A Veteran GM's First Impressions of D&D 4th Edition 330
Martin Ralya writes "I spent several hours with the three core D&D 4th Edition books on launch day, and wrote a detailed look at all of them based on my first impressions. Two big takeaways: Yes, the World of Warcraft comparisons are fair (and a good thing), and the way character powers work now will make the game more fun for everyone."
Wait until you've played it (Score:5, Informative)
My impressions (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Is the title correct? (Score:5, Informative)
Start Reprinting AD&D v2.0 Please (Score:2, Informative)
If I wanted to run D&D on the computer with my friends I have lots of options with a hugh variety of choices, and there has been lots of software over the years to do just that. If I want to run a fast moving pen and paper well balanced D&D type game the options tend to get poorer the farther I seem to move farther from AD&D v2.0.
BTW, WTF is wrong with GNOMES? Who was the genius that thought that one up? What's next Orcs? (What a bunch of Stereotypical team of writers and computer jockeys.)
Propoganda much? (Score:4, Informative)
- Spells are called "powers" (goodbye psionics?) and are detailed in the class section; there is no other"magic" area in the book. Great for a person only playing a wizard, ever, but wtf for people making classes. Horrible.
- No confirm criticals, criticals are just max damage on a 20. Goodbye dramatic tension as you bunch over the faded die, figuring out if you got a 7 or 17 on that confirm roll. Goodbye variability. Goodbye fight-ending strike.
- Most rolls 1d20+1/2 character level+other. Wow, that means that high level people will be able to do everything better than 1st level players! Horrible.
- They increased type size AND whitespace in the books. Yep, less content.
- The PHB tells players how to play AND the GM how to gm. No dice.
- They still didn't simplifiy combat. Good god, I thought that was the reason they made another edition.
- No ranks in skills. So much for making a detailed and unique character, huh? Cookie-cutter it is then.
- Attackers roll saves instead of defenders. Stupid. It takes the fate out of your hands and into mine, not to mention I have to look up the bonus a cliff gets to its reflex attack. wtf?
- No strategy. Instead of having to rest and pray (or study) to gain spells back, they have the equivalent of "cooldown" (which I can forgive in an MMO, but makes no real-world sense). Basically your players can use their best spells every fight. No strategy, no need for lower-level spells at all. Why do they even exist once you pass 5th level (or whatever level it is you get fireball now)?
-On that subject, he makes a big deal of how there is only ONE CHART!!!!! LOL for all classes, and says it is simplifying. Then he says you slip to the section on your class to get, essentially, your unique "key" to help you read the chart. GG.
-"There are fewer types of action, standard, move, minor and free." Given that that's about the same as 3.5 core (full-round, standard, move and free), I wonder about this guy's mental health exclaiming its virtues.
-Diagonal movement works the same as lateral movement". I assume this means they moved to hexes? no? Then I guess you can move faster by moving diagonally in about ANY circumstance. Once again, way to break the world.
-Every class has two suggested "builds". What did I say before about telling us how to play? Honestly, at least leave WHO we play up to us. Similarly, each class has a "role". Not that they are customizable or anything. Nope, it's just like "Do you want a DD or a tank?" all over again.
-Retraining is now not only core, but really basic. So in other words, feel free not to put thought into what skills and feats you take, just get the shiniest ones and clean up later.
- His section on the DMG made me just a little bit nauseous. He was all, "saying that people have to cooperate?! Not only is this idea foreign to the other Dungeon Master's Guides, but nobody but those savants at WotC would've thought of it! I thank them for imparting this knowledge into my undeserving hands."
-Treasure parcels. It's where you get 4 magic items and some money. Before I decided treasure by what the villain would have; how foolish! Now I have learned to make sure everyone gets a magical item every encounter!
-MM has 1 monster per page. In other words, say goodbye to all of the lesser-used guys: lantern archons, rasts, all them things my players would always scratch their heads about when they first appeared. Say hello to there being monsters someone with any time could easily memorize all the weak points to, and just plain not enough to make dungeons flarvorfully unique.
-In the MM section he makes deals over things that ALREADY existed, like a picture for each monster.
-Replaced DR with something that means the same. This guy loves it.
- Everything is just to explain to newbies how to play. No advanced mechanics. No strategy. No fun.
I think you can tell about everything you need about this reviewer when
Re:Propoganda much? (Score:5, Informative)
I really don't feel like refuting the rest of your post, but mods, note that this guy has never seen the books himself, has never played with the system, and is knee-jerking at it without knowing what he's talking about.
Re:It is great (Score:5, Informative)
However, a big part of what I believe is going to push D&D 4e is the D&D Insider Online Tabletop with the voicechat and the rule handling and all that.
We are at a point where tabletopping is ready to evolve, and Steve's reluctance to step in that direction could ultimately doom our beloved GURPS.
I really hope that doesn't happen, but he has a pretty strict rule against anybody else creating online tabletopping software that does combat calculations... yet we really don't see his folks doing it either.
Re:Starting playing in 89 does not make a "Veteran (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Not for nothing, but... (Score:2, Informative)
Re:her? (Score:3, Informative)
Re:It is great (Score:5, Informative)
Not really... the tool they're releasing for D&D isn't an MMO, nor anything like it. It's more like having a digital tabletop that you can draw maps on, but you're still moving around miniatures on it, and the DM still makes the adventure and actually tells a story.
That last bit is what I find to make it completely unlike WoW or any other MMO. The human element of somebody actively running the game you're playing. It is a vastly different experience.
I personally would love to be able to play that way with my friends that are no longer local to me.
Re:Not for nothing, but... (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Not for nothing, but... (Score:2, Informative)
Re:Propoganda much? (Score:2, Informative)
Cross Platform DnD Program (Score:1, Informative)
Pros:
- It's FOSS
- Written in java, so it runs on almost any computer
- Can be used for almost any table-top game. (Square or hexagonal grids of any size available, and it doesn't enforce any rule set, though it does handle dice rolls)
Cons:
- 2d graphics [sourceforge.net] (Though this might be better for people with finicky/slow graphics cards)
- No built in VOIP (Does have text chat though)
- DnD rules not built in (Though, as mentioned above, this lets it be used for other games)
Re:Propoganda much? (Score:3, Informative)
It depends.
If you're playing with a bunch of your friends at home and you can all agree on how the rules should be changed, you absolutely can. (Although 3.5 and 4 are different enough that in most cases it'd be hard to mix and match.)
If you do a fair amount of tournament or convention gaming, you're pretty much stuck with the rules as written. They've got what they call "living campaigns" where hundreds or thousands of people will be playing the same adventures together, usually in tables of six or so at a time. I can play one adventure with my buddies at home, then the next with five strangers at a convention, and I keep the same character and it's following the same story. Sometimes they'll do big interactive events at a gaming convention where bunches of tables of half a dozen or so players each will be running concurrently and effecting each other -- maybe the interactive is about orcish forces sieging a keep in elven lands, and a big table of a dozen characters are manning the walls by the front gate, other tables have other parts of the wall, another table is trying to stealth out to get the message to the keep's allies, another table of higher level characters is trying to sneak out and assassinate the orcish chief, and so on. What the characters are doing effects each other; if that last table fails to kill the orcish chief, maybe he'll come charging at the front gate with his lieutenants later on, making more trouble for those folks.
Playing a game like that, you're pretty much stuck with the most current version of the rules as written. I'm not saying a game like that is strictly better than a home game with your friends, but it's pretty different, and if you enjoy that kind of gaming you're stuck.
Re:My impressions (Score:3, Informative)
- OSRIC (AD&D 1e)
- BFRPG (Basic D&D w/ some mods)
- Labyrinth Lord (Basic D&D)
- Mazes & Minotaurs (1974 D&D with a Greek mythology flavour)
- Swords & Wizardry (1974 D&D - brand new project)
Some of these aren't just PDFs either. They publish actual books via retailers and/or lulu.com.
Additionally I'd suggest looking into Castles & Crusades, with is a much bigger commercial project that any of the above, and is somewhat of a meld between old-school D&D and d20.
Also, if you like simpler games, check out Dungeon Squad (and its many variants).
Also, head on over to dragonsfoot.org if you want to learn more about the old editions and find lots of new material (modules, zines, etc.)
There's something for everyone out there, no matter what Hasbro happens to publish. It's a good time for D&D players!
Re:her? (Score:3, Informative)
For what it's worth, my wife had been DMing at gaming conventions for years before I met her.
Strangely, she has a (I say deserved, she disagrees) reputation as a killer DM. I think she can get away with it more than a guy can because of the boobs. Even most socially retarded geeks manage to not throw a tantrum when a cute girl kills them.
D&D, the MS Windows of RPGs (Score:3, Informative)
Having played well over 20 RPG systems myself, I can safely say that D&D (no matter which edition) is one of the worst I've ever played. But that's just my impression. From a passionate RPG player, here are some alternatives to D&D Fantasy Roleplay:
Palladium & Rifts [palladiumbooks.com]
Exalted [white-wolf.com]
Runequest [mongoosepublishing.com]
Harnmaster [columbiagames.com]
GURPS [sjgames.com]
Torg [westendgames.com]
If you haven't played at least one of the above besides D&D, you should do it ASAP.