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View Full Version : Playtesting - what to look for?



Heliomance
2010-05-16, 08:05 AM
I'm currently planning a one-shot designed to simultaneously playtest:
1) A new setting I'm working on, with assorted homebrew rules
2) A homebrew class I wrote
3) Tome of Battle, which neither I nor any of my local gaming society currently use.

I'm thinking I'll probably have it at level 11, as that gets in most of the class features I want to test, without being TOO ridiculous.

Anyway, I was wondering what should go in, what I specifically need to look out for, and any general tips.

Also, this is my first time DMing. Why no, I'm not jumping in at the deep end at all. Why do you ask?

Starbuck_II
2010-05-16, 08:35 AM
Well, when playtesting something new try to see worst possible realistic situations.

Don't just test how you assume someone will play a class. Don't call in the WotC trap of Clerics being walking band-aids.
Not everyone will do that method: some will cast the personal spells.

For Tome of battle, assume you aren't your own ally fixes White Raven Tactics maneuver.

Heliomance
2010-05-16, 08:38 AM
I was planning on handing out pre-genned characters and seeing how the players used them. What I'm largely asking is what situations to put them in, and suchlike.

Gnaeus
2010-05-16, 08:53 AM
The best way to test classes is to pit them against wildly different situations. For example, a Dragon in its lair. A natural obstacle to get around. An enemy army to disrupt. A social encounter. A room full of traps.

PersonMan
2010-05-16, 09:07 AM
The best way to test classes is to pit them against wildly different situations. For example, a Dragon in its lair. A natural obstacle to get around. An enemy army to disrupt. A social encounter. A room full of traps.

+1. Try for different social/combat encounters, see who is good against lots of mooks and who can pummel a single enemy into submission. See how they go against enemies with unusual resistances. Can they find their weakness, or do they run out of options and just smack it a lot?