Classes.. confirmed?

[Chris_Nightwing]

Dave Noonan writes:

Daily Work: Well, catching up on email after two days away from the office. Then a morning meeting on a class that rhymes with "zighter," and an afternoon meeting on a class that rhymes with "zaladin." Oh, and I'll assiduously ignore the sunlight streaming through the windows. No time for play! No outside recess! Must work!

Link: There are many cool ways to play D&D. This is clearly one of them. If there's one thing my Thursday night buddies have taught me, it's to grin and bear it when every NPC gets ridiculed, then put down like a rabid dog. But one caution: This approach is not for everyone. (Snarky Dave says: "Yeah, it's only for people who like having fun.")

Link: Speaking of things that aren't for everyone, here's a tale of one gamer's first LARP experience. Jeff has his tongue firmly in cheek in here, and let's face it: It's easy to have a laugh at a LARPer's expense.

Warcraft: Just a brief note to thank everyone who emailed me about my guild. We're in the midst of a guild census right now, which is a fancy way of saying we're figuring out what our collective schedules look like come fall. Once that's done, I think we'll do a recruiting drive, and I'll announce it here.

A Problem 4e Doesn't Solve: Man, I wish there was an elegant, easy, and fair way for D&D to handle the absent player. I think we do what a lot of groups do--the PC for the absent player is there in the background, "achieving average results against unnamed but decidedly average foes." I don't let the other PCs commandeer the missing guy though--none of this, "Well, we'll have Oriel cast teleport to get us home" stuff if Oriel's player isn't there.

It breaks verisimilitude a bit, and it's awkward for everyone to pretend that the missing guy is there yet not-there. (But in a game of "Let's Pretend," that's hardly the biggest hurdle of imagination.)

I've bent the "achieving average results" rule a couple of times, letting the PCs get a restoration from the absent cleric to avoid a trip back to civilization. And the PCs of absent players are totally safe. It's no fun to come back to the game table and find out that something horrible has happened to your character. If you look on the bottom of the Legend of Drizzt Scenario Pack box, you'll see what happened to one of my PCs after I missed a session--the campaign-culminating session, as it turned out. Someday I'll rescue you, Crucius.

It might be that there is exactly one elegant, easy, and fair way to handle the absent player: Call off the session. But I think you see the significant downside.

Mood: When Tordek grapples Lidda, no one wins. Certainly not the witnesses.
Music: Pink Floyd, Animals

Looks like Fighter and Paladin are definitely, definitely in. Unless they're making Blighter a core class and honouring Saladin??

 

[Henry]

Looks like Fighter and Paladin are definitely, definitely in.

Actually, what he said was that he went to meetings about those two classes. Now it's a good assumption that they're most likely in, but for all we know, the end result of the meeting was, "Eh, Paladins aren't played enough, let's make 'em prestige." and "Fighter is know called Warrior, and we're using the rules for Warblades."

Definitely never say "definitely".

 

[Varianor Abroad]

My next solution to absent players is that they are temporarily cloned, and the clone is substituted for them by a mysterious extra-dimensional agency. If the temporary NPC dies, the real one returns when the player is back! That way, it's a mystery too.

 

[Jer]

Actually, what he said was that he went to meetings about those two classes. Now it's a good assumption that they're most likely in, but for all we know, the end result of the meeting was, "Eh, Paladins aren't played enough, let's make 'em prestige." and "Fighter is know called Warrior, and we're using the rules for Warblades."

Let me also point out that he said he went to meetings about two "classes" - he never said they were core classes. It could have been a meeting about paladin and blighter prestige classes

Of course, no one has yet confirmed whether prestige classes are still going to exist.

 

[grimslade]

It could also be a meeting that says:
"We are definitely cutting the paladin, right? Maybe put him in the PHBIII or something."
"Bard kills the paladin and steals his stuff"

I hope the pally will make it as a base class in 4E.

 

[Chris_Nightwing]

You guys spoil all my fun. I think D&D is going to shift to a 1920s Lovecraftian setting, they're clearly talking about the 'Writer' and er, some crazy cultist word

 

[blargney the second]

They also might be in books after the initial PHB, if they are included.

 

[Jer]

"Bard kills the paladin and steals his stuff"

You owe me a new keyboard. Mine is now full of liquid that was spewed from my mouth upon reading this sentence. Be prepared for the bill.

 

[Asmor]

One of my players is going to be pissed if it doesn't make it into 4th ed. All he plays are pallies and clerics.

Personally, I think it's more likely that Paladin will become a talent tree for the fighter class. Ditto for ranger. There's just not enough there that warrants its own base class. Some smiting talents, some lay on hands talents, you gotcherself a Paladin.

Actually, I just remembered something, they specifically said that Paladins won't be restricted to Lawful Good anymore. This implies that Pallies will be present, in some capacity.

 

[cignus_pfaccari]

My next solution to absent players is that they are temporarily cloned, and the clone is substituted for them by a mysterious extra-dimensional agency. If the temporary NPC dies, the real one returns when the player is back! That way, it's a mystery too.

Our absent players' characters have dysentery.

Even the paladins.

Brad