D&D 4E Favourite 4e-inspired games?

ve4grm · Mar 2, 2017

So a couple months ago I came back to ENworld looking for some 3.5e info, and discovered this forum and the group of passionate 4e fans that reside here. After 4+ years of feeling like a bit of an outsider in the greater RPG community, it felt really good.

And coming here got me interested in playing 4e again. Or something like it.

I've spent most of those 4 years running 13th Age (starting in the playtest era) and I thoroughly enjoy it and its community. But it always felt a bit like a compromise solution. It has the balance, flatter power curves, and a lot of mechanical solutions I like, plus some great innovations like backgrounds. But I've never gotten on board with Icons, One Unique Things never seem to matter, and it lacks a lot of tactical depth.

Strike! seems like it might be fun. But my players (and me) love rolling dice, and a 1d6 system is just... not as satisfying?

But I know there are others out there. So I ask:

What's your favourite 4e-inspired game? Why?

The Human Target · Mar 4, 2017

Honestly, 13 Age and and Strike are really the only games that really feel even sorta 4e to me.

Radiance definitely has some 4e-ish stuff.

In your situation I'd just play 4e.

C4 · Mar 4, 2017

Incoming shameless self-promotion: My Points of Light game is now playable, and it is definitely a spiritual successor to 4e. It has lots of dice (d14s and d16s recommended, even!), it has 4e's great tactical aspect, and a few innovations of its own.

It is admittedly not illustrated and not yet complete through all four tiers, but it is free!!!

ve4grm · Mar 4, 2017

The Human Target said:
Honestly, 13 Age and and Strike are really the only games that really feel even sorta 4e to me.

Radiance definitely has some 4e-ish stuff.

In your situation I'd just play 4e.

Oh, playing straight 4e is definitely an option. I just want to find out what's been done since then.

I'll check out Radiance, too.

C4 said:
Incoming shameless self-promotion: My Points of Light game is now playable, and it is definitely a spiritual successor to 4e. It has lots of dice (d14s and d16s recommended, even!), it has 4e's great tactical aspect, and a few innovations of its own.

It is admittedly not illustrated and not yet complete through all four tiers, but it is free!!!

Neat! I'll shoot you a PM for the file, I suppose? Though I don't know if I'll be able to provide the playtest responses you'll look for.

Garthanos · Mar 4, 2017

C4 said:
Incoming shameless self-promotion: My Points of Light game is now playable, and it is definitely a spiritual successor to 4e. It has lots of dice (d14s and d16s recommended, even!), it has 4e's great tactical aspect, and a few innovations of its own.

It is admittedly not illustrated and not yet complete through all four tiers, but it is free!!!

You should say the C stands for Clean...

AbdulAlhazred · Mar 5, 2017

ve4grm said:
I'll check out Radiance, too.

I never got the whole 'Radiance is like 4e' meme. I read it, and I couldn't see any trace of the way 4e plays in Randiance. I mean, maybe I just fail to 'grok' something about it, but the game felt very much like "3.5 with some of the more egregious issues patched" more than anything else. It has some commonalities with 13a maybe, but the classes are NOTHING like 4e, nothing at all.

Tony Vargas · Mar 5, 2017

AbdulAlhazred said:
I never got the whole 'Radiance is like 4e' meme. I read it, and I couldn't see any trace of the way 4e plays in Randiance. I mean, maybe I just fail to 'grok' something about it, but the game felt very much like "3.5 with some of the more egregious issues patched" more than anything else. It has some commonalities with 13a maybe, but the classes are NOTHING like 4e, nothing at all.

I don't feel that differently about 13A, really. Rally, sure. Attacking defenses instead of forcing saves, OK. That's about it.

Manbearcat · Mar 5, 2017

Strike! without a doubt. However, I wouldn't play it to try to mirror 4e. Strike! seems tailor made for Star Wars (which is what I'm currently running it for).

13th Age is above average...but it doesn't leave me excited to run it (currently running a game...to my chagrin...I'd rather it be 4e or Strike! or Dungeon World). I'm not a big fan of its noncombat action resolution engine (it basically is brutally poor man's Dungeon World in both implementation and advice) and combat isn't remotely as dynamic or satisfying, from a tactical overhead perspective, as any of the other 3 games in my parentheses directly above. OUT and ICONs are ok, but I've run so many indie games with much more satisfying Story Now! mechanics that they don't do a whole lot for me.

But I love Rob Heinsoo and Jonathon Tweet!

ve4grm · Mar 5, 2017

Tony Vargas said:
I don't feel that differently about 13A, really. Rally, sure. Attacking defenses instead of forcing saves, OK. That's about it.

Recoveries, defenses, rituals, at-will/encounter/daily powers, leveling out casters and non-casters, and a bunch more I can't think of right now? It's not a direct line of progression, sure. But it's always felt to me like they said "What if 4e, but different?"

Tony Vargas · Mar 5, 2017

ve4grm said:
at-will/encounter/daily powers, leveling out casters and non-casters

Not that I noticed. I didn't see any encounters or dailies on the fighter, for instance, just a sort of random walk where the attack roll decided what you did.

D&D 4E Favourite 4e-inspired games?

ve4grm

First Post

The Human Target

Adventurer

C4

Explorer

ve4grm

First Post

Garthanos

Arcadian Knight

AbdulAlhazred

Legend

Tony Vargas

Legend

Manbearcat

Legend

ve4grm

First Post

Tony Vargas

Legend

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