6 players, 5 hours, 4th edition

[Magus Coeruleus]

I agree that power combos were there in 3e just the same. Especially at high levels when you fear save-or-die it can be a powerful incentive to use the most powerful combo you can immediately to end combat quickly rather than try something different for fun if you think the loss of efficiency from experimenting will get you killed once you roll a "1" on that n-th saving throw.

 

[LostSoul]

Thanks for all the replies!

The trap was just bad, especially for first level characters.

I'm not saying we couldn't have played it smarter, but it really was not a good choice for first level characters, and an especially bad choice to highlight the new game.

Sounds like a poorly-designed trap. An effect that means you can't make choices really sucks.

 

[Sijan]

I also played both slots of 4E D&D Preview and had a very similar impression. I am still somewhat undecided about it. There are things I liked and things I didn't, and I am curious to see what gets revised before the final draft of the rules.

I had a great time playing Scalegloom, even though I thought most of the opponents were underpowered until the end, when our GM went out of his way to help us beat the black dragon. I didn't enjoy Escape From Sembia as much. Not entirely sure why, although I played a melee character in Sembia and didn't seem to have as many options as the cleric I played in Scalegloom. Still far more options than a 2E or 3.x 1st level fighter, however.

 

[Darkthorne]

Rodrigo,
They had mentioned that you could bypass/disable traps w/o a rogue in your group. Was that explained to you in regards to the pressure plate trap or could have it been overlooked (by either the players or possibly the dm forgetting something)? Or was it an instance one PC went in too quickly?
Thanks

 

[helium3]

Sorta makes me wonder if my happiness is a pipe dream and - in actual play - I'll be wishing to go back to the 3E stuff I find so cumbersome and wonky now.

*nod*

It could be (though not likely in my opinion) that what sounds like "we're stripping out all that hard to remember and wonky stuff you hate" turns out to be "we're stripping out all that stuff you thought you hated but realized you actually liked once it was gone."

 

[Quickleaf]

Thanks for your insightful review, Rodrigo.
This is the most informative playtest review I've read of 4e to date.

How'd you like playing a ranger compared to other classes? Basically, were all the players having equal fun?

 

[helium3]

But, take that and make it an at-will or per-encounter ability, and all of a sudden it becomes a potent combo that could come up every time. And that leaves the DM scrambling to come up with a counter, and that can cause problems because then the players involved think they're being screwed.

This could be why they're racheting up the level progression rate. Not so much to spare the poor hapless DM, but to keep the players from getting bored with the good combos. About the time time a combo starts to get boring you get a new level and a new power that changes which combos are most effective.

 

[fnwc]

I agree that power combos were there in 3e just the same. Especially at high levels when you fear save-or-die it can be a powerful incentive to use the most powerful combo you can immediately to end combat quickly rather than try something different for fun if you think the loss of efficiency from experimenting will get you killed once you roll a "1" on that n-th saving throw.

This. Even at low levels, look at the 3E martial classes. 95% of the time they do the exact same thing in every combat (attack or full attack with a charge here or there).

 

[fnwc]

Fey Step is fun and cool, but I think it would be better served at a higher level.

Is there any mention of how per-encounter abilities might be usable outside of combat? Many of the powers are combat-only, however Fey Step seems very useful in other situations. Does this mean Eladrin can teleport around at-will in non-combat scenarios?

 

[GSHamster]

The trap was just bad, especially for first level characters. If I step on a plate and get whacked by the trap that's fine, but to be stuck, take damage each turn if I fail a save (and remember, 50/50 chance of that), take more damage and make another save if someone else steps on a trap trying to rescue me, and it adds up to a lot of frustration. The paladin set off the trap in the first action, and literally did nothing else for that entire combat but stand there and get pelted with darts. l I took a chance and teleported in front of her to push her back to a square we knew was safe, but if the square I teleported to was trapped, it would have started the chain reaction all over again.

Maybe I missed something, but why didn't you pull the paladin back off the trap? Why did you have to teleport in front and push?