Zamkaizer
First Post
While, for the longest time, I have been one of Fourth Edition's biggest supporters, my enthusiasm for it has slowly been eroded as it has become increasingly clear that the designers are taking the game in a different direction than I find enjoyable--not towards World of Warcraft, anime, or Harry Potter, but rather, the American folk tale
It started back in August, when, at 4E's unveiling at GenCon, Andy Collins briefly mentioned how the grappling rules in 3E had made it more trouble than it was worth for characters to, "wrassle the biggest twister seen 'round these parts since those poor Hays boys tried to settle who would get Petunia O'Brian's hand in marriage by seein' which of the two was the better dancer at the town's annual hoedown--ended up spinnin' their pardners 'round so fast, they conjured up a whirlwind fierce enough to blow down every tree for three miles, honest to God."
While I initially attributed this statement to excited indiscretion, subsequent blurbs about the new edition became more difficult to ignore.
First came the news about succubi being rethought as, "devilish seductresses who prey upon the unwary and the intoxicated, waitin' till their victim's guard's down 'fore throwin' on them their hexed bridle and saddle, then ridin' them 'round the world, leavin' them sore and repentant of their imbibin' ways," which was followed shortly by the pit fiend's Monster Manual entry, which, among other things, gave them ranks in perform (fiddle), and a per-encounter power called 'Just Sign By the X'. Then Mike Mearls mentioned in his blog that they were holding the druid back till the Player's Handbook II, "owin' to difficulty the apple tree-growin' mechanics were presentin' us with."
As the volume of information increased, it only got worse. Races & Classes described halflings as, "the cleverest, most tenacious little folks one's likely to meet on the ol' muddy Mississip," and, "the reason alligators cry and snakes don't have legs." The D&DXP ranger had a power--'Split the Tree', that allowed him to split a tree in half, lathe both halves into arrows, then shoot both--all in the course of a single turn. And not a week ago, Kieth Baker posted on these very forums about how 4E was perfect for Eberron because, "it allowed me to whip-up right quickly a character capable of drivin' Lightnin' Stones faster than any confounded machine those boys at House Cannith could whip up."
I don't begrudge Wizards for trying to expand the market of Dungeons & Dragons to include your grandpa, but a game designed to appeal to your 1st grade teacher is not the one I grew up with. I've therefore canceled my preorder with Amazon. I might eventually give the new edition a try, if I have the opportunity, but if my character has to strap giant pats of butter to his feet and slide across a giant grittle to make flapjacks for a hungry hill giant, I might be left with no choice pick up Pathfinder--I hear that's at least based on Hungarian folk tales.
It started back in August, when, at 4E's unveiling at GenCon, Andy Collins briefly mentioned how the grappling rules in 3E had made it more trouble than it was worth for characters to, "wrassle the biggest twister seen 'round these parts since those poor Hays boys tried to settle who would get Petunia O'Brian's hand in marriage by seein' which of the two was the better dancer at the town's annual hoedown--ended up spinnin' their pardners 'round so fast, they conjured up a whirlwind fierce enough to blow down every tree for three miles, honest to God."
While I initially attributed this statement to excited indiscretion, subsequent blurbs about the new edition became more difficult to ignore.
First came the news about succubi being rethought as, "devilish seductresses who prey upon the unwary and the intoxicated, waitin' till their victim's guard's down 'fore throwin' on them their hexed bridle and saddle, then ridin' them 'round the world, leavin' them sore and repentant of their imbibin' ways," which was followed shortly by the pit fiend's Monster Manual entry, which, among other things, gave them ranks in perform (fiddle), and a per-encounter power called 'Just Sign By the X'. Then Mike Mearls mentioned in his blog that they were holding the druid back till the Player's Handbook II, "owin' to difficulty the apple tree-growin' mechanics were presentin' us with."
As the volume of information increased, it only got worse. Races & Classes described halflings as, "the cleverest, most tenacious little folks one's likely to meet on the ol' muddy Mississip," and, "the reason alligators cry and snakes don't have legs." The D&DXP ranger had a power--'Split the Tree', that allowed him to split a tree in half, lathe both halves into arrows, then shoot both--all in the course of a single turn. And not a week ago, Kieth Baker posted on these very forums about how 4E was perfect for Eberron because, "it allowed me to whip-up right quickly a character capable of drivin' Lightnin' Stones faster than any confounded machine those boys at House Cannith could whip up."
I don't begrudge Wizards for trying to expand the market of Dungeons & Dragons to include your grandpa, but a game designed to appeal to your 1st grade teacher is not the one I grew up with. I've therefore canceled my preorder with Amazon. I might eventually give the new edition a try, if I have the opportunity, but if my character has to strap giant pats of butter to his feet and slide across a giant grittle to make flapjacks for a hungry hill giant, I might be left with no choice pick up Pathfinder--I hear that's at least based on Hungarian folk tales.
