D&D 4E Everything You Wanted to Know About 4e

[Riposte]

Hmmm, why not just post the link rather than link to a thread with a link?

http://www.critical-hits.com/2008/0...hing-you-wanted-to-know-about-fourth-edition/


EDIT: Oh wow, I just remembered I read this two weeks ago lol.

 

[Regicide]

Kudos to the mods.

Remind me never to post a link to anything the designers say.

Anyway:

- DDI is "official" material and "designed as a test before they go in a book", so yes, you're going to be paying to be a beta tester, but I guess you get the good with the bad, you'll get broken overpowered official material with the broken doesn't work official material.

- Skill challenges are not as they were intended, they don't want to errata them, but expect to be able to buy a different (re: working) system in future books.

- 4E is made for casual gamers. He mentioned eurogames a couple times and that it's a conscious decision to limit player's options on what they can do.

 

[Umbran]

I've long since thought that "Psychic Robot" was a troll of some kind. .

It is unkind to speak about people who can no longer speak for themselves.

Please, folks, we have a rule about not discussing moderation in-thread. If you have a comment or question about moderation, please feel free to e-mail the mods - our addresses are in a post stickied to the top of the Meta Forum.

 

[vazanar]

- Skill challenges arent broken, they work for me and my party.
- Multiclassing isnt broken, its different, but 4.0 is also different.
- Solo monsters i havent tried yet..
- Necromancers and Enchanters arent in the books, so cant be let out or be broken..

These are all my opinions, just as you have..

Most things seem to work decently well. I do think a little more time talking about solo encounters might have been a good idea. I think the complaints on things like necromancers/summoners/animal companions/familiars are somewhat justified (not from that poster). WOTC has implied they were broken in the new enconomy of actions and were left out till they could be worked out. Im curious how it will be done. Maybe each time a summoning creature dies you lose a healing surge and controlling them is your move action?

 

[Jack99]

- Skill challenges are not as they were intended, they don't want to errata them, but expect to be able to buy a different (re: working) system in future books.

Just ignore that foot-note and it works just fine. Sure, might not be what they intended, but it works.

Cheers

 

[virgileso]

If it does work, it doesn't work well, not by a long shot. Also, because they work for your specific group does not mean they're not broken.

 

[D'karr]

Just ignore that foot-note and it works just fine. Sure, might not be what they intended, but it works.

Cheers

I've done away with the footnote and I've increased the failures needed to 75%, instead of the 50% split, and it seems to work well.

The problem with Skill Challenges, though mathematic, is really about interpretation. A failed skill challenge does not end the adventure, that is a very important distinction. Therefore the outcome of a skill challenge should not be binary also (success / failure). The degree of success or failure, IMO, is more important.

I noticed that the skill challenges in the "Rescue at Rivenroar" adventure do not use the exact numbers from the DMG either.

Skill challenges as a framework are a good thing, even if they are mathematically flawed.

 

[Thasmodious]

Lots of "we couldn't figure out how to make it work, so we didn't include it" in there.

As usual, you manage to put your own... unique... spin on rather straightforward information.

 

[davethegame]

First, I love it when even people who are anti-4e give my website a lot of traffic by posting on several boards

Secondly, as I've had to point out when the article was first circulating a week or two ago, that was from my notes, and not a verbatim transcript of what was said to Mearls and by Mearls, so take of that as you will.

 

[Gulgrim]

First, I love it when even people who are anti-4e give my website a lot of traffic by posting on several boards

Secondly, as I've had to point out when the article was first circulating a week or two ago, that was from my notes, and not a verbatim transcript of what was said to Mearls and by Mearls, so take of that as you will.

For what it's worth, I found your Q&A notes very informative. Like the OP, I'm late in discovering it, and I'm browsing the rest of your site now.