greyscale1
First Post
Okay, let me preface this by saying that I'm a 4e fanboy, so my opinions may be a TAD skewed. However, I try at every opportunity to temper my optimism for the system, and I will try to give a relatively non-biased review of my playing experience.
There were two main games I ran (all using the pre-made characters). One of the games was a solo endeavor to see how 4e encounters can be scaled down to a single player. The other game was a classic four person party, with the notable inclusion of a 11 year old who had never before played any pen and paper RPGs.
Ill start off with the Solo dungeon.
Firstly, the player chose to play as the ranger for the dungeon run; a wise choice it would turn out, because the rangers impressive mobility and range allowed him to stay 1 step ahead of enemies and conserve his healing surges.
We had a lot of fun, the ranger using his eladrin teleport ability cleverly (didn't think i would like level 1 dimension door; I LOVE IT) and shifting powers to maintain the upper hand in combat.
However, after a bit, with only the level 1 powers, things started to get either a bit dry, or a bit too dangerous. I leaned on the side of dangerous, we had a lot of fun, but he was slaughtered by the final encounter.
I imagine other classes could also solo quite well, as long as the DM trys not to play specifically to their weaknesses all the time. That being said, I REALLY challenged the ranger and he almost did it.
Now for the normal group (with 11 year old)!
The group consisted of one 2e veteran, a 3.0-3.5 veteran, an 18 year old newbie, and an 11 year old newbie.
The veterans naturally picked up the system quite naturally from explanation alone, however, the two new players didn't take long either after a bit of demonstration.
The 11 year old in particular grasped the combat system in its entirety in less than half an hour, and by the end of the game was CLEARLY the most strategically adept player (he played the warlock).
Everyone had a ball, though I was trying to challenge myself and the system by throwing together a dungeon on the fly (they didn't notice). Though they defeated the 'final' encounter a little too easily (thanks to some great teamwork and even GREATER rolls).
Its was a great game, though definitely a one-shot, the players cant wait for more, and I cant wait to DM more.
To close out the game (though they had finished) I put them up against the black dragon, just for fun. BLARG DEAD. But we had fun trying.
In conclusion: we had a lot of fun, our biggest problem involved correct portioning of daily powers (though this is likely to improve with experience). Our other (minor) problem involved keeping track of various ongoing effects on the players, until i made it clear that it is 100% their responsibility to keep track of these things. (I trust my players so i let them deal with their status impairments without going through me: ran much smoother).
Solo campaigns are still a bit difficult to run, but much easier than 3rd edition.
An 11 year old grasped the system quickly and fully, our game ran smoothly and was a blast.
I would welcome any questions! All I know is that I am even more excited to get myhands on those books once they hit the shelves!
There were two main games I ran (all using the pre-made characters). One of the games was a solo endeavor to see how 4e encounters can be scaled down to a single player. The other game was a classic four person party, with the notable inclusion of a 11 year old who had never before played any pen and paper RPGs.
Ill start off with the Solo dungeon.
Firstly, the player chose to play as the ranger for the dungeon run; a wise choice it would turn out, because the rangers impressive mobility and range allowed him to stay 1 step ahead of enemies and conserve his healing surges.
We had a lot of fun, the ranger using his eladrin teleport ability cleverly (didn't think i would like level 1 dimension door; I LOVE IT) and shifting powers to maintain the upper hand in combat.
However, after a bit, with only the level 1 powers, things started to get either a bit dry, or a bit too dangerous. I leaned on the side of dangerous, we had a lot of fun, but he was slaughtered by the final encounter.
I imagine other classes could also solo quite well, as long as the DM trys not to play specifically to their weaknesses all the time. That being said, I REALLY challenged the ranger and he almost did it.
Now for the normal group (with 11 year old)!
The group consisted of one 2e veteran, a 3.0-3.5 veteran, an 18 year old newbie, and an 11 year old newbie.
The veterans naturally picked up the system quite naturally from explanation alone, however, the two new players didn't take long either after a bit of demonstration.
The 11 year old in particular grasped the combat system in its entirety in less than half an hour, and by the end of the game was CLEARLY the most strategically adept player (he played the warlock).
Everyone had a ball, though I was trying to challenge myself and the system by throwing together a dungeon on the fly (they didn't notice). Though they defeated the 'final' encounter a little too easily (thanks to some great teamwork and even GREATER rolls).
Its was a great game, though definitely a one-shot, the players cant wait for more, and I cant wait to DM more.
To close out the game (though they had finished) I put them up against the black dragon, just for fun. BLARG DEAD. But we had fun trying.
In conclusion: we had a lot of fun, our biggest problem involved correct portioning of daily powers (though this is likely to improve with experience). Our other (minor) problem involved keeping track of various ongoing effects on the players, until i made it clear that it is 100% their responsibility to keep track of these things. (I trust my players so i let them deal with their status impairments without going through me: ran much smoother).
Solo campaigns are still a bit difficult to run, but much easier than 3rd edition.
An 11 year old grasped the system quickly and fully, our game ran smoothly and was a blast.
I would welcome any questions! All I know is that I am even more excited to get myhands on those books once they hit the shelves!
