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Playtest Group of the Month
(January / Feburary)

Playtesters At Work:

In case you were wondering what kind of impact playtesters can have on 3rd Edition, here is an example of playtester feedback and the resulting changes to the rules document. What you're seeing here is the "before" and "after" versions of the rules. Sandwiched in between is the excerpt from the playtesters' report that helped convince us to make the change.

2/25/00 From the playtest document:

From the playtest document:

The list of favored skills for a druid included Animal Empathy, Concentration, Scry, and Wilderness Survival.

Observation from David Roberts’s playtest group:

"Animal Empathy and Wilderness Survival are obvious choices of this class, but some form of nature lore knowledge should be provided for to match the cleric theological knowledge."

From the revised rules:

The druid's class skills (no longer called "favored skills") have been greatly expanded-from a list of four to a list of thirteen. One of the new class skills for the druid is Knowledge (nature), which parallels the Knowledge (religion) class skill of the cleric.

2/11/00 From the playtest document:

From the playtest document:

The combat rules had this to say in the section that talks about attacks of opportunity:

"Moving into a threatened square always provokes an attack of opportunity, no matter what other actions are being performed."

Observation from David Roberts’s playtest group:

"What? This is totally confusing. Surely engaging the enemy does not provide an attack of opportunity. It certainly reads that way!!!"

From the revised rules:

The later version of the same rules goes into more detail about attacks of opportunity, and does not use the above statement:

"Threatened Area: You threaten the area into which you can make a melee attack, even when it is not your action. Generally, that’s everything within 5 feet of you. An enemy that takes certain actions while in a threatened area provokes an attack of opportunity from you.

"Provoking an Attack of Opportunity: If you move within or out of a threatened area, you usually provoke an attack of opportunity. If all that you do is move (but not run) during your turn, the space that you start out in is not considered threatened, and therefore enemies do not get attacks of opportunity for you moving from that space. If you move into another threatened space, however, enemies get attacks of opportunity for you leaving it."

2/4/00 From the playtest document:

The favored skills list for the sorcerer included two skills, Concentration and Scry.

Observation from David Roberts's playtest group:

"The favored skills list [for the sorcerer] is disappointing, and makes the sorcerer a lesser wizard. Something in addition to Scry and Concentration would be better."

From the revised rules:

The class skills (formerly known as favored skills) for the sorcerer now include Alchemy, Concentration, Craft, Knowledge (arcana), Profession, Scry, and Spellcraft.

1/28/00 From the playtest document:

In the Class Abilities section of the bard description, we said:

“Inspire Allies: Once per day per level, a bard can use song or poetics to inspire his friends. Affected creatures must be able to see and hear the bard, who must sing, play, or recite (or any combination of the three) for 2 rounds. Inspired allies receive a +2 to saving throws versus charm and fear and a +1 to attack and damage rolls. The effect lasts 10 rounds.”

Observation from David Roberts's playtest group:

“These rules are wonderful. The only change I might suggest is that the benefit should last for as long as the bard performs or as long as combat lasts for, whichever is shorter. If a bard can only do this once a day, let him use the skill to the full potential. Combat that lasts more than 10 rounds is either too long or an epic battle.”

From the revised rules:

“Inspire Courage: A bard with 3 or more ranks in Perform can use song or poetics to inspire courage in his allies, bolstering them against fear and improving their combat abilities. To be affected, an ally must hear the bard sing for a full round. The effect lasts as long as the bard sings and for 5 rounds after the bard stops singing (or 5 rounds after the ally can no longer hear the bard). Affected allies receive a +2 morale bonus to saving throws versus charm and fear effects and a +1 morale bonus to attack and weapon damage rolls.”

1/21/00 From the playtest document:

In the section of the Combat chapter that describes what happens when a character charges, we said:

"When a hero charges, he gains a +2 bonus to his attack roll, but his Armor Class is reduced by 2 until the end of the round."

Observation from David Roberts's playtest group:

Surely this should be until he next acts.

From the revised rules:

“After moving, you may make a single melee attack. Since you can use the momentum of the charge in your favor, you get a +2 bonus on the attack roll. Since a charge is impossible without a bit of recklessness, you also suffer a –2 penalty to your AC for 1 round (generally until your next action).”

1/14/00 From the playtest document:

The earlier rules draft had this to say at the beginning of the description of the thief class:

"Thieves are adept at making civilization work for them; they can be found wherever people gather and money changes hands. Many thieves desire only to amass fortunes in the easiest ways possible. They enjoy life day by day, living in the highest style they can afford and doing as little work as possible. The less they have to toil and struggle like everyone else, the better off they think they are."

Observation from David Roberts's playtest group:

"The synopsis of the thief at the beginning of the class is a little too simplistic. The problem lies in the fact that defining the thief as a robber is far too restrictive, particularly given the huge array of skill choices you present later. Experienced players know this is not true, but new players are presented with a description of a lazy criminal."

From the revised rules:

The revised rules changed the name of the class from "thief" to "rogue" and described the class this way:

"Rogues share little in common with each other. Some are stealthy thieves. Others are silver-tongued tricksters. Still others are scouts, infiltrators, spies, or thugs. What they share is versatility, adaptability, and resourcefulness. In general, rogues are skilled at getting what others don't want them to get: entrance into a locked treasure vault, safe passage past a deadly trap, secret battle plans, a guard's trust, or some random person's pocket money."