I got to be a player - the sequel

First of all, sorry for the abrupt ending, but we did stop there, as I had to run and pick up my daughter. That and I was at my 10.000 letter limit in the first blog.

Anyway. My impressions from the wrong side of the screen, compared to normally (second time in 14 years that I am actually a player).

First of all, it was a blast to roleplay again, and not having to think too much, being able to focus on one story, instead of seven stories. I have really been looking forward to playing, not just because of 4e, but that did have something to do with it as well.

We played for around 8-9 hours, although we had lot of cigarette breaks (as we weren't where we usually play) and generally took it very easy. It was the DM's first stab at 4e, and last he DM'ed was sometime around 94, so all things considered it went extremely smoothly. Actually come to think of it, it went amazingly smoothly. Of course, two players isn't much to handle, but the fact that he only had to ask about one rule in 8-9 hours of play, and that he didn't make any mistakes (from what I could see) rulewise coupled with the fact that all encounters were fine and fun.. well it does say something about the accessibility of the system. Or maybe he is just brilliant.. No, trust me, it's the system.

Now, where was I? Ah yes, my paladin and his build. All I can say is OMG he is one sticky and durable mother. Between Divine Challenge (7 damage and -2 to hit others) and Enfeebling Strike (another -2 to hit everyone), bolstering strike to provide some cushion and an AC of 21 (at level 2) he just seemed to be able to go on and on, while keeping the monsters on him. Working as intended. I can't recall ever playing or seeing in play a melee character (during the last 20 years) that could accomplish that to any degree remotely near of him. It was made of awesome-sauce and all those other fancy internet lingo stuff. And it was fun. Even though I was playing a low-level melee, I had several choices to make every single round, and several options to accomplish what I wanted done. It was just great, I am still on a bit of a high because of it. I simply can't wait to play this character again.

What else... Yes, the encounter by the river, first against the goblins, trying to get it done before the fire caught us, then struggling to stay afloat in the river, and finishing by getting surprised by the crocodile was just superb as well. It got extremely close, mostly because it rolled a 20 twice in a row on its special attack, causing 20 damage each time. The only way the cleric stayed alive was by burning all his healing in the meantime. I like that my character, even though wearing plate, could swim some (I lost 3-4 surges, due to missing checks), while it probably isn't very realistic, it felt much more heroic, and I like that a lot.

I could probably go on and on, but in general I will just say that 4e really makes it possible for interesting and varied combats, even when the party is very small (2 players) and low level. I was very impressed with the dynamic of the encounters, and even though we were as mentioned only two players, there was still plenty of movement. Well, except in the fight against the ghoul, since it was immobilizing us, then we immobilized it, etc etc, but it was still an okay fight. Mostly because I haven't really read the MM from front to cover, so I had no idea what the ghoul could do, which added to the suspense and the tension.

Okay, I think I have rambled enough for today, if you made it all the way here, thanks for reading my blog.