D&D 4E 4E tidbits from WotC blogs (Updated:David Noonan on Social Interactions)

[Particle_Man]

I play Iron Heroes (Mike Mearls designed this and he is the lead developer of 4e) so I have a guess at Rogues will likely be doing.

Check out Skill challenges in Iron Heroes, and I bet that will give an idea of what they can do. Modified to be more badass, though.

So instead of pulling out the trusty tanglefoot bag or wand of magic missle, they will be leaping off the pillar to do something badass, perhaps. I imagine there will be more uses of the environment one finds oneself in, less emphasis on equipment. Thus there will be the "smart play" and the "I can contribute in a fun way" without the "I need this item or I suck".

 

[Nefrast]

"Oh, the poor rogue's useless against all these plants and elementals." does not necessarily means that sneak attacks work against everything. We don't even know if sneak attacks (or creature types for that matter) as we know them are in 4e at all. It could well be that the whole mechanic was changed to something else.

Whatever they will do to ensure that a rogue is never again "useless against all these plants and elementals", it won't take away the possibility to play a smart rogue and do more creative things in battle then the old "I attack with my sword" routine.

It's not "I can do anything all the time", it's "I can do something all the time." And this is good. This something doesn't mean that it's the most efficient thing you can do, it doesn't mean it will even be enough to win the battle. But as I understand it it will hopefully banish the "I feel useless" feeling that can sometimes arise on some tables. And making it easier to banish this is nothing bad in my eyes. It surely won't take away roleplaying, smart playing, difficult encounters, or the need to be more creative to solve challenging situations.

 

[Xyxox]

SOMEONE ASK ABOUT WHEN GNOMES ARE GOING TO BE AVAILABLE!

For me.

Based uponn what they said about the MM, if gnomes aren't a core race, my bet is you'll be able to create a gnome PC relatively easily after the MM is released.

 

[shilsen]

As lawn ornaments?

Some. Rakshasas use them to scare other rakshasas away.

 

[Xyxox]

For those interested in D&D Insider info, Didier Monin has a blog post up.

First, it needs to be said that D&DI will be a part of 4th Edition D&D, but is not required to play D&D. D&DI will facilitate certain tasks and it is up to each of you to pick which parts of D&DI you will choose to use if you become a D&DI subscriber. Obviously, we are planning to make the whole offering attractive, but D&DI applications and web resources will be very modular and varied, reflecting the flexibility of the game itself. Between the game table, the character sheet, the character builder (also called visualizer), the dungeon builder or the encounter builder, these applications, like various pieces of a kit, will be usable independently of each others, or together. It is also important to highlight the fact that the game table can be used for any RPG purpose. It will be particularly well suited to 4th Edition, of course, but not restricted to it.

Second, updating the D&DI applications and data set with new releases of 4th Edition products and keeping the D&DI application synched up with our published sources is really important for us. This involves a lot of foundation work, which has already started. R&D is learning to design and develop rules using databases tools rather than flat word files. This is a significant step to achieve this synchronization and is a testimony of R&D commitment to the D&DI project. This is also a very significant change of working habits, and it highlights that there will be more on 4th Edition than meet the eye…

Third, the D&DI client applications will be developed for the PC platform. Two of the D&DI applications use a 3D game engine based on DirectX (The game table and the character builder, both demoed in their prototype version at Gencon). The other applications will be designed for windows, but will not rely on this 3D game engine so that they can be used on lower end platforms (possibly including intel based macs with dual boot). Our recommended specs for the PC platform includes Windows XP SP2, 512MB RAM, AMD XP 2400 + or Intel P4 2.6Ghz, and a graphic card with 128 MB RAM and support of shader 2.0.
We have not yet established our minimum specifications at that time.

 

[KingCrab]

So, if Rogues will be able to sneak attack all monster types because it's not "fun" to be better at attacking some creature types than others, will Clerics be able to turn all creature types because it's also not "fun" to only have abilities that work on certain monsters but not other ones?

Don't forget paladins smiting all creature types and monks stunning all creature types.

Part of what makes 3.5 battles work is that different characters have different roles against different creatures. It sounds like their trying to do away with that.

 

[Emirikol]

Because Fantasy butt-kicking should not be about the trinkets I carry.

AMEN!

jh

 

[KingCrab]

While it suggests to me that 4e wont confirm crits anymore, it will be just x2 on a 20 and thats it.

I absolutely hated that in 2ed. I usually played well armored clerics in 2ed (not necessarily magically armored though). I was hard to hit even at low levels. The only time a lot of creatures could hit me was on a 20. Every single hit against my character was a crit in 2ed. That gets boring fast, doesn't make sense, and isn't fair.

I was so thrilled they fixed that in 3ed. If they remove it (like I suppose they will) that's such a step backward.

 

[SavageRobby]

Second, updating the D&DI applications and data set with new releases of 4th Edition products and keeping the D&DI application synched up with our published sources is really important for us. This involves a lot of foundation work, which has already started. R&D is learning to design and develop rules using databases tools rather than flat word files. This is a significant step to achieve this synchronization and is a testimony of R&D commitment to the D&DI project. This is also a very significant change of working habits, and it highlights that there will be more on 4th Edition than meet the eye…

This is interesting, and kind of cool. I've DBized many RPG things before, and it does take a commitment to do it; making sure all the data structures relate properly is a serious task. Damn that would be a cool data architect job.

Third, the D&DI client applications will be developed for the PC platform. Two of the D&DI applications use a 3D game engine based on DirectX (The game table and the character builder, both demoed in their prototype version at Gencon). The other applications will be designed for windows, but will not rely on this 3D game engine so that they can be used on lower end platforms (possibly including intel based macs with dual boot). Our recommended specs for the PC platform includes Windows XP SP2, 512MB RAM, AMD XP 2400 + or Intel P4 2.6Ghz, and a graphic card with 128 MB RAM and support of shader 2.0.
We have not yet established our minimum specifications at that time.

That is ... not so cool. A major mistake, IMO. Another sign, I think, that they're targeting the younger crowd, and not the older VW-driving, Mac/Linux-using folks. Too bad, too.

 

[wingsandsword]

Try playing a rogue in the final battle against Kyuss in the Age of Worms. It's distressing. Kyuss has DR/epic, so the rogue loses almost all their damage. Then he's uncrittable, so no sneak attack. And lots of energy resistances. I think in the entire fight, the rogue in the party did 3 damage to him.

High-level rogues need sneak attack to keep up with the fighters, clerics and wizards in battle. If they're denied it for a battle, they seriously suck.

Okay, maybe I'm looking at D&D from a completely different perspective, but the game is a lot more than battles, and just because you're not useful. A rogue is the guy who picks the locks, scouts the dungeon, and does lots of non-combat stuff. When it comes to swinging weapons, that's why we have fighters, when it comes to sneaking around and knowing people we have Rogues, and we have Wizards so they know lots of stuff and can cast a lot of spells, and Clerics to heal people and hurt the undead.

Also, lots of combat situations rule out sneak attack, in my experience it's the sort of thing that comes up occasionally but not often. If you're fighting across a 30 or 40 foot chasm trading ranged attacks, Sneak Attack is right out, if you're fighting 200 orcs swarming you in a lair then sneak attack damage is moot if the orcs are dropping in one hit anyway. A fight where a rogue gets to get in flanking position and start hammering on a creature for several rounds to help drop it is the exception and not the rule, at least in my experience.

If the party is fighting a Golem then the Wizard is probably just as useless in that fight as a Rogue in a fight with an Elemental, since Golems are usually immune to all but a scant handful of spells (which usually have limited effect on them). Are Golems going to lose their massive magic immunities?