Remathilis

Its a common argument: Fourth Edition borrowed heavily from MMOs. Sure. They did. It doesn't make D&D an MMO though. Here are ten reasons why D&D 4e isn't a clone of MMO.

10.) No Level Grind: WoW extends the experience of gaming by making leveling a tedious act. D&D doesn't anymore: 10 roughly equal encounters = a level. That means you can make every encounter "meaningful". Your not fighting hordes of monsters for hours on end to level up to get to the next milestone/item requirement.

09.) No crafting: Another time-waster/game extender is a robust craft system. While 4e does have the enchant/disenchant rituals, they are abstracted to "put gold in, get item out." Complex crafting requires grinding rare components, raising craft skills slowly (often independent of the combat level system)

08.) No PvP (unless you want to): Many MMOs now require some level of PvP (be it combat or capture the flag) to gain the best gear for your class. This makes the game less about a shared experience and more about person-on-person conflict (no different than a good game of half-life). While PC vs. PC has been an element of D&D since inception, there is often no in game benefit from doing so, and the team-based element of the game doesn't allow player-killers to stay long.

07.) No Uber Items: Every character in MMOs lust for that uber-gear: the stuff of legend. Beyond a few classic items (Staff of power, holy avenger) D&D doesn't have "awesomewear" that is the ultimate goal of D&D.

06.) An actual storyline only you effect: Unlike MMOs where everyone fights the same boss battles, completes the same fetch-quests, and talks to the same NPCs for the next quest; you, and your characters alone have done this in the world. YOU fought Dragotha, not just another person in the same world. While we sometimes share common encounters (modules often), our PCs are the ONLY ONES in the world to have done it.

05.) Its your world: You can effect the world beyond the boundaries of the game: Want to build a castle? Save the gold and hire the masons. Want to tear one down? Do it brick by brick. There is no clipping to get stuck in, no "edge of the map" where nothing lives. It exists as an agreement between players, not as a server 10 million people see but never truly affect.

04.) Its your world, part 2: Don't like gnomes? Want a world fashioned around Egyptian vampire-pharoahs? Want pirate-vs-ninja wars? Want a Jedi alongside your paladin? You can! You set the rules. You pick the races, cultures, classes, spells, and everything else. You can't go on WoW and ban gnomes, you have no control. In D&D, you can.

03.) The World Grows Along with You: As PCs affect the world (see 5), your world actually can change. Towns grow or decline. Kingdoms rise and fall. Stone Keep is cleared of orcs and becomes the PCs new home. NPCs and PCs grow up, live, have family, and die. The world is living and growing, and it changes because you say it does.

02.) The Heroes are Special:The PCs are protagonists, not faceless, nameless members of a constantly-spawned "heroes" who do the same quests, fight the same foes, and grind for the same gear. D&D assumes classes heroes are a few select champions among mortals, not one of 100,000 sitting on a server. You're SPECIAL!

01.) Ain't Nothing Like the Real Thing, Baby: MMOs are fun and greatly entertaining, but nothing beats a group of people sitting around a table, eating pizza and drinking Mountain Dew, and telling each other stories of knights and dragons. No game, no computer, can ever match that experience.

While D&D may borrow some ideas from MMOs, D&D is, and will be, its own special animal. D&D cannot replace WoW, WoW cannot replace D&D.

Today is Glorious day! Not only is it the first real day ENWorld 2.0 but (co-incidentally) my first 4.0 game day. Therefore, I'm dedicating this blog to my new, ongoing 4e game!

A little background: I've been playing for nearly 15 years now (starting around age 13) and have DMed for nearly as long. I started with the D&D Rules Cyclopedia (I love that game) but moved on to 2nd ed, 3.0, and 3.5 both as a player and DM. I've usually run my own homebrew, but my last 3.5 game was actually Eberron.

My game is bi-weekly, on Fridays, and consist (currently) of five players. In no particular order:

Brian: Long-time player. Loves wizard PCs and really deep intricate plotlines.
Mike: Also a long time player. Likes to play strong-willed/leaderly characters
Mark: Recent joiner, but long-time player. Loves oddball PCs.
Troy: Old player recently rejoined. Loves kick-ass PCs.
Ryon: Total newbie. Only played one 3.5 game before this (my Eberron game). Still learning the ropes.

This game is set on my own Homebrew: Enderia. There is not much to say about it; its always been the default core-rules-like setting with hints of other setting dashed in and serial numbers filed off. In 4e its no different: same Points of Light concept, but a lot of the names filed off and replaced. Veterans of Basic D&D might recognize the starting point of this campaign: Thunder Rift (modified, naturally).

Tonight, we finalize characters and begin by exploring the Shadowhaunt (World-Wide D&D Gameday players should recognize this).

Recaps will be posted the weekend after games (every two weeks) with occasional posts in-between to comment on things. Feel free to leave hints, comments, and questions.

Enjoy the show!