Loss of imagination

[scramasax]

I have only read the book yet but it looks like the imagination has been completly removed from everywhere. By example the spell command has evolve from edition to edition

-you say a word that you choose
-You select one of the few option
-you don't select anything it just does the effect

In which place does the new rule give us more option to use imagination than before ?

 

[Surgoshan]

By allowing you to play a tabletop roleplaying game instead of watching TV?

 

[VannATLC]

I flat out don't understand this kind of question.

Less fluff is more space for self-description.

 

[AntiPaladin]

You can say whatever words you like when you cast a spell, go nuts.

 

[SpydersWebbing]

Do you honestly need the Core Rule Books to do everything for you?

 

[kaomera]

In which place does the new rule give us more option to use imagination than before ?

It doesn't, but then I'd suggest that it doesn't give any less, either. Players who enjoy getting creative describing their characters' actions aren't going to stop, and if some of the other players read out the flavor text for their powers in many cases that will be an overall improvement. You still can't get away from the occasional rules-speak, what with "hit points" and all, but a fair amount of it seems to either be somewhat more flavorful and / or lends itself to a more colorful description (ie: Bloodied).

 

[Lord Xtheth]

I ran my first official 4E game today. My own campaign, complete with a tutorial and everything. My players enjoyed it emencely. They loved the system, they loved the rules, and they used the same amount... if not more immagination than in 3.x

Maybe its just my group, but we encourage "better playing" amongst each other. I don't let "I use diplomacy to win" get by, they now have to act at least somthing out, and if it's good, I give bonuses and everything.

I don't know where you might have left your immagination... but 4E definately wasn't the source of its death.

 

[shadowguidex]

Magic Missile
At-will * arcane, force, implement
Standard action
Target: one creature
Roleplaying: You choose one word you have to say. Alternatively you can select a short descriptive sentence or make a complex gesture. Also, if you have a supply of spell components available to help you roleplay, you gain a bonus of +1 to the attack rolls (a small piece of sharp glass).
Hit: 2d4+Intelligence modifier force damage


Um, on second thought, just roleplay dude, the PHB doesn't have to spoon feed you everything.

 

[Rabbitbait]

I think 4e encourages imagination far more than the 3e micromanagement by the rules did.

4e seems to encourage trying things out to see how they go. It encourages thinking about how you will use your skills - no more just rolling a diplomacy check, you need to describe how you are using the skill.

The rules are much simpler, which makes me more comfortable trying new things out as a DM as I can be more sure I won't 'break' things.

I'm sold.

 

[On Puget Sound]

I have only read the book yet but it looks like the imagination has been completly removed from everywhere. By example the spell command has evolve from edition to edition

-you say a word that you choose
-You select one of the few option
-you don't select anything it just does the effect

In which place does the new rule give us more option to use imagination than before ?

I think the replies so far have missed the OP's intent. In 2nd edition, Command was "any one-word, unambiguus command." People used Swim, Eat, Vomit, Disrobe, all kinds of things. In 3rd Edition, there was a short menu of useable words. In 4th, you don't even get that choice. So yes, imaginative uses for many spells have steadily decreased in the name of game balance (and, in that particular case, encouraging tables to stay PG-13 rated).

I remember winning a non-lethal magical duel in 1st edition by using Create Food & Drink to bury my rival in tapioca pudding. My wife's druid once rescued a few dozen survivors of a disaster, who were described by the GM as very dirty and stinky. She wild shaped into a lion and then cast Purify Food and Drink on them because for a lion, people are food.

Yeah, I miss those days too... but I'm not willing to have back all the brokenness that went with it.