D&D 4E 4E: What 3.x problem did it fix for you?

[GoodKingJayIII]

They've made low level interesting.

While I would like to both play and run games through Epic Tier, if every game I'm involved in stopped at Level 10, I'd be a-ok with that.

 

[UngeheuerLich]

You don´t have to give orcs daggers and crappy armor so that first level characters doesn´t get killed by a lucky blow.

 

[Stormtower]

I can't say with absolute certainty that the problem is fixed... I'm taking it on faith right now until I see the PHB, etc... but I think the obvious and often painful superiority of the cleric, druid and wizard in 3.x has been fixed.

 

[SmilingPiePlate]

I really, really hope that all the hype is right and that Fighters get to be awesome, and that sword and shield is a strong and viable combat style.

What, I like sword and board. Two-handers are fun too, but I'll be thrilled if I can play a sword and shield fighter that's good at what he does.


In addition, I'm looking forward to characters that will be good at what they do without having to pick their feats and PrCs carefully to ensure they're actually good. Competence is built into the core classes rather than the potential for competence, and I like that; it makes DMing for new players or players without a lot of rules savvy a lot more fun.

 

[UngainlyTitan]

Simple to run monsters

You can but a wizard in a null magic zone and he as a fighting chance

You can steal all the parties magic stuff and they are still pretty effective and have a good change of getting it back.

No medium or low bab character going aid another because only the fighter can hit the beastie.

I am sure I will think of more when I get the actual rules. Also first level characters can now encounter a dragon and survive and possibly win.

 

[Amphimir Míriel]

Relevant melee-based characters... nuff said

 

[Stalker0]

In general, 4e hasn't "fixed" a lot for me, it just added a lot of new things I like.

The two things it did fix for me are:

1) Less reliance on a cleric. Though having a cleric in the party is a huge boon compared to not having one, your not completely hosed playing one.

2) Less reliance on magic items. My party is playing a 19th level one shot this weekend, and I'm helping my friend make some high level npcs. After gearing these guys up, let me tell you I am so tired of magic items being a prominent, necessary form of power.

 

[Zerakon]

5) Instant Death magic. It's dead, thank goodness.

I'm curious as to how this is implemented. Do we know how a 4E basilisk works, for example?

17) Scared cows have died that have lived too long.

Poor scared cows.

 

[Zaruthustran]

Here's my short list of improvements over 3e. Of course, until June 6 we won't know if 4E actually delivers on these improvements.


1. Ditching stat boost magic items/putting more emphasis on the character, less emphasis on his gear. D&D shouldn't be about "phat lewts".
2. Ditching that aggravating 5, 10, 5 counting method for movement. Needlessly complex.
3. Making fighters useful and fun at high level, making wizards useful and fun at low level.
4. The "take the better of either score" paradigm for Fort, Reflex, AC, and Will. Finally, Dex can be a dump stat, and high Str low Con characters can be tough.
5. Unlocking rules for PC builds/advancement from NPC and monster builds/advancement.
6. Shifting the paradigm for feats. In 3E feats granted new abilities, in 4E they tend to enhance existing abilities. In other words, class features seem to trump feats--I like that.
7. No more class dipping!
8. Static HP/level
9. More HP at first level
10. Change to dying rules (even if you're -1, there's a chance you can die in three rounds--but high level characters don't auto-die at -10)
11. Short rests vs long rests, and at-will vs per-encounter vs per-day; the "John McClane" view of HP and fighting ability
12. Paragon Paths. They're better than Prestige Classes because they're added flavor to your existing class.
13. Revamp to magic system; I include the whole rituals concept in this one.
14. Shields. 'Nuff said.

 

[Geez3r]

Progression. The 1/2 level thing is just great. Every character has a sort of baseline which they can then augment, and it just a tangible benefit to everyone as they level up, and makes it much easier for a DM to guesstimate what the party is able to do.

Fluidity. I did a quick delve for 4e and it quite honestly, everything just meshes into a really solid, flowing system. At no point did anyone say "I don't think it works that way" in regards to anything. Although that could be because we just learned the system...

Mobility. On paper it doesn't sound like much, but everyone darting around the map can make for a much more intensive and cinematic game. There's no more standing in 1 spot round after round rolling wads of dice until something dies.

Concise. The rules are straight forward and everything important can be summed up in just a few words. And to avoid irony, I'll stop there.

Viable options. You have to actually try to no be effective in 4e. From what I've seen no matter your level, class, race, opponent, feats, powers, etc. you can still contribute in meaningful ways to the party.

Balanced Options. Tying in with the above, from what I've seen, there really isn't a single class that is so more dedicated to the powers of win and hax than the others. And it seems like that there isn't an over powered combo of abilities, though I will admit that there may be a few in the future with additional releases, it's just the nature of the beast.