What do you like about 4E? (not a battle in the Edition Wars :^) )

[Vartan]

I've read and posted in a lot of threads about the relative merits and flaws of 4E: those posts make for great debate (this is, after all, a forum) but they don't really leave much room for general appreciation (this, too, is a site for D&D fans). Some fans--and I've been guilty of this myself--look at 4E in terms of how it is "better" or an "improvement" on previous editions of D&D or similar games, while other fans define 4E by what it lacks compared to other editions/games. I don't think this is a productive way to look at the game: if the 4E players want to improve their game experience by shoring up the game's weaknesses and exploiting its strengths then we've spent a lot of time talking about the former and little time talking about the latter.

So I've started this thread as a place for 4E players (former and current) to reflect on what they actually like about the game. I'll go first:

1. I like the Powers system. I find that it's easy to understand and assess a new power, and as the pool of available powers grows I'm finding ways to really tailor my characters to fit a specific concept.

2. I like skill challenges: I'm a more RP-centric DM and player, but sprinkling some crunch into conflict/task resolution outside of combat is a lot of fun. I think this is a feature of the game that WotC has already expanded, and I think they (and their customers) will find a lot of applications for the skill challenge system in the years to come.

3. I like D&D Insider, especially the Character Builder. I spend a lot of time in front of a computer screen, and playing around with CB has replaced casual web surfing as my "goof off" of choice. More importantly, I like having access to the Compendium and all of the system's crunch without having to buy every book that comes out.

4. I like the role-playing and DM-ing advice sections in the PHB and DMGs. Brand-new players who read and comprehend the core books are in a great position to develop their general role-playing and game-mastering skills. I've been playing and running RPGs for 20 years and even I learned a lot from the DMGs.

5. I like the way combat encounter composition is handled from the DM's side: out of the box, 4E has great rules for traps, hazards, battlefield terrain and monster selection. I might have mentioned this in item 3 above, but I really love the Monster Builder: the ability to browse, adjust and customize every monster in the canon has made it easier for me to create battles that fit my campaign style.

That's my Top 5 list of things I like about 4E. There are a lot of other things I could mention, but those are the things that have the most impact on my enjoyment of the game. How about ya'll?

 

[delericho]

1) Skill Challenges. The mechanics (at least in DMG1) lead a lot to be desired, but the concept is brilliant.

2) The encounter design methodology, with the enhanced emphasis on terrain effects, mixed monster roles, and the Minion/"Normal"/Elite/Solo split.

There are a few other, smaller things, but those are my big two.

 

[Barastrondo]

Plenty of things, but mostly the two things that seem to make it the "if we play D&D, this is the D&D we want to play" among my circle are two fairly large general things with a lot of ramifications and expressions:

1) The basic philosophy of building encounters, monsters, NPCs and the like from the essentials of the role you want them to play. Not for everyone, I admit, and certainly not a "world simulator" engine, but it is precisely in accordance with how I like to game. Being able to reskin blaster traps and brute monsters is a thing of beauty. There are all kinds of things about the abstraction of mechanics that can be tied to whatever specific "what the characters see" elements you want, including skill challenges.

2) Combat is super-fun. I used to sell people on giving Hero System a try because of Knockback. Now D&D is all about the push, pull, slide: doing heaps of damage is still fun, but there are so many other things you can do. The popularity of warlocks locally seems to attest to this: one of (if not the) least damaging strikers, but boy are they a blast to play with all the things you can pull off.

That's a really winning one-two combination: abstractions to let me work on the setting I'm most interested, specifics to make the players engaged with the system as well as the setting. Very clever design.

I also like skill challenges, but have yet to transform them into something quite as awesome as the above two; it takes a certain amount of cunning and player knowledge to be able to build a good challenge that gives everyone something they want to roll, not just that they're good at rolling.

 

[avin]

1 - The Balance. Been a game master on lots of different systems and editions. 4E makes me comfortable. I don't need to tweak things all the time.

2 - Character Builder. My friend's character sheets (no matter what system/edition) are ALWAYS wrong, mostly in benefit of them... I know that there's lots of character builder around but none as solid as CB.

 

[Vartan]

I also like skill challenges, but have yet to transform them into something quite as awesome as the above two; it takes a certain amount of cunning and player knowledge to be able to build a good challenge that gives everyone something they want to roll, not just that they're good at rolling.

I know what you mean--it takes some time to open players up to the idea that a skill challenge isn't just a puzzle where you pick the right skills and roll well, but that there's a lot of room for player creativity. I've played a Rogue in LFR and found a way to work Streetwise into any urban skill challenge. From a design POV I think we're just scratching the surface of how DMs can use skill challenges to reveal and give structure to any non-combat element. I run an RP-heavy campaign in which the PCs are always looking for conflict on any scale: a skill challenge can apply to any situation in which something meaningful is at stake, and I'm only beginning to understand the extent to which that can be applied in-game.

As a sidebar, I was really surprised to see a name I know pop up in response to one of my posts. I loved Dark Ages and The Book of Mirrors. In fact, I still revisit Book of Mirrors for ideas/advice/inspiration (most recently the section on "bluebooking").

 

[Vartan]

1 - The Balance. Been a game master on lots of different systems and editions. 4E makes me comfortable. I don't need to tweak things all the time.

The system is very balanced. Granted, on the far end of the character optimization spectrum you'll find characters who are extremely efficient, I can't think of any outright "broken" game mechanics. WotC has done a good job of releasing rules errata and it's easy to put those updates into play when they're automatically included in Character Builder. This is one strength of 4E that I exploit to the fullest: every PC is generated and maintained in CB, and the players email me their most recent CB files so I can familiarize myself with their characters.

 

[Scribble]

Balance- as others have said (even though I tend to put things into the game that are unbalanced, I like knowing the "baseline.")

Monsters - they're awesome. Easy to use, easy to make, and every time I see a new one I get excited to see what it can do.

System is pretty easy to learn/run.

Powers- I like the way they add little "rules elements" without changing the whole and making you essentially relearn everything.

The DDI- so far so awesome, if they add more it's going to get even more awesomeer.

 

[jbear]

I like to see all my players get 'something' every level they gain, be it new powers, feats or level bonus.

I like the fact level 1 characters feel heroic and hardy.

I like that all classes get a fair share of the spotlight.

I like the game element of the battle system and the relevance of terrain.

I like the philosophy: ' This is about fun. Say yes. '

I like having a defined structure whereby my players can become more powerful and gain experience by other means than just slaughtering monsters.

I like having a clear structure to design encounters.

I love shopping for monsters and traps with my xp budget!

I like the Three actions in a Turn system and the simple 10+ Saving Throw system.

I like that all (most) of the rules slot nicely into my head and that I haven't had to reference a book or look up a rule during a play session in over a year.

I could go on, but basically, I like it.

 

[Dice4Hire]

Shouldn't this be in 4E rules?

 

[Aurumvorax]

Formatting. D&D has always had a problem with a decent format. There are still rules in AD&D that I didn't know about because you have to read every single paragraph to understand them. All of 4E's mechanics are contained in a giant box with bold lettering and bullets. I don't want to call this genius but very, very few RPGs across the board can boast having a decent format.