Crash Course in 4th ed.

[WSmith]

Right, but all standard monsters of a given level are worth the same number of XP. A level 1 (non-minion) kobold is worth 100 XP; so is a level 1 goblin, or a level 1 beetle, or....etc. So if you're crafting a level 3 encounter for a party of 4 characters, the guideline is to use (4 * 150)=600 XP worth of challenges, however you want to divvy that up in monsters, traps, hazards, etc.

Jim, where are you getting the 150 from? I thought you just said 1st level monsters were 100XP?

 

[RedBeardJim]

Jim, where are you getting the 150 from? I thought you just said 1st level monsters were 100XP?

Sorry, I was jumping ahead there. A level 3 encounter would use the value for level 3 monsters, which are worth 150 XP each.

 

[WSmith]

Got it. Thanks.

The issue with the DCI number was resolved yesterday. Hopefully everything will be in order for next Wednesday.

 

[WSmith]

I, for one, would just like to say that I would love to play in WSmith's game.

Thank you, Filcher.

 

[Herschel]

I am reading the skill challenge section in the DMG booklet of the intro set. Seems a little weird but I understand it.

What I do in a skill challenge is just role play in to it. Once a couple of dice are rolled, the players go "hey, we're in a skill challenge" rather than breaking it in to its own "encounter" by "announcing" it. It's just a unified section of "don't screw up your non-combat rolls" that I don't like to call attention to being any different that checks made in general RP.

 

[WSmith]

I got to play on Wednesday. Here is a mini review I sent to Meepo. I was a player and not the DM. Long story on that point but it worked out.
---
My quick review: 4E seemed to be fun, but it did not seem to be a RPG. It seemed to me like a cross between Heroscape and Magic. (NOTE: that's not an insult, as it is an observation.)

The DM that my group had did not expect to DM tonight, but had to jump in cause of the amount of people that had shown up at the store, so he wasn't prepared. I do give him credit for volunteering. While he was a little sketchy on his knowledge of the encounter itself, he seemed very knowledgeable of most of the 4e rules and was good at explaining them as we played. The downside to that was it took almost 2 1/2 hours for the one encounter, although the other two table didn't finish much sooner that we did.

I played a cliche Elven Ranger who's focus is archery that I made with the Character Builder. Kudos to Wizards for such a great gateway device. The party had a dragonborn cleric, a psion (not sure what race), a pregen drow, a human paladin, and a rogue which I think was a half elf. So it was kind of weird having such an eclectic party from my viewpoint, but in a way it was a little refreshing. Most at the table were new to 4e and only one person was there the week before.

Once combat started, it took forever between each player's turn... I attribute this to most of us not being familiar with the rules and the DM explaining the many possible options on each persons turn. As the game went on, I started getting familiar with my character's ability. Once I got the hang of it, I was starting to enjoy the battle.

I had fun, but could have had a lot more fun if the circumstances were different. There was ZERO role playing which I would look forward to in a full on game. I could see as a DM how things could get out of hand really quick with keeping track of conditions and flanking and such.

 

[Ourph]

I got to play on Wednesday. Here is a mini review I sent to Meepo. I was a player and not the DM. Long story on that point but it worked out.
---
My quick review: 4E seemed to be fun, but it did not seem to be a RPG. It seemed to me like a cross between Heroscape and Magic. (NOTE: that's not an insult, as it is an observation.)

Keep in mind that 1e would probably appear to be about the same if the first time you encountered it you sat down at a table with a bunch of strangers and did nothing but play through a single combat encounter.

 

[WSmith]

I would disagree. I remember the first time I played 1e and it was with a bunch of strangers at a school event. The thing I remember the most is saying "where is the board?"

 

[Obryn]

I had fun, but could have had a lot more fun if the circumstances were different. There was ZERO role playing which I would look forward to in a full on game. I could see as a DM how things could get out of hand really quick with keeping track of conditions and flanking and such.

How much roleplaying did you try?

-O

 

[Festivus]

I got to play on Wednesday. Here is a mini review I sent to Meepo. I was a player and not the DM. Long story on that point but it worked out.
---
My quick review: 4E seemed to be fun, but it did not seem to be a RPG. It seemed to me like a cross between Heroscape and Magic. (NOTE: that's not an insult, as it is an observation.)

The DM that my group had did not expect to DM tonight, but had to jump in cause of the amount of people that had shown up at the store, so he wasn't prepared. I do give him credit for volunteering. While he was a little sketchy on his knowledge of the encounter itself, he seemed very knowledgeable of most of the 4e rules and was good at explaining them as we played. The downside to that was it took almost 2 1/2 hours for the one encounter, although the other two table didn't finish much sooner that we did.

I played a cliche Elven Ranger who's focus is archery that I made with the Character Builder. Kudos to Wizards for such a great gateway device. The party had a dragonborn cleric, a psion (not sure what race), a pregen drow, a human paladin, and a rogue which I think was a half elf. So it was kind of weird having such an eclectic party from my viewpoint, but in a way it was a little refreshing. Most at the table were new to 4e and only one person was there the week before.

Once combat started, it took forever between each player's turn... I attribute this to most of us not being familiar with the rules and the DM explaining the many possible options on each persons turn. As the game went on, I started getting familiar with my character's ability. Once I got the hang of it, I was starting to enjoy the battle.

I had fun, but could have had a lot more fun if the circumstances were different. There was ZERO role playing which I would look forward to in a full on game. I could see as a DM how things could get out of hand really quick with keeping track of conditions and flanking and such.

In my experience, I have found that a lot of how the game is perceived is reliant upon the skill of the DM, particularly with the LFR and gameday type adventures (which is what it sounds like you were playing). This would be even more magnified if you were playing encounters, where you basically play one combat encounter and there is almost no roleplay.

In any edition, the amount of roleplay is reliant on both the DM and players interested in doing so. When I ran the 4E Hommlet it was very much a roleplay experience.