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<blockquote data-quote="Neonchameleon" data-source="post: 5218393" data-attributes="member: 87792">Right.&nbsp; Throw out most of what you knew.&nbsp; 4e is a different game to previous editions.&nbsp;The biggest change is the feel and pacing - 4e is a game that runs as an action series on &quot;Holywood Physics&quot;.&nbsp; Large and cinematic - and who cares that the laws of physics say a shotgun can't throw someone back?&nbsp; It's cool!&nbsp; It's also incredibly kinaesthetic, the PCs easily being able to throw monsters off ledges and into bonfires (or vise-versa) - and the right place for a monster is in its own pit trap.&nbsp;Likewise the weird seeming healing surge rules - they represent the way the hero can get really beaten up in one scene (i.e. hit points lost), but can keep going with only a few scratches in the next (i.e. surges lost) until they reach the limits of their endurance.&nbsp; (And renaming at will/encounter/daily as at will/scene/episode works well to understand the narrative pacing).&nbsp;Also the PCs start off as fairly tough - there are no more first level wizards who get beaten up by housecats on a regular basis (or drop to one hit to anything sane).&nbsp; Or wizards who are forced to rely on crossbows when they run out of spells.&nbsp; But they never reach the levels of game-breaking of older editions.&nbsp;And the books are meant to be played rather than read.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Neonchameleon, post: 5218393, member: 87792"] Right. Throw out most of what you knew. 4e is a different game to previous editions. The biggest change is the feel and pacing - 4e is a game that runs as an action series on "Holywood Physics". Large and cinematic - and who cares that the laws of physics say a shotgun can't throw someone back? It's cool! It's also incredibly kinaesthetic, the PCs easily being able to throw monsters off ledges and into bonfires (or vise-versa) - and the right place for a monster is in its own pit trap. Likewise the weird seeming healing surge rules - they represent the way the hero can get really beaten up in one scene (i.e. hit points lost), but can keep going with only a few scratches in the next (i.e. surges lost) until they reach the limits of their endurance. (And renaming at will/encounter/daily as at will/scene/episode works well to understand the narrative pacing). Also the PCs start off as fairly tough - there are no more first level wizards who get beaten up by housecats on a regular basis (or drop to one hit to anything sane). Or wizards who are forced to rely on crossbows when they run out of spells. But they never reach the levels of game-breaking of older editions. And the books are meant to be played rather than read. [/QUOTE]

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