A 4e "fix" book...

[malraux]

My hope for the mid-edition, we need to redo the rules sort of book has always been a line of Unearthed Arcane, Unearthed Martial, etc that reworks all the classes away from the strict at-will, encounter, daily framework. Then the martial classes might have more at-wills, while the arcane classes get back more dailies. I dunno if it'll work, but it would be cool to see.

 

[Vartan]

I have a hunch that we'll be seeing more frequent edition releases as time goes on, but that those releases will focus more on tweaking and reorganizing some of the finer points of 4E. 4E is modular enough, especially with the Character Builder, that doing so would make it easier to do conversions from one edition to another than it has been in the past.

Look at how core MtG sets are released. I don't think D&D would be on such an aggressive schedule. I don't know if it would even be possible. But my amateur opinion is that 4E is here to stay, that 5E will be more evolutionary than revolutionary, and that they can continue to improve the quality of the game (and sell more books) by releasing new editions more often than every ten years.

Granted, this is just my two cents, and I'm pretty sure that such a strategy would be reviled by more than a few people, but I'll put it out there. I certainly like it more than the idea of having a Frankenstein "fix" book like 1st Edition UA.

 

[RangerWickett]

I'd love an Unearthed Arcana if it offered optional classes that ditched the at-will/encounter/daily power style. Give warrior classes stuff they can do all the time, or give spellcasters some sort of "tap mana" ability. Maybe some sort of 'limit break/super move' style power meter, or even a Riddle of Steel-esque drama-based mechanic.

Another great thing might be a quick table to convert 3e spells into 4e rituals. Not official, but there for people who want a solid conversion.

I love house rules. I've got quite a few of my own. Now if only I had a campaign of my own.

 

[Keefe the Thief]

How about we don't spend our time trying to dismiss people with stereotypes before we hear their points, hm?

Oh, i don´t want to dismiss them - if they would say that, they would be right. After all, this is the core question every game has to ask itself: do we think that the designers/authors can create "better" houserules than the DMs? And what happens to the system if we publish them in a book?

It´s a dilemma that i´ve seen crop up a lot on boards like Dragonsfoot, forex: core only? Or expanded by houserules-published-in-book? Or expanded by houserules-mentioned-by-author-on-message-board/in-dragon? And how does this interact with MY houserules?

Etc.

 

[the Jester]

Not exactly a fix, but explicit power design guidelines.

 

[McTreble]

In reference to my longer list of skills being an encouragement to role playing, at creation, I would think refinement of the skills might lead to more thought on backgrounds, further defining roles. Me and my buddy might be Thieves with Thievery skill, but if his Pick Pocket is honed to a high number, and my Disarm Traps skill is equally high... it says a bit about how we were raised, trained, and treated. Also, that kind of specialization allows different characters to shine and "spotlight" themselves, and as a further sense of specialiaztion... outside of combat. Something I think 4e is grossly missing.

 

[yesnomu]

Not exactly a fix, but explicit power design guidelines.

Ooh yeah, this would be excellent.

Also, I'd like a system that I've heard bandied around here, of having a noncombat class in addition to your more combat-centric one. Like Aquirer, Transporter, Face, or Scholar. More mechanical support and balance for out-of-combat scenes, instead of having the most interested players take care of it, and having the highest Cha member rolling a d20 once in a while.

 

[Destil]

But, they'll run out of ways to use the word Expertise if they make a whole book like this...

 

[GMforPowergamers]

I'd like to see alternate rules for martial characters to make them less vancian. For instance, Fighters could use their Encounter powers as often as they want, but each successive use in the same encounter would be at -2, then -4, then -6, etc. Dailies could be reused as well, but at -4, -8, 12, etc.

Or maybe just add a recharge mechanism for martial Encounters and Dailies, triggered by critting, or felling an opponent, or something.

I said this back in the 4.5/5e theory threads, but I think the Psion and the psi power source could easily lead to a new way of looking at martial...

imagin you have at will and encounter powers...but no dailies. Instead you get X points (I really want to call them action surges, but that is too close to healing surges) per day, and all of your encounters have kickers they activate that makes them power up to daily level...

I would also have every weapon group have 1 at will that did something cool just for it...

 

[samursus]

I have a hunch that we'll be seeing more frequent edition releases as time goes on, but that those releases will focus more on tweaking and reorganizing some of the finer points of 4E. 4E is modular enough, especially with the Character Builder, that doing so would make it easier to do conversions from one edition to another than it has been in the past.

Look at how core MtG sets are released. I don't think D&D would be on such an aggressive schedule. I don't know if it would even be possible. But my amateur opinion is that 4E is here to stay, that 5E will be more evolutionary than revolutionary, and that they can continue to improve the quality of the game (and sell more books) by releasing new editions more often than every ten years.

Granted, this is just my two cents, and I'm pretty sure that such a strategy would be reviled by more than a few people, but I'll put it out there. I certainly like it more than the idea of having a Frankenstein "fix" book like 1st Edition UA.

I agree

plus, always the point of contention with an UA-type book, is what rules to put in there? I mean, seriously, is there any successful way to KNOW what rules additions will sell? You make one camp happy, the other is pissed off...

Honestly I am pretty happy with the stuff I have gotten free from Stalker0 and Wrecan, and many others who post their ideas and house-rules. Personally I haven't even encountered of lot of the issues yet, but I am glad I have resources of ENWorld et al when I do