D&D 4E 4e Home Playtest

[doctormandible]

I realize that a similar post was already made but it seems that said post has turned into a rambling argument. So here's v2.0.

I just ran my first 4e playtest (using the PHB lite and Monsters and More.) There we six of us (1 DM + 5 players). Two of the players had never played a role-playing game before that day. I had only read over the PHB lite once, skimming over parts. That said I can easily say that I have never seen an rpg grasped so quickly as 4th edition. I observed that even the Wizard was not discouraged by a lack of combat options (an undeniable ailment of low-level 3e wizards). And the Half-ling Paladin was a stone cold B.A. - despite the player's self imposed comedically humble nature. Point is, the classes seemed balanced, mostly.

Of course the adventure had its lulls. Many of the player's, even the seasoned, were disinterested in story line. Probably because it was a one-shot with pre-gen characters. In fact, we ended the adventure early. Though I attribute that mostly to the fact that we were still playing at 9pm on a Saturday - not our normal time. So what I'm trying to say is this: in response to the original pre-test post, 4e went well.

*Also, anyone who plays a LG paladin that issues a divine challenge and then RUNS AWAY should be stripped of their paladin abilities. Any LG deity would vomit with rage if one of their followers did that. There's a solution to Divine Challenge.

 

[Mustrum_Ridcully]

All playtest posts are interesting, I think. I wonder if it would be better if we gathered them in one place, but that makes it hard to address the individual specifics...

To pick on something you said: I wonder if the quick learning of the game comes from the fact that many people making these playtests are already familiar with 3.x or other d20 games? There might be many details that are different, but the essentials are still d20. Example: What "Combat Advantage" means is easily understood if you look at D&D 3e mechanics. Our 3e trained mind says "Ah, like Flat-Footed and Flanking! That makes sense."
And then there is also the fact that it's only a 1st level playtest. There is not so much to digest at first if you already have prestatted characters - you don't have to consider the impacts of choosing one feat/talent/power over the other, since you didn't get a choice at all.
I still suspect that 4E might be a game (not so dissimilar to 3E in many respects) that is easy to learn and difficult to master.

I think what the playtests highlight best are the combat dynamics - more movement, tactical decision making, more enemies. They also take more rounds, but each round seems to take less time - but the latter isn't so different from 1st level 3E play.

 

[Xorn]

You make a good point Mustrum (and doctormandible I LOVE reading playtest reports as much as I like writing them).

I can say that my fiance (who hasn't shown any interest in playing 3.x D&D) has been very intrigued watching us play 4E. I sat her down at the table and ran a solo game for her to get a feel for how the combat played (I redid the OD&D basic set solo adventure, heh) using a lot of minions so she could fight up to 4 at a time. She loved it, and took to the rules very quickly. Now she's starting to ask me questions about the game that would definitely come off as "nerdy", and she even made a D&D reference about something in the real world, so I might have a convert.

 

[Starbuck_II]

*Also, anyone who plays a LG paladin that issues a divine challenge and then RUNS AWAY should be stripped of their paladin abilities. Any LG deity would vomit with rage if one of their followers did that. There's a solution to Divine Challenge.

Personally, I find a Halfing Paladin doing the trick sensible.

It fits the Halfing culture to me.

 

[FATDRAGONGAMES]

Thanks for posting (and I'd love a single place to check out playtest reports, FWIW).

 

[FATDRAGONGAMES]

You make a good point Mustrum (and doctormandible I LOVE reading playtest reports as much as I like writing them).

I can say that my fiance (who hasn't shown any interest in playing 3.x D&D) has been very intrigued watching us play 4E. I sat her down at the table and ran a solo game for her to get a feel for how the combat played (I redid the OD&D basic set solo adventure, heh) using a lot of minions so she could fight up to 4 at a time. She loved it, and took to the rules very quickly. Now she's starting to ask me questions about the game that would definitely come off as "nerdy", and she even made a D&D reference about something in the real world, so I might have a convert.

Congrats...I've been trying to get my wife to play for years without any luck. I recently got her into Heroscape though. Babysteps...

 

[doctormandible]

To pick on something you said: I wonder if the quick learning of the game comes from the fact that many people making these playtests are already familiar with 3.x or other d20 games? There might be many details that are different, but the essentials are still d20.

I agree that they are similar. However, 2 of the players had never rolled a d20 in their lives - never role played, ever. Two others had about 4 weeks experience at 3.5. (The other has played for like eleven years) The experienced players were outnumbered two-to-one and we were still up and playing pretty seemlessly within 5 minutes of sitting at the table. Halfway through the first encounter the people who had never played before were eagerly (and confidently) stating their character's actions. It seems like even in a low-level 3.5 game most new players, in my experience, take multiple sessions to be comfortable enough with the system to confidently take a turn in combat.

Also, while I agree that running after a challenge is perfectly acceptable in Half-ling culture, it's somewhat absurd in, say, Heironeous dogma. Maybe I picture Heironeous as too Old-Testament, but I can't imagine Him taking the following action: "By the grace of all that is good and right, I challenge thee fiend!" ::Runs like hell.:: - And by extension, I can't imagine Him (Heironeous) condoning such a cowardly act.

 

[Narkaious]

In regards to the paladin challange... Keep in mind that paladins now come from every spectrum of alignment now. In fact the alignment of the Halfling paladin is Good not LG. His diety of choice is Tymora so that might be the brand of justice they like.

Back on topic: I am trying to get my girlfriend to play but she is very resistent because growing up her brother exhibited some of the nerdiest qualities associated with dnd. so I am curious if any of the new players were female?