D&D 4E Am I crazy? I've just gotten a hankering to play 4e again...

[AbdulAlhazred]

@Jeff Albertson, I would definitely be curious to see what that sort of game would look like.

It exists, it is called Strike! Not a bad game, but I didn't find its 'class' design very compelling, personally.

 

[Jeff Albertson]

@Jeff Albertson, I would definitely be curious to see what that sort of game would look like.

I started working on it, step 1 was removing the +1/2 level shenanigans and incorporating the Inherent Bonus deal from the DMG 2 (I just made it +1 per 5 levels).

I thought a 3 (The Magic Number) part process for class selection would be fun, and the permutations within.

So a Martial Striker and an Arcane Striker would have different powers available, due to Power Source, the Role would effect base features, and the Build is where you get to finesse the character.

Just something still rolling around in my head, and 4th Ed has great potential for the Solo campaign.

 

[Jeff Albertson]

The Role and Power Source are the beating heart of 4e class design.

Exactly, so squeeze that glory.

 

[Aldarc]

It exists, it is called Strike! Not a bad game, but I didn't find its 'class' design very compelling, personally.

I have tried several times to read Strike!, but I have a difficult time getting past its production and layout design. I would also prefer a more focused game in terms of genre, and Strike! felt all over the place.

 

[Eyes of Nine]

Follow your happiness.

I just sold a mint 4e collection. I had various dm and monster kits with unpunched counters and shrink wrapped things still inside.

the books went away too. Some cracked when opened.

we sat down a played a few times and found it colorless. My friends and I play some war games and are not tripped up by crunch per se but the utility and other spells did not pop for us. We tried.

We played 1e until 2000 and skipped 2e. Likewise we dabbled in 3e and skipped 3.5.

find what you like and unapologetically embrace it. The cult of the new is useless. Find the cult of you!

we do like 5e andI doubt I could get the guys to go back. And that’s fine we are having fun...or at least we were pre Covid.

but if they released 6e tomorrow we would likely ignore it. What everyone else like only matters to the extent that you have people to play with. Find your 4e buddies and rock n roll. I apparently like to say piss off to every other edition or half edition apparently.

get what you want from whatever edition you want

Sounds like you like D&D versions like the inverse of Star Trek movies - you play mostly every odd numbered edition!

 

[Warpiglet-7]

Sounds like you like D&D versions like the inverse of Star Trek movies - you play mostly every odd numbered edition!

And I don’t fault anyone for liking Star Trek III better than II...(heck I really liked the Klingons in III!)

 

[Jeff Albertson]

And I don’t fault anyone for liking Star Trek III better than II...(heck I really liked the Klingons in III!)

Ha, I do; and those young Spocks, especially the one that can't close his mouth, just painful, perhaps even worse than the first film.

 

[Campbell]

Not a fan of too much movement away from class identity. The strong sense of this is what it means to be a Fighter, Barbarian, Paladin, or Bard was one of my favorite features of 4e.

 

[Garthanos]

Howl of the Alpha Wolf, Song of Sublime Snowfall , Wrath of Wolfstone,
White Raven's Call

And the funny thing is HEMA basically says these are more realistic than "I hit it with my sword" even when we arent talking about magic.

Actually feels odd to miss the poetry in character abilities... given how flexible flavor text has always been in D&D

 

[Neonchameleon]

Careful, it is overstated. Its funny about those SCs because lots of people made issue with the original SC design, but THEN I played a game with a guy, and this guy just wasn't interested in what other people thought about stuff. He found them brilliant and explained how he considered all the features others roundly criticized to be a bunch of excellent game design. He proceeded to demonstrate an ability to utilize that system with great effectiveness too.

The problem with the original skill challenges was that the number of successes vs number of failures counter-intuitively made more complex tasks easier to succeed at.

I think the real issue with 4e is more just that it required a whole additional layer of editing. The text is good solid writing, but it misses the point in a lot of cases and particularly fails to expound on and reveal the true strengths of the system. Maybe it is just that WotC cannot understand what they have made. Mike certainly didn't seem to.

That's another time issue.