Search results

The mechanics of 3e encouraged static battles. Iterative attacks depended on it. Locking down opponents so they wouldn't move, so the melee-ists don't have to move and get to take full attacks is a basic part of the design, iterative attacks are the major class feature of a number of classes...

I've never encountered this 'grindyness'. I'm not saying it's not there, but I think its existence has much more to do with how players and DMs are approaching encounters than the system itself. 4e is designed with highly active, cinematic encounters in mind. Battles on dangerous terrain with...

While this has been an interesting discussion, with a lot of good ideas, I can't say my group has experienced the grind much. Involved, tactically interesting "battlefields" with plenty of terrain, hazards, traps, and environmental options keeps things moving. Which is another thing, I think...

Are you kidding? 4e pulled off the wizard/fighter, whereas 3e never did. By your last two questions it seems you might not understand 4e multiclassing well. Multiclassing is not about acquiring a second role, its about gaining benefits from another class. The benefits for a squishy, low hp...

Just to summarize - the OP wonders if 4e has legs and what the sales looks like based on anecdotal statements by a 3PP. There is bickering. The data we do have access to, such as the USA Bestsellers information, shows 4e supplements kicking the snot out of 3e supplements, and the 4e core...

'Defender' doesn't define your character anymore than 'fighter' does. Developing a character is independent of choosing a role. Role is a mechanically summary, not the word you put under the 'personality' entry on your character sheet. Who are you? A defender! What do you do? Defend! What...

The point remains that this is the same thing we've always done, that's always been at the heart of fantasy - imagining how the fantastic impacts our perception of a normal world. How does the fantastic nature of Elves affect their communities? They live high up in the trees, for example. How...

It's really an odd position you take here, Andor. You admit, further in your post, that you didn't enjoy reading 2e, 3e, 3.5, yet suddenly it's some source of criticism that 4e reads like a reference text, which is what it is. Reading all powers is as dull as reading all the spells, and those...

This is what we've been doing in fantasy for many years; imagining what fantastic worlds populated by fantastic races would be like. Thinking about these things is no different from imagining how the medieval castle has to change to account for intelligent flying creatures, wizard spells like...

The caster divide is not just in manipulating potential broken spells like polymorph, but in just the huge range of options and utility available to the casters. A group of 4 wizards or 4 druids makes a better "core 4" than the actual core 4 (wizard, fighter, rogue, cleric). Point is, the...

Thanks for the reminder, phaezen. And, like Rechan, I will be up. I work at home and at night and am usually up to around 3am, so I get all the WotC updates on the Google (reader). I just like saying "the google". I can't say I ever much liked druids myself, but one of my players, who may...

Not that I can see. The DMG discusses the magic item economy of pg. 155 and how to tweak it to either encourage trade or encourage disenchanting based on the DMs world. from the DMG: "When this happens, the characters ordinarily sell those items—it’s slightly more beneficial to do that than...

Yes, that's exactly the way it is in 4e. There are invisible, plane hopping merchants that monitor activity through fiber optic cables in the astral sea and whenever a PC utters "we should sell this" one such merchant instantly gates to their location to buy it. It's right there in the...

My major issues: caster/non-caster disparity magic item superstores and the economy the craft skills/system npc/monster item dependency multiclassing losing its meaning amongst 1 level dips and multiple prestige classes, not being able to fit it all under the "class" line on a character...

Ah, Left Hand, I've been looking for you. I have someone you should meet. This is Right Hand, you may be interested in what he's been doing.

You are ALL wrong! No edition of D&D is D&D. D&D is a illusion created by gnomes (who are, nonetheless, awesome)! DISBELIEVE PEOPLE! DISBELIEVE!!

It's not artificially low and it does make sense. It's not just some arbitrary number that exists in a vacuum. It's part of a system that backs up the design assumptions of 4e. 20% doesn't exist in a vacuum and makes sense both within the rules system its a part of (as a control) and in the...

Shhh, that's a secret nobody every let derren in on. D&D's never been about the average joe. The trope is a guy who thinks of himself as an average joe, who learns he is exceptional (from Frodo and Sam to Harry Potter). You can do zero to hero in any edition, including 4e, it just takes...

For me, 4e's economy accomplished what I wanted for a change in the D&D economy. I've hated the idea of a magic item shop economy since, well, always. I was already using a magic threshold (innate pluses) for NPCs and weapon wielding monsters in 3e for when they were expected to have magical...

Along with all other versions of D&D except 3rd? It was the divergent edition on this issue, not 4e. Building monsters on the same framework is something that sounds nice on paper, but turns out not to be practical...on paper. PC design is typically the most complex, involved piece of a game...