D&D 4E Basic 4E

Khuxan

First Post
(I wrote this up yesterday, but I'm pretty sure it didn't get posted. If it did, please tell me and I'll remove this post.)

I was thinking about a rules-lite variant of Fourth Edition which took away some of the game's robustness and character options but also made it simpler, faster and easier to keep track of. Here's what I came up with:

  • The Biggest Change: Characters add their level, not half their level, to attack rolls, defences, skill checks, and initiative. Characters add half their level to damage.
  • Characters do not acquire feats, magic items, ability score increases or action points.
  • Races only grant their power (for humans, that's an at-will, for half-elves, dilettante, and for dwarves that's second wind as a minor action) - no ability score or skill bonuses, etc.
  • Classes grant fewer features, and no defence bonuses:
    Cleric: Channel Divinity, Healing Word
    Fighter: Combat Challenge, Combat Superiority (no Wisdom bonus)
    Paladin: Lay on Hands, Divine Challenge
    Ranger: Fighting Style, Hunter's Quarry
    Rogue: Rogue Tactics, Sneak Attack
    Warlock: Eldritch Blast, Eldritch Pact, Warlock's Curse
    Warlord: Inspiring Word, Combat Leader.
  • Paragon paths and epic destinies grant their powers, but no features.
  • Characters can spend gold and time to learn rituals and languages. Maybe, time and money would be all it takes to trade out a power for a power of another class, but I've not thought through that yet.
  • Marking, quarry and curse could be simplified/removed. For example:
    Combat Challenge: Enemies adjacent to you suffer a –2 penalty when they make an attack that does not include you.
    As an immediate reaction, you can make a normal melee attack against an adjacent enemy that shifts or makes an attack that does not include you.
    Combat Superiority: If you hit with an opportunity attack because of movement, the target stops moving. The target may use remaining actions to begin moving again.
  • Each heroic tier Basic 4E character should receive, as his/her only magic items, two potions of healing each level. At the paragon tier, these are potions of vitality. At epic level, potions of recovery. At epic level, the party should also receive one potion of life each level.

I understand this takes away some of the tactical complexity and character development/diversity of Fourth Edition. I think the above creates a simpler, faster system that is interchangable with Fourth Edition monsters and characters (for example, you could play a Basic 4E character in a standard game, as long as you took none of the magic items).

Do you think it's balanced? At 30th level, these characters have a +30 bonus instead of a +15 one, but when you consider magic items, feats, class features, paragon features, racial traits, action points and ability score increases this may not be as overpowered as it seems.
 
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There are so many issues with what your proposing that I wouldn't know where to begin. All I can say is that a DM can run his game as he see fits, even to the extent that your describing. However he has to make it clear to his players how he is running it. Players might get very frustrated if every time they look something up in official rules, they have to ask you how to interpret it.

If you do DM a game with your proposed system, post again and let everyone know how it went.
 

I think the OP is running a game with people who don
t know the normal 4E rules, and that's what gives this whole super-simple thing meaning.

Looks like an interesting idea, but balance wise and optimization-wise its probably a nightmare. Not as in bad, but as in unpredictable. As long as you don't care about that - which you shouldn't have with newb players - you should be ok.
 

Hi folks,

Thanks for your feedback. The first concern seems to be that the rules are overly complicated. I have a feeling that in-practice they'll be easier: no feats, no magic items, no action points is fairly easy to remember, as is add your level. The other rules will just require a quick check of the one-page of changes.

As for it being a bit of a nightmare balance-wise, I have to agree that at epic levels the math doesn't work out: characters are expected to have a lower attack bonus and higher damage at epic levels. I think (and hope) that at heroic and paragon levels this won't be a noticable problem.

Cheers.
 

If you remove ability score increases and magical enhancements to attacks and defense, adding your full level should keep balance against monsters pretty much intact. (Monster attacks and defenses also advance by level). The +1 to damage per 2 levels seems also be suited to compensate the loss of extra critical damage with magic weapons. (But isn't that a step back from trying to make things easier).
 

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