JoeGKushner
Adventurer
Over at RPG.net, someone was talkingabout the derth of adventurers for 4e that were good. Not good as in dungeon crawling, but in campaign scope and used as an example, The Enemy Within for the Warhammer FPRG.
Now nevermind the fact that there were indeed several dungeon crawls in that adventure. Never mind that much of the adventure was actually providing gazateer style information to the reader. Never mind that when it was reprinted, it was never finished. It hit a highlight of published campaigns that are famous and used as a point of reference.
To me, none of the adventure paths touch it and it would be very hard to do this type of campaign in D&D for several reasons.
1. Game system. I know that a good GM can do lots of things with a game system, but Warhammer and Call of Cthulhu, among other game systems, don't rely on levels and the intrinstic nature of levels and thus are able to mix things up a great deal.
2. Mood: In Warhammer, even if you're a hero, the written adventurers didn't pull a lot of punches in that they wouldn't hold back a powerful encounter where if you were stupid, you'd be spitted. Many D&D adventures, especially for 3rd ed and 4th ed, won't do that to you. Mind you there are some exceptions like the Red Hand of Doom where if the players stick around the one city under seige chances are they're getting smashed.
3. DM style: The game is called Dungeons and Dragons. It's not always about Dungeon Crawls and some of my favorite games have taken place not in a dungeon, but in castle courts and in interplanar cities. However, those are much easier to do in a custom style for your adventuring group as opposed to thinking that a publisher can do it for you.
Am I way off base here? Is 4e designed for an Enemy Within style campaign?
Now nevermind the fact that there were indeed several dungeon crawls in that adventure. Never mind that much of the adventure was actually providing gazateer style information to the reader. Never mind that when it was reprinted, it was never finished. It hit a highlight of published campaigns that are famous and used as a point of reference.
To me, none of the adventure paths touch it and it would be very hard to do this type of campaign in D&D for several reasons.
1. Game system. I know that a good GM can do lots of things with a game system, but Warhammer and Call of Cthulhu, among other game systems, don't rely on levels and the intrinstic nature of levels and thus are able to mix things up a great deal.
2. Mood: In Warhammer, even if you're a hero, the written adventurers didn't pull a lot of punches in that they wouldn't hold back a powerful encounter where if you were stupid, you'd be spitted. Many D&D adventures, especially for 3rd ed and 4th ed, won't do that to you. Mind you there are some exceptions like the Red Hand of Doom where if the players stick around the one city under seige chances are they're getting smashed.
3. DM style: The game is called Dungeons and Dragons. It's not always about Dungeon Crawls and some of my favorite games have taken place not in a dungeon, but in castle courts and in interplanar cities. However, those are much easier to do in a custom style for your adventuring group as opposed to thinking that a publisher can do it for you.
Am I way off base here? Is 4e designed for an Enemy Within style campaign?
