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Message: <blockquote data-quote="rob626" data-source="post: 3981329" data-attributes="member: 58916">DS for 4edI have been running the DS Original Boxed Set as the start point for years.  Always felt that although the supplement books (Veiled Alliance, Dune Traders, etc) were some of the strongest material ever written for any setting the PP and other additions were just garbage.  Ran the campaigns straight from the original boxed material with all of the SK's still alive and scheming.Uber NPC's: They died trying to kill off Kalak.  Never cared for the Forgotten Realms super NPC syndrome, didn't want it in DS.  The pc's should be the main characters of the story.  What they do- or more often fail to do- is what shapes the planet.Motivating the Characters: One campaign I have run successfully- The pc's find a strain of pest resistant, dry-environment loving, fast growth cycle grain in clay jars in the ruins of Yaramuke.  You can see how this one event could change the world ... gradually. I just let a Druid share with them a vision of what COULD happen if they handled the discovery well.Bandits, merchant house alliances/rivalries, SK's interested in keeping the status quo or in using the grain to feed their armies before setting out on conquest.  Land reclamation, higher food values, greater survival rates, increased quality of life.  Wars, political machinations, power balance shifts.  By the time the characters have reached a high level they had, in fact, changed the world one way or another by who they entrusted with this one find.Templars: I can see most Templarates being divided into "Action" and "Beureau" arms- the Warlocks with their pacts powering spells and the Leaders with the whole Authority thing.Bards: An Athasian Bard is an semi-legitimized assassin/spy that uses entertainment as a cover.  I'm sure that if people took class X with feat Y etc then there are multiple paths to what would be considered an Athasian Bard by the average peasant.  Consider the Athasian Bards as people with similar abilities and mindset rather than a strictly defined class.  Races: I like the change to 4ed races.  Maybe that half-giant won't be such a pain to dm with scaling powers!Unarmed combat/grapple:  The pc's spend a LOT of time in DS without weapons or in gladiator pits.  Any streamlining of this beast is welcome!  Ruling on a Thri-kreen grappling specialist .... I still have nightmares.Equipment: Since 4ed places much less emphasis on equipment then the whole world of DS becomes much more attractive to the average player.  DS has always been, IMO, about big themes (freedom vs oppression,  morality vs power, greater good vs the individual) so stripping away the gear dependancy gets rid of some of the clutter and lets players focus on the characters.Overall, it looks like 4ed is taking huge steps to make the game more about conflict resolution (combat and non-combat) as a vehicle to advance stories.  I couldn't be more pleased!</blockquote>

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