Favourite D&D edition that’s not 5E

lowkey13 · May 29, 2019

*Deleted by user*

Manbearcat · May 29, 2019

4th edition, by a wide margin; a truly brilliant game that manages to mash together the scene-based resolution of Fate and Cortex+ with the engineering, tech, and themes of MtG under the setting premises of a mash-up of classic Greek and Norse mythology and Diablo.

Then Moldvay Basic.

Hussar · May 30, 2019

HJFudge said:
/snip

Personally, my next campaign I'm starting as a DM is going to be 13th Age (it actually kicks off thursday!), which I've mostly switched to nowadays instead of D&D. If it wasnt an online campaign, I'd probably do 4th Edition. Ironically, I find 4E doesn't really translate well into an online format, and instead works best at an actual table.

Really? I found 4e worked fantastic online. I mean in virtual tabletop play, not videogame. If you mean videogame, then, sure, 4e would blow large chunks as a videogame. It just wouldn't translate worth a damn.

But, for a virtual tabletop, where you can let the VTT take care of all those details like when does this or that effect end, what bonuses or penalties are in play, that sort of thing? Man, it works like a breeze. You can basically just ignore the rules, let them completely fade to the background and really focus on play.

cbwjm · May 30, 2019

Hussar said:
Really? I found 4e worked fantastic online. I mean in virtual tabletop play, not videogame. If you mean videogame, then, sure, 4e would blow large chunks as a videogame. It just wouldn't translate worth a damn.

But, for a virtual tabletop, where you can let the VTT take care of all those details like when does this or that effect end, what bonuses or penalties are in play, that sort of thing? Man, it works like a breeze. You can basically just ignore the rules, let them completely fade to the background and really focus on play.

Really? I think 4e would be excellent as a videogame. The mechanics are similar enough to games like final fantasy tactics that I think it would translate over really well. One of my biggest disappointments with 4e was that they didn't create a game like this, instead they made a loose translation to their MMO which I never really got into.

HJFudge · May 30, 2019

Hussar said:
Really? I found 4e worked fantastic online. I mean in virtual tabletop play, not videogame. If you mean videogame, then, sure, 4e would blow large chunks as a videogame. It just wouldn't translate worth a damn.

But, for a virtual tabletop, where you can let the VTT take care of all those details like when does this or that effect end, what bonuses or penalties are in play, that sort of thing? Man, it works like a breeze. You can basically just ignore the rules, let them completely fade to the background and really focus on play.

I've looked into the various Fantasy Grounds and Roll20, but I've never much used them except in a 5E. When I say online, I mean how I normally run my campaigns...over skype or discord w/ a dice roller. 4E just couldn't handle that style of play. Had I learned to use a VTT and shelled out the money for it, I may have a different opinion. Still, I'm not sure. Even the game I play in 5E, where all I am is a player, seems far too technical for me. I'm more at home with paper and pencil than letting a program track everything.

Zardnaar · May 30, 2019

Another +1 for 4E working well as a video game. Look at 3E inspired KoToR.

4E would be like an advanced Fire emblem or Shining Force game.

Hussar · May 30, 2019

Maybe as a turn based game I suppose. But, other than that, how would you incorporate the plethora of "do over" style mechanics that 4e has?

3e works fantastic as a video game - look at Baldur's Gate or Neverwinter Nights. 4e? Not so much.

Zardnaar · May 30, 2019

Hussar said:
Maybe as a turn based game I suppose. But, other than that, how would you incorporate the plethora of "do over" style mechanics that 4e has?

3e works fantastic as a video game - look at Baldur's Gate or Neverwinter Nights. 4e? Not so much.

Have you played Fire Emblem or Shining Force? I would expect the characters to be scaled down in terms of options much like any of the good D&D games.

Grid based RPG from 25 years ago with 4E type powers.

https://www.google.com/search?rlz=1...iAhX8_XMBHfGFCAEQ7Al6BAgAEA0&biw=1920&bih=937

Charlaquin · May 30, 2019

Hussar said:
But, for a virtual tabletop, where you can let the VTT take care of all those details like when does this or that effect end, what bonuses or penalties are in play, that sort of thing? Man, it works like a breeze. You can basically just ignore the rules, let them completely fade to the background and really focus on play.

Which makes sense, given that 4e was designed with VTT play in mind.

Hussar · May 31, 2019

Zardnaar said:
Have you played Fire Emblem or Shining Force? I would expect the characters to be scaled down in terms of options much like any of the good D&D games.

Grid based RPG from 25 years ago with 4E type powers.

https://www.google.com/search?rlz=1...iAhX8_XMBHfGFCAEQ7Al6BAgAEA0&biw=1920&bih=937

Nope, never heard of them. Not surprising, I'm not really huge into video games, and was never into console games.

But, I think my point is, if you have to dredge back 25 years to find an example of how 4e would look as a video game, then, well, it probably wouldn't make a very good video game. Like I said, 3e works so much better. Baldur's Gate, Neverwinter Nights, that Eberron MMO that they had. Those style mechanics work fantastic for a video game.

I mean, good grief, how hard would it be to make a 3e style Elder Scrolls game?

Charlaquin said:
Which makes sense, given that 4e was designed with VTT play in mind.

Yeah. If that pesky murder/suicide hadn't gotten in the way, we might have had a very different gaming history. As it was, even the 4e VTT that they eventually did get off the ground looked promising. I don't even have to imagine it - it's what Fantasy Grounds has done for 5e - a completely integrated system where you can essentially drag and drop everything from the rule books into the game. If 4e had gotten that same treatment, particularly if they had been able to bring it to mass market like Xbox (which is where they were headed in the first place), I think we'd be talking about how great the 4e era has been.