NOW LIVE! Today's the day you meet your new best friend. You don’t have to leave Wolfy behind... In 'Pets & Sidekicks' your companions level up with you!

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Message: <blockquote data-quote="william_nova" data-source="post: 4111216" data-attributes="member: 61015">I find parallels here with the Cinematic Unisystem, used in the Buffy and Angel RPGs.  Wonderful systems that allow player interaction with the story in novel ways via semi narrativist mechanics.  I see this parallel in the healing surge mechanic, where hit points are more abstracted.  In 4e D&D, as in a cinematic game, you can simply say "I think I'm Ok," or "It looked worse than it was" or any other explanation as to why Xander Harris or your Elf could get knocked 30 feet and thru a wall by a demon and be simply dazed one scene, and mortally wounded in another.  How?  Because it was interesting for the story!  And for the simulationists out there, how many people get shot in the shoulder and die of shock, while others can take 5 bullets to the chest and survive?  It happens all the time.  Hate to tell you, but life really can be that random sometimes.  So can your game.Absolute old school insistence on Simulationist rules is not fun.  It's frustrating.  How many folks here ran 1e D&D and had a character die every other session?  If you had a "realistic" DM, this happened all the time.  Face it, 2e lessened the realism, as did 3e.  In each iteration of the rules, the standards of Simulationism have been relaxed.  I think that in 4e there's been a larger than normal leap, which is what seems to be upsetting people.  It's the amount of change so suddenly.Another parallel area where you can see this greater player control in the new skill resolution.  PCs have more control over what happens, in this new world where 'what's behind the door' depends on how you rolled.  To compare, in a cinematic unisystem game, you can spend points to nudge the plot in certain directions, and having played that extensively, I can say, it's a blast.  Once you get beyond the min/max numbers game, and the concept of what's "real," and of winning vs losing, you can feel free to nudge rolls (or scenes) you failed to succeed using a more narrativist influenced system.  You can also nudge rolls (or scenes) to *fail* if you so wish.  Why would you want to fail a roll (or a scene)?  If it makes for a more interesting story, you absolutely should.To sum up, the fascinating thing I see about 4e is on one hand you have the obvious borrowing from the minis game and the warlord class for example to accommodate those of us who like math and complexity, while at the same time making the rules set friendly enough that I, an unapologetic 3e hater, can feel good about it.  At that same time, while some folks are wondering if their RPG has turned into Warhammer, we have some new, more narrativist style rules, and an obvious focus on setting and roleplay.  I find this to be a very exciting blend of styles, personally.  One I can't wait to play.</blockquote>

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