Neat Little Gamist Rulesy Things

[Reynard]

I am not totally sold on 4E -- I can't be until I have a chance to run it and play it a few times. However, while there are certainly things that give me pause and concern me on paper, there are a few really neat ideas that jump out at me as being made of pure win.

Example: Diseases. Not only is the basic concept and implementation pretty cool (and really warms my RBDM heart), but the whole "make a check after an extended rest" bit is pure genius. It is gamist and silly, but the idea of saddling PCs with something that makes them not want to rest, and thereby forcing them to engage in real resource management so they can last longer between rests, is just awesome. And, as a side effect, they end up hitting more milestones along the way.

Now, milestones are pure gamism, and I didn't like them at first blush, but thinking about them more, i think they provide a perfect tool for combatting the "15 minute adventuring day" -- don't rest and you get more uses of your magic items and more action poinst. I might even be inclined to give an XP bonus for milestones -- maybe 10% for each milestone you have reached since your last rest.

What gamist bits about 4E really turn your crank? Which ones bug you to no end? Are there any elements that looked good/bad on paper but in play turned out to be bad/good?

 

[Rashak Mani]

As a player I really like the minion thing. They are crunchy and they make combat interesting.

 

[Nail]

What gamist bits about 4E really turn your crank?

Currently (and without having played 4e yet), it's the core mechanical change: You roll for attacks, not for defence. That (seems) cool, elegant, and action-provoking.

 

[Particle_Man]

That paladins don't lose their powers because the player and the DM have different ideas of what it means to be a paladin.

Just think of all the threads that have been, on all the messageboards that involve D&D, just about what would make a paladin fall. Mercifully that is over now.

I like how no race has penalties to stats. Just a psychological change, perhaps, but a good one.

 

[psionotic]

I'm glad that there are finally good rules for moving people around when you have them grappled... and the grapple rules are still much shorter.

 

[mattdm]

marks

Just played our first session — the little kobold dungeon crawl from the DMG. We had four players — a ranger, a wizard, a paladin, and a fighter. The last battle was a little tough without a leader class, but I let them get a "free" daily rest before that since this was essentially a test game.

Anyway, my point is: before playing, the game feature I was most concerned about was marks — they seemed arbitrary and non-immersive, and a pain to deal with to boot. But in practice, they worked well — the paladin roared his challenges to do battle in the name of Kord, and the fighter kept her targets engaged in fierce melee combat. This kept the bad guys effectively pinned while the ranged attackers took 'em out.

 

[AZRogue]

I love the way diseases are handled, too. I just wish Poisons had been handled the same way. Hopefully a 3pp takes pity and writes some up for us.

 

[Silverblade The Ench]

Currently (and without having played 4e yet), it's the core mechanical change: You roll for attacks, not for defence. That (seems) cool, elegant, and action-provoking.

Also saves the DM, me, form having to roll stuff! I've got enough to do


I do wish they'd made long term poisons, as per diseases, or some such. As usually, most poisons take a long time to kill you, often very painfully, and are thus very scary.
Hm, "Pale Designs: A Poisoner's handbook 4th ed", would be nice

 

[Simon Marks]

I love the way diseases are handled, too. I just wish Poisons had been handled the same way. Hopefully a 3pp takes pity and writes some up for us.

Fast Poisons - Work as written.
Slow Poisons - Work like a disease but make checks after every short rest (as well as extended rests).

Bluntly, you make a check more or less everytime your heart rate spikes.

 

[Chris Stalis]

Best core change? The book doesn't care half as much about load limits anymore. I know it was more "real", but not having to worry over the exact weight in pp I'm going to be carrying at 23rd level will be satisfying.