D&D 4E First Impressions of 4E / Predictions on 5E

[Derren]

That's a bogus argument because 4e isn't a computer game.

But it strives to be one. And that is the problem.
I play D&D for exactly those things I do not get in a computer game. And when D&D becomes more like a computer game there isn't a reason for me to play D&D anymore.

 

[Belphanior]

But it strives to be one. And that is the problem.
I play D&D for exactly those things I do not get in a computer game. And when D&D becomes more like a computer game there isn't a reason for me to play D&D anymore.

D&D strives to be a computer game? Ok. Prove it. Show quotes from designers or the preview books that exlicitly state they want 4e to be a computer game (bonus points if it also states the reason they have chosen to keep it a PnP game instead).

Next, please list the things you don't get in computer games (but wanted to get), do still get in 3.x D&D, but can't get in 4e any longer.

 

[Steely Dan]

But it strives to be one.

…To you, maybe…


Taking a good idea is not becoming like/emulating.

Since computer games have stolen from RPGs for so many years, I say it's payback, baby!

 

[Steely Dan]

Next, please list the things you don't get in computer games (but wanted to get), do still get in 3.x D&D, but can't get in 4e any longer.

Don't bother; this is a crusade.

 

[Derren]

Next, please list the things you don't get in computer games (but wanted to get), do still get in 3.x D&D, but can't get in 4e any longer.

Feeling to play in a living, breathing world without any artificial barriers because of rules.
This sort of immersion will be much harder to achieve in 4E than in 3E (see rings only working for specific levels, everything only made for combat...)

 

[vagabundo]

Don't bother; this is a crusade.

Starting to feel that way...

 

[Sylevus]

Opinions

I quit DND 3.5 after many years of love/hate with DND. I have always hated the spells per day limiting MY stories. To me, an encounter, heal up, hole up in a room until we can med, oh well, bad rolls on the heals, rest up again. YUCK! And prep time had increasingly been an issue with life and the intrusion of MMORPGs.

I have never found the roleplay quality in a MMORPG that I had hoped to. On the flip side, my table top experiences over the last three years have not been that great either. Other games systems had their own problems of people not wanting to learn the basic mechanics, lack of familiarity with the settings, no idea what to do in them.... MMORPGs became an increasing lure from the sheer fact of ... I don't have to prep to play.

Now, 4E does take some things from MMORPGs, but I think these are improvements. As a DM, I could play smart monsters going after the clerics and casters, but what tools aside from damage did the other players have to save them? AOO? Trip attack? Snare spell? Some taunt mechanics and whatever else 4E is going to add should allow me to play smart monsters and put some fear into the mages without it coming across as a personal grudge against the poor guy with d4 for hit points.

Recycling resources per encounter means the adventure progresses at a more 'natural' pace story wise. Sure, you are not up to full potential, but you can still handle that 'random' wandering encounter set to mess with your rest cycles.

Reduced prep time, fun character options at each level, faster leveling, all this equates to more fun for me as a DM. So, while I started reading up on 4E, expecting it to be the final nail in the coffin, I am very enthusiastic about the game. Rather than bashing it for picking up elements from WOW, you should applaud it for taking the right elements from WOW to make it an exciting enough choice for me to want to play it more than I want to play WOW.

 

[Steely Dan]

Feeling to play in a living, breathing world without any artificial barriers because of rules.
This sort of immersion will be much harder to achieve in 4E than in 3E (see rings only working for specific levels, everything only made for combat...)

You're really batting a 1000 right now with your spewing of false information.


You do a lot of whining and thread crapping, on these and the WotC boards, please stop, it's boring and insulting.

 

[Belphanior]

Feeling to play in a living, breathing world without any artificial barriers because of rules.
This sort of immersion will be much harder to achieve in 4E than in 3E (see rings only working for specific levels, everything only made for combat...)

The rings working only for a certain level is the same as certain feats that can only be taken by people with a certain prerequisite. Or spells that can only be cast by people of a certain level. Or Cloudkill being unable to kill a creature outright that has more than a certain amount of hitdice (see also Sleep, Circle of Death, Color Spray, etc.)

So this is another bogus argument. The barriers because of rules exist in 3.x as well. This doesnt qualify for "3.x can do it but 4e can't".

More importantly, I don't see anything that indicates "everything only made for combat". Quite the opposite: we've learned that fighters can spend feats to become really good at social interaction without hamstringing their ability to fight. In this case it's 3e that's more combat focused than 4e!

I hate to say it (hah, who am I kidding? I love saying this) but this isn't even about personal preference anymore. Your statements are simply flat-out and objectively wrong. 4e doesn't have artificial barriers while previous editions lacked them. There's also nothing to show that there'll be far more of these barriers than in previous editions.

 

[Derren]

You do a lot of whining and thread crapping, on these and the WotC boards, please stop, it's boring and insulting.

Oh, I see. Everything which goes against your opinion is insulting...
Those are my impressions of 4E and I am not alone with them. If you don't agree with them, fine. But don't accuse me of spreading lies especially when you don't even try to understand my arguments.