D&D 3E/3.5 Does 4e sound more D&Dish to you than 3e did?

[Li Shenron]

Does 4e sound more D&Dish to you than 3e did?

Mmm... short answer: no. It doesn't sound to me more D&D than 3e. Some days it actually sounds less D&D, but I might be wrong.

I have noticed that of all the rumors I'm hearing about 4e, I get very different feelings from the crunch rumors and the fluff rumors. It certainly depends on the person, but I can get the "sense of wonder" from fluff, but I do not get it so easily from crunch. Actually, I don't get it at all from crunch. At best, a new rule can make me nod with satisfied aggreement and even thankfulness But no wonder, it's just a rule.

So among the rule changes, I find myself a thankful for a bunch of them, an opponent for another bunch, and neutral on the majority. OTOH, I find nearly almost all the fluff intriguing. But there is a bottom line: you never have to force yourself into using fluff you don't feel like. Which is why the new fluff doesn't bother me even when I seem to not like it that much; but the fact is, since I feel no compulsion in using it... I take it as ideas only, and that actually makes me more positive about liking it, and want to try it out. Rules are another matter, because it's not so simple to remove, add or modify them without affecting the game balance as a whole.

However I do not see any significant difference in the amount of sense of wonder between editions...

If sometimes it feels to me that 4e is perhaps a bit less D&D, is in the structure of the adventures. Particularly, the "need for resting", while it is often an annoyance, that's always been part of the D&D equation for me, and a difference with other game ruleset. I've learned to live with it. It's a burden, but daily resource-management has been part of this game for me in all editions so far.

It's like one fundamental limitation of your favourite sport. I don't know, for example think Basketball and the rule that you have to bounce the ball continuously, if you just carry it with both hands like in football/rugby you get a penalty. It's a burden, and sometimes it might prevent a cool action (think basketball player hugging the ball like a quarterback, charging into enemy lines and make a slum dunk). But if they took it away, I'm not sure it'd still feel like watching basketball anymore.

 

[Lackhand]

Yup. It's funny, because I've not been very impressed with stuff I've seen from anyone on the team except for Noonan. I include the ever-lauded Mearls in that list.

I've not *hated* any of it, but it hasn't really impressed me, either, and in general, their weakest aspect has been the fluff behind why a mechanic works/should work a certain way.

Other than a bowel-watering moment I'm still having with the Dragon Fight during which the cleric heals-by-smiting, they seem to have done flavor pretty sweetly, in a way that perfectly agrees with my palette.

That just leaves mechanics. They're all gear heads. So that's pretty safe.

Can I play a dwarven fighter, or a human magic-user? As long as those feel right it's still D&D, and I get the impression that while the controls might be different, the old bird still handles in a way that is not unfamiliar.

So, equally D&D, neither more nor less, just different.

 

[Jackelope King]

Does 4e sound more D&Dish to you than 3e did?

I dunno. Is it going to make it easier for my dwarf fighter to meet new and interesting creatures, kill them, take their stuff, and then spend it on ale and whores? Will I be able to pass a giant barrel of cheese puffs around the table and throw them at the DM when he rips off of a movie we've all seen, so I can save my funny-looking polyhedral dice for in-game acts of violence?

If it does these things better than 3e, then yes, 4e will be more D&Dish than 3e.

 

[Arnwyn]

Does 4e sound more D&Dish to you than 3e did?

Nope, certainly not.

(Not saying that's bad or good - consumers will decide that.)

 

[HatWearingFool]

Nope. 4E sounds like the lovechild of Hero and Exalted, with little to no relation to previous editions of D&D.

It's tough to believe but I think you just made me a litlle more excited about 4E. I had wanted to play something like you describe above but haven't been able to find any players. If 4E allows me to easily find players for this style game, I will be in heaven.

 

[ShinHakkaider]

Does 4e sound more D&Dish to you than 3e did?

Cheers!

From what I've seen so far? No it doesnt.

 

[Shroomy]

I think so because of the POL setting assumptions, the theoretical ability to adventure longer than what 3.x assumes, and the ability to set-up encounters with many, many opponents without making it a cakewalk or a TPK.

 

[Gold Roger]

Sound like it will have all the things that make the game D&D in my eyes. So it's about the same D&D'ness as 3rd to me.

 

[mmu1]

No, it definitely doesn't sound more like D&D. Some days, I think it doesn't sound much like D&D at all.

 

[WhatGravitas]

Well, it doesn't sound like 3E-D&D to me. But it evokes the feeling, I had, when I got in touch with D&D the first time: A new game, full of interesting rules and evocative story, that make me daydreaming. It's like getting D&D the first time again!

Cheers, LT.