4E with 1E Feel: Does that appeal to you?

[Wisdom Penalty]

While I'm happy to listen to any opinions on this, I'm really looking for those folks who currently are NOT interested in 4E but potentially WOULD BE interested in 4E if it could capture a "1E feel" ala Necromancer's 3e products.

Here's the quote from Necro's Clark that's pertinent:

I am a huge cheerleader for 4E. I love it. I love the advancement of the game. I dont want to go backwards. But that said I think there are some things that I want to change to make it "done right" for me (and I am not presuming to speak for you, you can either agree or disagree and I expect you would).

So you picked up 4e and thought "Not for me."

Would Necro's attempt - possibly - make you interested to give it a(nother) shot?

I, for one, like 4e. But I don't have blinders on. There are things I don't like. I would welcome some 1E feel, but - quite honestly - I'm not sure it's possible. With me, the DM aspects of 4E are very 1e-ish: open, freeform, DM fiat, lots of fun. There's no longer a rule for everything. But...but...the player side of the house, in 4e, has me less enthralled. Doesn't seem to be enough variability, not enough content, not enough Powers. Unfinished, to be frank.

So wrapping 4E in some 1E goodness? Sign me up.

Is it possible? The DM side - yes, it's already there. The PC side - doubtful.

WP

 

[Cadfan]

Since this appears to be a poll, I'll answer. Normally I'd stay out of a 1e type thread.

I don't know what 1e feel is. I played Rules Cyclopedia D&D, but I still don't know what "1e Feel" is.

 

[The_Gneech]

I would have to see it before I could say. 1E for me was always "a neat idea with rotten rules," which is why I was such a devotee of the 3E Dungeon Crawl Classics. Cumbersome as it could be in spots, I thought 3E was a mighty good ruleset. 3E + Greyhawk + DCC, for me, was the promise of 1E finally fulfilled 20 years later.

-The Gneech

 

[scruffygrognard]

While I'm happy to listen to any opinions on this, I'm really looking for those folks who currently are NOT interested in 4E but potentially WOULD BE interested in 4E if it could capture a "1E feel" ala Necromancer's 3e products.
WP

This REALLY should be a poll.

My answer: Possibly... but it would need A LOT of revisions.

 

[Mathew_Freeman]

Sure, why not?

If someone said they were running 4e, but with a 1e feel - I'd be up for that. I'm not quite sure exactly what it means, but I'd be more than willing to find out.

 

[Dragonblade]

I'm with Cadfan. What is "1e feel"?

To me, its disposable, nameless characters that serve as a thinly veiled avatar for the players to try to survive a deathtrap dungeon by matching wits against an adversarial DM.

 

[cangrejoide]

Yes.

I would really like to se what Mr. Peterson does with this. I see 4E as a very modular game and very receptive of changes. If Mr. Peterson can pull this off he will have a very nice niche in the 4E market and maybe able to pull off some anti-4E people on board.

If he can pull it off, its a win-win scenario.

I wish him the best of luck.

 

[I'm A Banana]

One way to gauge 1e feel is a la Necromancer to pick up the Tome of Horrors, and pick up the 3e MM, and compare how they are distinct.

I've said before that I think the Tome of Horrors is a better monster manual in many ways than the 3e MM. Some of the things that make it that way, for me, are...

#1: Monsters that feel like fairy tales and village legends, or that cull from other fantasy staples. The great thing about this style of monsters is that they already have great "traction." It doesn't take a whole lot of thought to figure out how to use a cult of giant frog-worshiping evil, any more than it takes to figure out how to use a cult of Orcus, really.

#2: The 3e MM lacked any "named boss monsters" except the Terrasque. The ToH had demon princes and lords (and minor sidekicks of those), clockwork empires, bloated frog deities, and other things that helped to define entire campaigns. 4e does a little better in this (they have Orcus, after all), but the 3e ToH was better.

#3: Exotic abilities. Not everything fit snugly into the 3e mold, and the ToH wasn't afraid to let it be exotic. Alcohol dissolving monster slime? A critter's predilection for a certain kind of berry? Go for it. This helps monster lore skills to be very fun to use, because you won't be able to predict everything just by the rules, and it makes NPCs who have met the monster more interesting.

#4: "One Page Per Monster" layout. It's so easy and intuitive, and if one goblin ain't enough for one page, they'll give you three. You know exactly where to point your eyes for the stat block, exactly where to point your eyes for the picture, and exactly where to point your eyes to see what they can do in combat. WotC won't break stat boxes (which is good) but the 4e MM is a scattershot of monster wobbliness.

These all seem to be throwbacks to earlier editions. When D&D was very "melting pot" and included whatever fantasy or legend you bothered to stat up. When you were fighting the big bads from the same campaign as the designers. When "gotcha" abilities were very popular (but with the annoyance of those abilities removed). When monsters went in campaign binders instead of in books.

I love them all.

I can't speak for the rest of it, but that, in a monster book, absolutely appeals to me. I've never really played 1e, so I don't know from 1e "feel," but I like what happens at Necro, no matter what feel it's supposed to be.

 

[Filcher]

My 4E games already do have a 1E feel. And yes, I would like even more.

If rules variants were offered to support this, I'm all in. What I'm not interested in is 3.5/3.75 versions of 4E masquerading as "old school."

I really like 4E, and I want more Gygax in my game, not more Monte.

(No dis to Monte's skills, just my gaming preference. Greyhawk, not Ptolus, for my table, please.)

 

[DaveMage]

While I'm happy to listen to any opinions on this, I'm really looking for those folks who currently are NOT interested in 4E but potentially WOULD BE interested in 4E if it could capture a "1E feel" ala Necromancer's 3e products.

Unlikely.

...but if anyone could pull it off, it would be Necromancer.

In order for me to be interested, it would have to be easily usable with my large collection of 3.5 stuff, or, at the very least, not require me to buy the WotC 4e books.