D&D 4th Edition - The positive, constructive thread, Negativism, go post elsewhere! Options Track this topic Email this topic Print this topic Download this topic Subscribe to this forum Display Modes Outline Switch to: Standard Switch to: Linear+

[Bull]

As the threads title and description states, this is a thread purely for positive and positively constructive discussion about the new 4e D&D. PLease keep the negativity, negative non-constructive criticism, and flat out WotC Bashing in another thread (There's a couple around here).

I'm serious. Behave.

Ok, that out of the way, for those picking the books (or the *cough* PDF's) up and reading through them, what's your read on it so far?

I picked up Keep on the Shadowfell last week to check out the basics. It's a nice, if straightforward adventure. Makes for a decent introductory adventure. It was a tad pricey though. And the rules overview was a bit light. I've been a gamer long enough that I figured everything out easy enough, but a newb would have a hard time tracking some of it.

But, I was interested enough to go out and pick up the core books today. While I played some 3 and 3.5, I never bought any of the books. I was an old school fan, mostly because of nostalgia, but I thought if they were gonna redo the game, they needed to start over fresh and build from the ground up. 3rd didn't do that. 4th does, which I think is a good thing.

I'm still just skimming the PHB, and haven't even cracked the GMG or MM, so I can;t comment too much yet, but I like what I see so far. Mechanically, it borrows a bit from CCG and MMO mechanics and design theory, but to me, this isn't a bad thing. There were what, a couple million copies of 3rd ed sold? Meanwhile, WoW has 10 million current, active subscribers. Even if you assume that half of those are dummy accounts (Gold farmers and "mule" accounts for the real addicts), that's still more than double the number of poeple who bought 3rd Ed. And that doesn't even count in the probably several million inactive accounts from people who've dropped the game over the years.

Likewise, there are probably more kids that have played Magic, Pokemon, YuGiOh, and other CCGs than have played D&D and other RPGs.

So to me, this says that WotC's playing it smart. You put in some familiar aspects, and it makes the game more accessible to folks who might come into the RPG from another medium. Consoles and WoW are really opening up the gaming market some, and hopefully we'll get a little trickle of new players from it.

Ok, that was a bit of a side ramble, but something that's been on my mind since I first started seeing "reviews" of the game and when I started looking the game over myself.

Anyways, I'll post more later once I've had the chance to digest some of it a bit more. But so far, I think it's a positive step forward for the game.

Bull

[Critias]

For those of us without the books yet (who are still in the "I'm certain I'm undecided" camp about the whole edition), does anyone with a positive spin want to give a quick breakdown on character creation?

Same old stats? Same 3d6 (or 4d6 and drop)? I heard you no longer roll for hit points (which are triple digit numbers, anyways, right?)? What races are there? For those of us who were quite comfortable in 2nd and 3.x editions, what is there in this one that'll still feel like home?

[Bull]

For those of us without the books yet (who are still in the "I'm certain I'm undecided" camp about the whole edition), does anyone with a positive spin want to give a quick breakdown on character creation?

I will honestly have to sit down and actually work up a character before I can really comment on the changes. A lot looks the same, some looks a lot different. More on that when I get home from work, I think.

Same old stats?

Yes

Same 3d6 (or 4d6 and drop)?

4d6/drop or a point allocation system. They seem to recommend point allocation, and even have a small chart with various stat spreads already worked out.

I heard you no longer roll for hit points (which are triple digit numbers, anyways, right?)?

Hehe, not quite. But yeah, each class gets a fixed number, plus your constitution stat, to start. Most classes look like they get between 12-15 + Con to start, and then they get a flat rate per level, rather than a random result.

What races are there?

Dwarf, Elf, Halfling, Human, Tiefling, Dragonborn (Basically Draconians with a "Noble Heritage" and a per encounter minor breath weapon), a Fey race called the... Eladin? Something like that. Basically, another race of Elves. High Elves to the standard "Wood" Elves. I think that's it.

For those of us who were quite comfortable in 2nd and 3.x editions, what is there in this one that'll still feel like home?

Plenty. It resmbles D&D a lot, actually. More than I figured it would. I suspect it will still mostly feel like D&D (More 3.5 than 1st/2nd). There's a lot of changes, some good, some bad, but.. It's still D&D at the end of the day.

Bull