Well, my core rule books for D&D 4th Ed arrived today. They represent a very different, ah, design philosophy than past D&D works. A design philosophy that owes much to World of Warcraft. From the replacement of the sorcerer with the warlock (who can collect soul shards sparks from defeated enemies, which can be used to do various things) to the unique power list for each class. It still retains some unique D&Disms, but this is a far more radical change than AD&D 2nd Ed to D&D 3rd Ed.
I do miss the druid. I’m sure I can pay more for that later. =) That strategy definitely hasn’t changed.
At first glance, I like it better. It makes each class more interesting. To use the old parlance, casters are more balanced, and non-casters are more customized. The level 1 wizard isn’t a cripple, and the level 20 wizard is less able to annihilate one army / per day (naps required). The level 6 fighter has comparable options to the level 6 cleric in terms of abilities, they aren’t just a collection of weapons and armor. Character class is a tree. Pick the root at level one, and select a branch at level 10. Choose your flavor of super-awesomeness at level 20.
I wonder if they’ll take psionics back to something like what it was in 2nd ed, and skip the constitution powered telekinesis and the pet rock. One can only hope.
Ya, I like the new books. I’m glad they finally destroyed random attributes and HP gain. I hope they skinned and ate the guy who origially dreamed up prepared spells (Will I need to cure paralysis today? Who knows!). They also seem to have removed a lot of the anti-fun adventure-ending crap where your vital members can become petrified/insane/dead/etc. for no good reason.
One lingering irritant is the attribute -> modifier redundancy. They should just have default attribute 0. +1 is +1, -1 is -1, etc.
Well, if you look at the origins of the game it makes more sense. It started off from war games, right? And so, a magic system based on activated powers, with more powers available at higher levels makes sense. And then you have to allow for customization, etc, etc.
I think there’s something to be said for a lack of intuition on just having the modifiers be the stats. “I have negative 1 intelligence, does that mean I’m always wrong?”. I think having 10 be the default, raising all the difficulties by 10 would be a better compromise.
Actually, the magic system is supposed to be derived from Jack Vance’s Dying Earth series of books (conveniently re-issued in a collection a few years ago). Memorization and only having enough brain-room for a certain amount of spell all feature in the novels, as well as advanced wizards having room for more spells.
I think Attributes should be measured in dots, and help determine the amount of 10-sided dice you roll for checks.
well, they fixed constitution powered telekinesis in the 3.5 EPH book… but yeah. i wish they’d integrated the psionics concepts into the core game instead of leaving it (yet again) for supplements… but i appreciate the challenges they have choosing things to go in the core rules.
i don’t think it’s so much that they’re taking things from wow specifically (heh although soul sparks is really blatant imo) but that they’re going for the MMOG feel for the game. they want the same audience, basically, and i don’t mind some convergence. i’d like web tools that would make tabletop gaming more accessible. a couple of my guys use laptops now instead of lugging half a dozen (or six dozen…) hardbound books around, and that’s cool but it’s clunky. having official online resources and tools and a game that’s built with that model in mind would be cool, i think.
and i’m glad they did away with gnomes as a core race. 😛
I have to admit, I like gnomes. I don’t think I’ve ever played one in tabletop, but you know, conceptually. “I like large posteriors and I cannot prevaricate.” The dragon-kin and tieflings as core races caught me by surprise. Tieflings, I kinda like, because it can set up some interesting conflicts. The dragon-kin seems a little too munchkin-y in concept, but they balanced it out. So, I shrug. I think I like the mojh from unearthed arcana (or was it the other way around…) more. =)
Just read the 3.5 psionics rules (but not the power list) online. Interesting changes. Better than the 3.0. Still feels like magic with mp rather than slots and I’m still ambivalent. I think the game that did the best with differentiating magic and psionics is GURPS. GURPS makes them two very different things, each with their own flavor, each with varying possible power levels. But AD&D 2nd ed did a good job on the psionics flavor. (And while we’re at it, I’m partial to Shadowrun for summoning magic, and ars magica for enchanting. =)
And for the MMO convergence, you make a good point. But could you provide a little more detail on what you’re envisioning re: official online resources, tools, and games?
Are you thinking, more or less, build your own instances, then run your friends through, them using canned cities and what not, where you can modify characters and run them in game with full visuals? A more convenient/better formated online reference resource/compendium? Somewhere in between?
“i’d like web tools that would make tabletop gaming more accessible.”
http://www.dndinsider.com .. will be great, if it’s not vaporware.
I haven’t played since Second Edition. I’m a horrible dungeoneer.
nobody’s perfect. 😉
I love the new at will abilities for sorcerers. I was always pissed as a spellcaster, at being useful like, twice in a day, in second edition. I only played to level 8, so the only thing I ever did was cast a couple magic missiles here and there and then just ran for my life the rest of the time, saving Color Spray as an “OMG get the fuck away from me” move.
Take that feeling and multiply it by 75 with playing a 2nd-ed cleric. Not only did we not really get awesome options in combat (although it’s better than a wizard’s, there wasn’t much in terms of range), but we had to memorize all healing spells (nothing fun!) and had nothing good on second or third level for spells (except more “party skills” like create food and water). Couple that with a horrid DM and all-night sessions and… well, now you know why I don’t play much anymore.
I liked some of the changes to 3rd ed (namely channeling clerical spells into healing, instead of memorizing all CLW/CSW/CCW/Heal), but what I’ve heard of 4th ed makes me actually want to play. Let’s see if my friends will let me.
…he level 20 wizard is less able to annihilate one army / per day (naps required).
I LOLd.
I’ve run a couple of sessions now, and it still feels like D&D. That’s the main thing, I guess. The biggest plus I’ve seen so far is that the encounters run much, much faster, and there’s less player-caused downtime due to spell slots. The biggest minus that I’ve seen so far is the tendency of players to announce their powers: “Lance.. of Faith!” It can feel very anime at times when players do that.
The biggest disappointment outside of the books is the delay with the online tools. A lot of my old group was very excited about being able to play online with the virtual game table, but it’s 4-5 months away (if not vaporware.) A lot of people are angry with WOTC for concealing this.
FYI, someone has created a homebrew 4e druid, linked from the home page of EN World.