EzekielRaiden
Follower of the Way
I mentioned a long-held desire to make some kind of "primer" or "philosophy intro" for 4e in the "4e Conversions of 5e" thread, and it was relatively well-received. So I thought, let's make it no longer long-held, let's take it one step closer to reality.
More or less, I feel like, just as the Old School movement has its method/technique/philosophical differences that don't obviously flow from the rules as presented, 4e has its share of non-obvious-but-fundamental stuff. Stuff that, if the way to grokking it were merely made a little easier, a little more obvious, people wouldn't think nearly as bad of it. Many might not change their preferences as a result, of course. But the chance to re-present things in a better light--and to provide solid guidance and wisdom to people who WANT to play/like 4e but are struggling--seems worth taking.
The biggest thing, though, about any project like this: I cannot, and will not, abide replicating the condescending tone and painfully one-sided (with a BS lampshade/handwave) examples from the actual "Old School Primer." It would be better not to make the document at all, than to make one that speaks ill of other gaming styles.
With that restriction in mind, here are the (initial) kinds of things I think we could gather together to help 4e fans of all stripes:
- Advice for encounter design (using terrain and traps, how to use minions, how to use solos, avoiding slog, etc.)
- Advice for monster design (solving 'big sack of HP' issues, suggestions for abilities, ways to use recharge, etc.)
- Troubleshooting for "character sheet entrapment" -- encouraging(/engaging in) improv, creatively using powers, the flexibility of skills
- Fully addressing Skill Challenges, the ups and downs, ways to make them more fluid/adaptive, getting the most out of them
- Leveraging story elements (companion NPCs, quests, backgrounds/themes/feats, PP and ED integration)
- Preventing or addressing combat drag, from both sides of the DM screen - Simple quality-of-life/play tips and tricks
- Advice for adventure conversions, adapting characters from other editions/games, dealing with ruleset differences
I doubt I've got an exhaustive list there, but that seems like plenty of seeds for discussion!
More or less, I feel like, just as the Old School movement has its method/technique/philosophical differences that don't obviously flow from the rules as presented, 4e has its share of non-obvious-but-fundamental stuff. Stuff that, if the way to grokking it were merely made a little easier, a little more obvious, people wouldn't think nearly as bad of it. Many might not change their preferences as a result, of course. But the chance to re-present things in a better light--and to provide solid guidance and wisdom to people who WANT to play/like 4e but are struggling--seems worth taking.
The biggest thing, though, about any project like this: I cannot, and will not, abide replicating the condescending tone and painfully one-sided (with a BS lampshade/handwave) examples from the actual "Old School Primer." It would be better not to make the document at all, than to make one that speaks ill of other gaming styles.
With that restriction in mind, here are the (initial) kinds of things I think we could gather together to help 4e fans of all stripes:
- Advice for encounter design (using terrain and traps, how to use minions, how to use solos, avoiding slog, etc.)
- Advice for monster design (solving 'big sack of HP' issues, suggestions for abilities, ways to use recharge, etc.)
- Troubleshooting for "character sheet entrapment" -- encouraging(/engaging in) improv, creatively using powers, the flexibility of skills
- Fully addressing Skill Challenges, the ups and downs, ways to make them more fluid/adaptive, getting the most out of them
- Leveraging story elements (companion NPCs, quests, backgrounds/themes/feats, PP and ED integration)
- Preventing or addressing combat drag, from both sides of the DM screen - Simple quality-of-life/play tips and tricks
- Advice for adventure conversions, adapting characters from other editions/games, dealing with ruleset differences
I doubt I've got an exhaustive list there, but that seems like plenty of seeds for discussion!