Upgrade your account to a Community Supporter account and remove most of the site ads.

Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="Tortoise" data-source="post: 4161560" data-attributes="member: 146">Warning: lengthy post.Let me begin by saying this is not a pro or anti 4e thread. It is more an collection of thoughts on the status of my campaign at the present time due to the pending launch of 4e.A couple months ago I posted a thread asking how the announcement was affecting everyone's groups. The results seemed to show a split, nearly in even thirds, of those whose players/DMs were pro/anti/undecided. Since that time we've learned more information and people have had a chance to test some aspects of the game out. I'm wondering how things stand in various groups now and how specific details look like they might effect your game.Here's where things are for myself and my players:I run a three group Ptolus campaign.  Anyone familiar with Ptolus can tell you there is a lot of info there that would require conversion. Depending on how much free time you have available and how much effort you are willing to put toward the effort, this could be a good or bad thing.  For me, I have yet to know the cost in time, but expect it to be hefty. (Fortunately there are plenty of other Ptolus DMs with which the work can be shared.)One group has not played since the announcement due to scheduling issues, not due to the announcement. This group had originally said they didn't want to switch since they cannot afford the books. They still remain against for that reason. They're the least financially stable folks among my play groups. (They're a family with a daughter who has medical issues that aren't easy to afford.)Another group decided to convert as soon as they heard the announcement, but they're now showing some doubts. I still expect them to buy it regardless of their intent to play it. That's just how those players operate.The third group (my most active playing group) is on the verge of dissolving because of the announcement. One player has decided to go back to 1st edition (has already begun a 1e campaign). Another one joined that 1e campaign, doesn't want to spend on the 4e books, and doesn't feel she has time for multiple campaigns. Another feels it is better to skip 4e expecting the next edition (5e) to be coming quickly and feels it will be entirely online. One player came back to D&D after a 10 year hiatus, is just learning 3.5 and hasn't a clue what to do about editions. Two others seem to be anti 4e for reasons I haven't quite figured out since one of them runs a SWSE campaign and already has some sense of what 4e holds in store.While I have my personal reservations about a few things, I'm becoming more interested in 4e from a DM standpoint with each bit of new info. Based on the effect the announcement is having on my groups I'm at a loss and feel like I may be getting pushed out of gaming by the effect 4e seems to be having on my play groups Now, on to the specifics about characters.Among the characters active in the campaign that will be strongly impacted based on current information are the following:2 druids1 bard1 monk1 half-orc barbarian (this one takes a double hit)1 gnomeThe groups break down thus:Group one - elf druid, human rogue, gnome rangerGroup two - half-elf rogue (recently cursed with lycanthropy, wererat), human paladin, human cleric, human wizardGroup three - human druid, human fighter/rogue, human bard, human monk, halfling cleric, half-orc barbarianWith just the first set of books I could see potentially converting the gnome and half-orc from the info in the Monster Manual, although what to do for the barbarian class?For the druids, I could somewhat imagine using the Warlock class as a substitute imagining the pact as one with nature spirits. But what to do about their animal companions?The monk class, perhaps convert to a rogue? Not sure since he's a grapple specialist as conceived.The bard? He's a swashbuckler concept with trip and disarm so perhaps another rogue?The cursed character who is becoming a wererat, what to do for him? I expect he'll be cured or killed considering the company he keeps, but how do I do that in the meantime? Is it likely the new MM has the answer for this dilema?Some of these things are likely to be resolved by PHB2 a year plus down the road which means converting again. (Not really a problem, just a little work explaining in story.)All of this assumes the groups agree to go with 4e.My thoughts about conversion - I'd be all for starting at 1st level and let the story explain why. Easy enough since I'm running Night of Dissolution for one group, which includes the idea that magic changes dramatically at the end as one possibility. This isn't such a hard thing to do with 1st level 4e characters being much more capable than 1st level characters in other editions.Well, there's my situation and some thoughts. What's the breakdown and some thoughts regarding your groups?Thanks for reading this far if you made it.  <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f600.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":D" title="Big grin    :D"  data-smilie="8"data-shortname=":D" /></blockquote>

Verification