’t click with me until I saw them in DD.

>The equipment list includes crowbars. These items weren’t in the original, and I was wondering if crowbars were in the Greyhawk supplement. Crowbars are in the Cook/Expert set, but none of the other “basic” books. I am disappointed to see they will not be included in v5.

> The weather chart in the v3 and v4 Wilderness Exploration sections. I would recommend that it be expanded to include cold weather, somehow. Maybe instead of “hot”, it would be “extreme temperatures” and instead of “rain”, it would be “precipitation”.

> That the “3-for-1” and “2-for-1” adjustments for characters’ prime requisites will be in v5. I think that idea makes better sense than “basic’s” lowering of one or more scores to raise the prime requisite score.

Things for which I have questions:
> the “fighting as” table. I looked this up in the original rules, and see that it is a reference to “Chainmail”. Does DD include “Chainmail” combat rules?

> Why are gnomes found in arctic climes (v4)? I looked in the original rules, and gnomes aren’t included in the monster list, although they are mentioned in the entry for gnolls.

>The rules seem to say that when higher level fighters are fighting normal level foes, they must use the multiple attack feature (attack a number of times equal to the fighter’s number of hit dice, but only attack as a single hit for fighter). Supposing a fifth-level fighter stumbles across a goblin. Must the fighter attack the goblin five times using the single hit die line on the attack matrix, or can the fighter attack the goblin once at the fifth level line?

I probably have other stuff to say, but I have to go to work, now.

Again, I am much impressed by your work on this project.

[rredmond]

Welcome @pvoce, @dlsellers , and @cavalier973 - cool to see new "faces" jumping in!
Be well!

[mushgnome]

Hi @cavalier973 I am an expert on gnomes! Here are a few reasons I can think of, why the party might encounter gnomes in the arctic:

1. Gnomes are right at home in the far northern pine forest and taiga regions. That twisted, gnarled, stunted tree clinging to life at the very edge of the tundra? A gnome lives in its roots!

2. Or maybe, just like you, the gnomes are visitors here. Maybe they are traveling by ski or snowshoe, or maybe a sled pulled by adorable animals. Or maybe they have a steampunk vehicle, like an airship or snow cat!

3. Finally (it is rumored) there is a secret workshop at the North Pole. The diminutive toymakers are sometimes erroneously referred to as "elves" but I think they might actually be gnomes!