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Message: <blockquote data-quote="deganawida" data-source="post: 9242617" data-attributes="member: 67836">Decided to go a bit more in-depth into things that I liked about 4e.  1.The World.  <ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">a.  The designers took a different approach than previous and subsequent attempts, and, instead of retroactively altering the old lore of settings, created a new setting, The World (AKA, Points of Light, AKA Nentir Vale) where every D&D trope had its own place and had always had its own place.  There was no need to shoehorn in Dragonborn, or what standardized Tieflings.  Instead, you had a world where these fit and had a place in the history without having to change what previous editions had said.<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">i.  PHB 2 was where I first saw the beauty of this, in how they made all the Primal Power Source classes have a distinct role within the setting.  For example, Barbarians aren’t just angry fighters, as they were in 3.x, nor are they tribal warriors, as they were in 1e and 2e.  Instead, they are warriors powered by primal spirits, which manifest in what is simply called a rage, without being necessarily anger. <ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">1.  The same can be seen in the Psionic Power Source, where all the psionic classes have a tie back to a particular origin.</li> </ul></li> </ul></li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">b.  The very idea of Points of Light works spectacularly with D&D, in that there’s a reason for adventurers and various dungeons.  It also has the added effect of making every action by the PCs feel consequential, as they are the heroes (or villains) that the world needs.<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">c.  The open-ended design of The World meant that any item from any previous setting could be dropped in it without disrupting the lore.  The World is in a dark age, and is ancient, so that there are plenty of mysteries and forgotten secrets for PCs to find and DMs to include.</li> </ul></li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">d.  The Dawn War (cannot recall if that was the name given in 4e specifically, or was retroactively added by Mearls with 5th Edition) was a great myth that set stakes for the world.  It’s the Titanomachy in D&D, and epic in ways that many other settings fail to be.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">e.  Asmodeus was made terrifying.  People actively worshipped him.  Worse, he was actually needed to prevent worse things.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">f.  Stars being holes in space was so awesome, it almost made me play a Warlock.</li> </ul>2.  At the very least, the Martial, Divine, and Arcane power sources presented a meta-class for their various classes.  <ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">a.  Every Martial character is a warrior of some kind.<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">i.  Fighters (including Knights and Slayers) are your soldiers or generic warrior.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">ii.  Warlords are your warriors who are also leaders.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">iii.  Rangers are your elite warriors, spec-ops style, who focus on burning down enemies.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">iv.  Rogues are your adventuring warriors who don’t really fit into societal norms well.<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">1.When first released, it did seem that they were pushing them to thief, assassin, or ninja, but, as 4e matured, you started to see the more warrior aspect mentioned above come out.  <ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">a.  This really comes out with Versatile Duelist, which allows Rogues to use any One-Handed Military Heavy Blade, and allows them to use their class features with that.<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">i.  Want a lightly-armored swordsman who’s inventive, clever, charming, and hits hard, but doesn’t want to be mobbed?  Grab that feat, and actually be mechanically supported, something which D&D has not done really well ever before or since.</li> </ul></li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">b.  It also has more of the feel of a movie or TV action hero than the Fighter has, with support given in other feats, powers, Paragon Paths, and so forth.</li> </ul></li> </ul></li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">v.  Every Divine character is a clergyman of some sort.<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">i.  Paladins are taken out of the old paradigm of just being a super Good (capitalized for alignment) knight, and turned into a part of the priesthood for their gods.</li> </ul></li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">vii.  Every Arcane character is a mage (lower case, so as to not confuse with the Essentials class build of the same name) of some sort.<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">i. Swordmage is a mage who teleports around and defends allies with spell-infused weapon attacks.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">ii.  Bards are mages with arcane songs.</li> </ul></li> </ul></li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">3.  Essentials gave another way to play.  It’s still highly tactical, but it makes builds simpler and gameplay faster.  That’s a plus in my book.</li> </ul></blockquote>

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