Quote:
Originally Posted by takasi 
I also think that 4th edition is 'basic' D&D. I am hoping that PHB2 and other rules supplements add 'skill tricks' that let you, for example, try an athletics check vs Ref to grant combat advantage to someone you're grabbing (as the old 3.5 grapple checks did) or an Acrobatics check vs Ref to avoid combat advantage while moving (3.5 tumble). I think the underlying mechanics are still there for most of the options available in 3.5 if the game seems stale to you.
Someone mentioned battlemats. I think 4th edition games benefit when DMs give as much attention to building the environment as you would an enemy.
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My understanding of the current Grab mechanic is that it inflicts the 'Restrained' condition on the target, which also grants Combat Advantage. It may not be explicitly spelled out though, and I could be mistaken. However, that is how my group runs it.
And even in 3rd edition, I have found that putting effort into the battle environment has always made the encounter more interesting. Cover, highground bonuses, bodies of water in which to drown people or just make life difficult, things to climb on or jump over or balance on, all of which are worth while.
It is typically the terrain in which a fight takes place that will suggest the atypical tactics, more so than any rule set of D&D.
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