What should i say to this ... cone on you too?
Maybe: "Oh yeah, I did say that. Sorry, you were right."
This is the core(st?
) problem in our dialogue ...
Wat you see is "explanation" ... what i see, is "statement" ...
If you can't see how that is an explanation of how this stuff makes other people feel while playing and every elaboration is just a statement to you, the only way I can actually explain this to you is by talking about neurotransmitters in the brain which cause us to feel good. No thank you, that is far too deep an explanation to get into here.
You stated, that you see "an oil barrel around every corner"I believe i allready reacted on this statement allone ...
By listing all places where i remembered Barrels ... i cant find it so lets do that again:
- Single explosive in Nautiloid remains ... prepared there obviously to overcome this specific encounter for people who are still level 1 ... fun fact: this is actualy
the one and only Barrel in whole Act 1 (meaning except Tutorial) that actualy fits to all your descriptions.
- Single Barrel inside the Crypt ...
- 3 Barrels in Druid secret passage ... part of the trap set to protect the chest
- Single Barrel in entrance to Blighted Willage ... part of the trap, prepared by obviously ambushing Goblins
- Few (dunno, but certainly less than 5) in Blacksmith basement in Blighted Willage ...
- Dunno how many in storage-room in Selune temple (aka inside goblin camp) ... yes, there is many of them, but it have RP purpose you can find, when you listen goblin talking, all of them was bringed by Zhentarims.
- 2 Barrels in Halsin vs Goblins encounter room ...
- The secret passage to Gnolls encounter ... there are 3 if i remember corectly and they are set there as part of trap.
- And finaly Zhentarim hideout ... there is also quite a lot of them, on many places ... but since Zhentarims werea allready confrimed as group that is able to provide explosives from all around the world ... it kinda makes sence to me, that they will also use them. :-/
That is so frickin' many, compared to what you'd expect to see in a medieval fantasy world, Faerun in this case. xD
You stated, that "people (even those who hate it) actually do want to use barrelmancy"
It certainly dont feel that way. laugh
You stated, that "but they want to feel clever for using it and it should be unique to a certain experience."
And i say they have that option.
People hate it because of how it's implemented, not that it's implemented. It doesn't feel clever when it's too abundantly available, because it doesn't feel like something you came up with to use in a creative way. Rather, it feels like the designers telling you to do that specific thing a lot cus explosions are cool. You don't have the option of feeling clever, it's something you either feel, or you don't.
To all the other stuff. I only wanted to explain to you why barrelmancy in it's old form was not fun for people. I don't want explosive barrels to be entirely removed. By being able to carry so many, they'd always be available. Having the strength requirement pretty much fixes the problem, which you and I agree on. I want the option to use an explosive barrel to be there, I just don't want it to be so often, so it still feels satisfying when I do. I also want that option to not affect how good other options feel.
Game rules make you feel a certain way and they need to be balanced around each other. D&D 5e is actually a very balanced game, a single race isn't the best for one class, there's many combinations with pros and cons, especially now with Tasha's Cauldron of Everything. This balance is important, so it doesn't feel bad when you pick certain things. Instead you get to shine when the thing you picked comes up. Dwarven fighters are cool, cus they get a higher stat (for a bit more accuracy and damage) and they have poison resistance, but Half-orc fighters are cool, because they do a bit more damage on a crit and can stay alive for one more hit. The value of either of these doesn't far outweigh the other, which makes them both nice to have.
In the end you agree with the changes that make the world more believable (strength requirement), and choices to matter (playing a high strength character) and hope for NPCs to react to placing barrels, so you feel these things just like everyone else, and yet you're arguing.
I feel like when we identify something as an "Absurdity" which Barrelmancy certainly is then we look to Mods to bring it back into the game for those people who want that.
I have no doubt some nostalgic modder will do that for people who want to defy physics and carry 10 barrels, place them next to various baddies and detonate them and then jump up and down clapping to the explosions' - as I assume people do - before running off to compose poetry to Michael Bay.
I get the sense that we are all mostly fine with how things currently stand after Patch 5, yet the arguments are going on. I confess to being somewhat at a loss at this point.
]
Yeah, also pretty lost and confused... I won't react after this one anymore, I promise. x)
