D&D 4E Got to play 4E today

[Korgoth]

Your comments were generally thoughtful and welcome. And then there's this. The WoW angle has been discussed to death on these boards.

This is the sort of comment that makes this board less than a fun place to hang out. The man has an opinion based on his experience, so let's not crack down on him for saying it, Herr Element.

 

[BlindOgre]

Which parts did you see as overpowered? The fact that towels aren't restricted by level?

Hah No. Rather that 1st level characters could easily do so well against much tougher opponents. I know the math balances out at higher levels, but it seemed to me a bit too easy at lower levels.

 

[BlindOgre]

Your experience seems entirely valid and well written up. You are into a AD&D version of dnd and that is where you are coming from when you tried out 4th. All fine.

However the wow thing is way off. I have played 4ed (preview, lite) and about 8 different MMOs. They are entirely different in experience, crunch etc. Folks want to sound like they see the man behind the curtain so they joke but you should not take that as a sign of anything substantial.

Actually not. While I compared to 1e for this analysis as a baseline, I converted to each system as it came out in succession from Original D&D (brown woodgrain box, little books) through 3.5. I have also played the major MMOs from EQ(1) through WoW(BC). In my opinion, based upon what I have seen so far the WoW thing is not way off. Otherwise, I would not have said as much. Whether or not my opinion is shared by anyone is entirely unimportant.

But, such quibbling detracts from the main point about the lack of previewed role-playing aspects of 4e, via the demos or otherwise. Again, I remain uncommitted. In the campaigns I've run over the past three decades, story is the most important aspect and previous versions all cater well to such.

I am a gray-beard, but not a grognard. I am just prudent enough to wait to see the DMG before I make up my mind.

 

[hong]

Hah No. Rather that 1st level characters could easily do so well against much tougher opponents. I know the math balances out at higher levels, but it seemed to me a bit too easy at lower levels.

This is a feature, not a bug.

 

[BlindOgre]

Yeah, the unplayability of 1E (and its even more unplayable precursor, OD&D[1974]) is why the game never took off and was such a dismal failure...

So dismal a failure that we passionately debate the merits of different versions some 33 years later I hope to someday fail so miserably

 

[Baron Opal]

I find that as I read more, my play time is going to be split between 1e and 4e depending on the play experience that I want.

 

[DandD]

How do you roleplay in D&D whateveredition? Do you roll the intimidate-skill? Roll for diplomacy? Use Bluff? Do you also use other skills, like Handle Animal? Spot? Listen? Hide? Knowledge (whateverappropriate)? Arcana? Heal? Scry? Disguise? How do you use it in D&D not4thedition? Are the books compelling you magically to only roll combat the entire evening? What makes you seriously think that D&D 4th edition will be different from the previous editions in any way for the non-combat scenes at your gaming table?

 

[Rex Blunder]

So dismal a failure that we passionately debate the merits of different versions some 33 years later I hope to someday fail so miserably

In my mind, Blind Ogre's second clone will always be the "real" blind ogre.

 

[BlindOgre]

How do you roleplay in D&D whateveredition? Do you roll the intimidate-skill? Roll for diplomacy? Use Bluff? Do you also use other skills, like Handle Animal? Spot? Listen? Hide? Knowledge (whateverappropriate)? Arcana? Heal? Scry? Disguise? How do you use it in D&D not4thedition? Are the books compelling you magically to only roll combat the entire evening? What makes you seriously think that D&D 4th edition will be different from the previous editions in any way for the non-combat scenes at your gaming table?

Not much, really. Most role-playing aspects do not require much use of system mechanics at all. However, where there is a reasonable probability of failure as well as a reasonable probability for success it is often good and more fair to use the system to determine the outcome. It is most useful when you don't know the players very well and vice versa and for tournament play - just to keep things honest and allay any notions of favoritism.

What concerns me most about 4e is not whether the system will support role-playing, but a (perhaps irrational) fear that it might actually interfere with such. In fact, during the demo we were not given the opportunity to role-play the chase out of town (again, in their defense, this was probably due to time limitations).

 

[FitzTheRuke]

I never understand how people could think that there's any lack of role-playing focus in 4E. Roleplaying is something you DO or DON'T DO. The system has very little to do with it.

As far as I can tell, the 4E designers have at least made an effort to teach bad roleplayers some tricks. I expect you will see a lot of this in the DMG. But even if there WEREN'T... how would that stop you from role-playing?

Fitz