Crash Course in 4th ed.

[Piratecat]

Hey Kzach, if you want to discuss moderation, never do it in-thread, please. Send me a PM or email instead.

I got the DM screen yesterday. The impression I got is that I could run this game with only the screen handy cause it looks like it has all the rules needed. Is that a good assumption?

Yup. With the screen, I seldom have to open a book. Note that errata (which WotC calls "updates" for some reason) has changed the difficulty DCs to be (iirc) 4 less than they appear on your DM screen, making skill challenges easier overall. The modules you get should have all the correct DCs, though.

 

[velvetlinedbox]

I think the most important thing to do is keep things descriptive during combat. allot of the combat can lag, and this is really shows when player are still learning there characters powers. So if you can make sure you stay hyped and spice things up with narratives it speeds up the flow of the game. Be ready on your turn, use the environment and hazards.

 

[Imaro]

Portion of post removed by Admin. Please don't address Kzach's post up above, and keep the thread on topic. Many thanks! ~ PCat

...

Anyway, one thing I would suggest thinking about before you run the game is how you plan to track conditions and marks. My suggestions are to download and print a few copies of Weem's condition cards (they're in the 4e house rules section)... they're great and you can just hand one to a player when a condition is affecting him. For bloodied & marks I use pipe cleaner cut and tapped into circles (red= bloodied, green=hunter's quarry, black=warlock's curse, blue= divine challenge, and so on), that I drape over the mini of the player or creature affected... it's super cheap... easly attainable and really helps me and my players keep track in game.

 

[Ourph]

I highly recommend taking a look at Stalker0's two threads...

The guide to anti-grind
http://www.enworld.org/forum/general-rpg-discussion/254630-stalker0s-guide-anti-grind.html

and the Obsidian skill challenge system (now with .pdf)
http://www.enworld.org/forum/4e-fan...skill-challenge-system-new-version-1-2-a.html

Some of the information may not be relevant to you if you're only running Encounters, but a lot of it will be, especially the discussion of monster roles in the anti-grind thread. And I've found that the Obsidian skill challenge system has a lot of good ideas that can be ported over to the RAW skill challenge system.

I would also strongly encourage you to incorporate some sort of "Do Something Cool" power card for the players (I make it an Encounter power). I yoinked the idea from Piratecat and it's really become a fun part of my game. Essentially, it's just a reminder that the players don't have to rely on their powers 100% of the time. Use your own judgement or pg. 42 of the DMG to resolve whatever action the players take.

Finally, I would also suggest embracing the "say yes" philosophy outlined in the DMG wholeheartedly. It can be difficult, at times, to keep it going (it definitely keeps me on my toes), but it's the best way I've found to keep the players invested in the game and not just shuffling through their power cards or staring at their character sheets.

 

[WSmith]

Excellent advice everyone! Hello again, diaglo!

P'Cat... make the DCs easier??? Humm, the Hackmaster GM inside me wants to pretend he never saw you write that. Although that does remind me to check the errata.

Oh, and the character builder is probably the only reason why I gave 4e more than a cursory glance. I used to love chargen but over the years I get bored of it very easily, (hence why I gravitate toward OD&D with quick chargen... and sometimes quick death too. ) But it does help the "chore" of making NPCs a lot easier. I am all about easier in my old age.

 

[Destil]

One of the things 4E did very well is divorce the PC and NPC rules. You're free to use PCs as opponents, but there's quick and dirty rules in the DMG that play better.

That said the adventure tools monster creator is something my game lives by. Needs template and 'mock PC' rules, but it's simple and easy to work with.

 

[Nightson]

Hmm, I can think of some bits of advice to throw in.

4e is very much based on a disconnect between flavor and rules. It's what lets you knock oozes prone because prone as a game state is most easily described as knocking someone down, it could also mean disrupting the ooze in such a way that it suffers all the effects of being prone.

The "How exactly does that work?" will not be found in the rules text in general, it's up to the player and DM to determine the flavor of how something works.


You shouldn't build NPCs using the character builder. I know it's a counterintuitive notion coming from past editions, but NPCs are monsters. The system is designed for PC vs. Monster combat and it does that well, defenses, attacks, damage and health will all be drastically off in a PC vs. PC fight.

If you really want the flavor of a specific class for an encounter then there are class templates which I believe can be found in the DMGs.


And one other pitfall. In 4e it's easy to get into the mindset of your powers are the only choices you've got. The 'Do Something Cool' card is a good idea, or as the DM be open to allowing strong effects for cinematic or environmental effects. They should never be weaker then an at-will (because then they will never happen).

 

[Ourph]

But it does help the "chore" of making NPCs a lot easier. I am all about easier in my old age.

Even with the CB, statting up NPCs using the PC rules is a lot more work than you need to be doing. I would suggest grabbing a level appropriate humanoid from the MM and reskinning it (perhaps with some of the NPC templates from the DMG). And you only need to do that for NPCs that are likely to be involved in combat and to be effective against the PCs. For NPCs encountered out of combat who are "normal people" (i.e. non-adventurers, the equivalent of 0-level humans in AD&D), the only stats you're likely to need are skill bonuses and for those I just use a simple rule of thumb (1+1/2 the NPCs level, add 5 if it's a skill you would expect the NPC to be trained in, like Nature for a trapper). If combat starts up against one of these NPCs, just have them run away or die (your choice).

Using PC rules for NPCs you think might get into a combat situation is something you should be very careful about. PCs are expected to manage their resources through several encounters. An NPC that is only going to be around for 1 fight has no reason not to use all of their best powers right away. They also have healing surges and action points that normal monsters of their level don't have. "The math" isn't really set up to handle NPCs built with PC rules as opponents for the party.

 

[On Puget Sound]

Some key assumptions/changes often overlooked:
1. Fewer OA triggers. Leaving a threatened square without shifting, and making a ranged or area attack (not a close burst/blast attack) are now the only things that trigger an OA. Standing up, performing a heal check on an ally, etc. are all safe.

2. The shortest distance between two points is the smallest square count, not necessarily the straightest line. There may be many equally short paths.

Combats tend to follow a pattern: at first the PCs get beaten up a lot; you may find yourself thinking ''oh no, I've set up a tpk". Then the healers start doing their work, the daily and encounter powers are deployed, and they bounce back from near-disaster to victory. So don't panic when two players are bloodied on round 1.

 

[WSmith]

The do something cool card. That sounds... cool.

I looked at the Obsidian Skill thing. Looks good but I want to wrap my head around the standard rules first. Although, I am all about improv and was thinking if the player describes the action the want to take in vivid detail, giving then the +2 bonus to the skill roll. That's something that looks close to whats in that skill system.

Also, where I might have trouble is the opposite from another posters mention of transitioning back to the imagination from the grid. I might have trouble using the grid at all, but Sly Flourish's blog has great advice. Traditionally I only used minis for marching order, camping, and maybe outdoor combat ranges. It's going to be a little different but might actually benefit me in some wacky way. Also, this may be a little nutty to some gamers (not to a wargammer though) but I prefer not to use a battlemat, (at least most of the time.) I keep a string marked in inches handy to measure distance. That opens that players mind up to "think outside the square" and not feel confined to feeling like a chess board piece. As a side benefit, the old "diagonal move" issue is take care of.