I've DMed 4e and I PREFER DMing: A poll

[Betote]

I will never run 4E again. It's so frustrating being absolutely powerless and devoid of any kind of decision, that I fell it wouldn't matter if I weren't there. Just throw the only possible monster combination for a combat of that level not to be a 2+ hour grind (no matter how strange having those exact monsters together would be) and repeat the only thing each of those monsters is able to do once and again and again until they're slowly depleted of their huge pool of hps, all of this while having to redo the math for each single character each single turn to take into account the countless buffs, penalties, marks and conditions which are changing each turn.

I'd play it (and am playing it) if I like my DM, and because being a player you at least can choose from a list of 4 things to do each turn, but if I were forced to run a 4E game again (i.e. a close friend asked me to as a personal favor), I would have to houserule it beyond recognition.

I'm at the table to have fun, not to be a mere enabler/accountant, thanks.

 

[I'm A Banana]

4e gives me some problems with its assumptions that I know what I'm doing with an element of the game before I use it in the game.

And it appears I'm a weirdo in that regard, but, really, I appreciate a game that gives me a baseline more than a game that says "make stuff up!"

 

[Khairn]

I've GM'ed 4E and all of the earlier editions and overall found it to be no better / easier to GM. It still required adventure creation, managing players, moving the game forward and making sure that everyone had fun. So without any tangible GM'ing "benefit" to 4E, I chose my system based on the type of game play I'm looking for. And currently, 3E / Pathfinder fits the bill.

On a separate note I've also never really experienced the anguish and utter desolation that some fans attach to DM'ing 3E games. I'm not saying that what they are feeling isn't real for them, only that I've never experienced it. The most common complaints I've heard usually run along the lines of combat last to long, in game time (15 minute games) being too short, trouble managing all the rules, and monsters / encounters taking too long to create.


-Solving the the "15 minute combat day" and overall combat length was simply a matter of making sure the players knew their own character classes well, and understood that accomplishing the goal of the adventure would require some resource management from the casters.
-I don't feel overwhelmed by options and find it easy to chose the books I'll be using in a particular game and those I won't
-I steal monsters and NPC's from various sources and only spend time on the BBEG, which doesn't really take that long to do.

I do like pg 42, but its not that innovative. I've had a similar GM Worksheet that I built for my 3E games for years. Its not as fancy, but it works for me.

I do think that 4E is a good game for new players and GM's, as its simplified many aspects of the game, and I would recommend it for newbies. But simpler is not always better.

 

[fba827]

After having DMed 4e, I definately prefer DMing it than other editions.

Having said that, I _COULD_ DM for other editions, but since you asked about preference, yeah, 4e is the preference since, for me, it is much easier to DM.

 

[w_earle_wheeler]

I've DMed Moldvay/Cook Basic edition, AD&D 1st edition, AD&D 2nd edition, D&D 3rd edition, HackMaster, Castles & Crusades and D&D 4th edition.

From a game prep perspective, as well as rules balance, I prefer 4th edition.

From a roleplaying and campaigning perspective, 4th edition isn't really working for me. I'm not saying that's a fault of the game or the rules, though. It might just be me.

I want to see if I can make it work before relegating D&D 4e to the position of a well-polished skirmish/delve miniatures game.

 

[alleynbard]

I think I would rather scratch out my own eyes and wear a hair shirt before I decide to DM 3e ever again. Okay, perhaps that is a bit too much hyperbole. I wasn't happy and I certainly wasn't having any fun with the game. Right now, 4e is doing the job and I am happy with it. Who knows? As time rolls on I might change my mind about 4e. I doubt it, but I won't rule out any possibility.

If 4e hadn't come out when it did, I was going back to B/X D&D after my Ptolus campaign ended. I was pretty much finished with 3e but I still wanted to run D&D. Of all the editions of the game, 3e was my least favorite.

 

[darjr]

I'll DM either. I'd prefer 4e.

And to let you in on a secret, I'd prep 3.5 very much like I'd prep 4e.

I'm now actually curious how a 4e monster would do against 3.5 PCs, with some minor adjusting and appropriate leveling. 4th level 3.5 PCs vs 1st level 4e monsters?

 

[Stalker0]

I've DMed 3e, Arcana Evolved, and 4e.

From a player standpoint 4e has its flaws, but as a DM I find 4e much much better.

 

[JeffB]

I'll DM anything BUT 3.x when it comes to D&D- assuming we are talking pretty much BTB (i.e. some things that are 3.x based, like the 3.x basic set or ML20, I've no issue with)

I'm a fan of 4E and it's worlds better than 3E to DM , but it's still too rules-heavy for my tastes-I prefer (and voted for) OD&D (B/X or the LBBS) and the similar retroclones (S&W, BFRPG in particular)

Games like CoC (BRP) or abstract "make up your own definition" narrative systems like HeroWars/HeroQuest are really my cup of tea. As a kid in elementary/middle school I often spent my lunch break/reccess narrating a game with my friends (no dice)- sometimes I'd ask them to pick a number between X & Y, or simply flip a coin to determine an outcome. Those were fun times

 

[Gothmog]

I've DMed every version of D&D over the years, and at the time we played them, we had fun with them all. That said, I overwhelmingly prefer to DM 4e over any other edition. For us, the combat is better than any other edition, AND the roleplaying is better because the whole game is more freeform. 4e IS just that good.

I've gone back since the release of 4e and run two one-shot games, one in 1e AD&D (6 sessions), and one in 2e AD&D (2 sessions). We had a great time with both of them, and it brought back some great memories. 1e and 2e are very similar to 4e in their design goals and overall feel in play (in fact, we played Keep on the Shadowfell in 1e just to see how it compared to 4e...and they play very similarly). After getting the 4e Village of Hommlet for the rewards program, I'm going back and converting the Temple of Elemental Evil to 4e- its going to be a blast to play!

The only version of D&D I'd never DM again is 3e. Way too many rules and too much prep time for almost no payoff IMO to justify all that work. I have said in the past that I might play a 3e game again at some point, but now that I am involved in a bi-weekly 3e game after a three-year absence from 3e, I find I'm not enjoying it much at all. It feels like taking a step back to something more primitive and less fulfilling to play compared to 4e (or even 1e/2e AD&D), and I don't play D&D to be an accountant or for the metagame of character building. I'll stay in the game for now because the DM is a nice guy and a friend, but I think 3e is beginning to crush his enthusiasm under its sheer rules bulk (and we're only using the PHB, MM series, DMG, magic item compendium, and spell compendium).