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Message: <blockquote data-quote="pemerton" data-source="post: 5490207" data-attributes="member: 42582">Well, we have different views on this.My view as to what the system is intended to support is based on:(i) stuff the designers said around the time of release (like <a href="http://critical-hits.com/2008/03/05/dd-xp-interview-sara-girard-rob-heinsoo/" target="_blank">Rob Heinsoo's reference to indie design</a>); (ii) the obvious resemblance to indie game design (nowhere more obvious than in DMG2, where some of it is literally Robin Laws copying and pasting from HeroQuest 2nd ed); (iii) the inclusion of so many rules - like treasure parcels, skill challenges (including the various examples in DMG, DMG2 and other hardbacks), quest XP (including player-designed quests in the DMG), etc - that make it feasible to run a non-exploration, non-AD&D-style game; (iv) the contents and approach of books like Underdark, Demonicon and The Plane Above; (v) discussions on these forums.And my own experience running the game is, for me, confirmatory of my view.I don't know if your view is based on anything other than play experience. (Also, I don't know how familiar you are with the indie games that, in my view, have heavily influenced 4e's design.) If the only evidence a person had was the WotC modules than I think that they would agree with you. But my claim is that there is a huge dissonance between those modules and the hardbound rulebooks. Whatever The Plane Above is, it's not a recipe for a skirmish game. And just ignoring books like that doesn't make WotC's dissonance go away.If this was their intention, then why would they publish the first version of D&D which has rules for player-designated quests that will earn quest XP?Or passages like this, in the rules on skill challenges:Your DM sets the stage for a skill challenge by describing the obstacle you face and giving you some idea of the options you have in the encounter. Then you describe your actions and make checks until you either successfully complete the challenge or fail… When a player’s turn comes up in a skill challenge, let that player’s character use any skill the player wants. As long as the player or you can come up with a way to let this secondary skill play a part in the challenge, go for it… In skill challenges, players will come up with uses for skills that you didn’t expect to play a role. Try not to say no. . . This encourages players to think about the challenge in more depth… However, it’s particularly important to make sure these checks are grounded in actions that make sense in the adventure and the situation. If a player asks, “Can I use Diplomacy?” you should ask what exactly the character might be doing(The quotes are from the PHB and the DMG.)</blockquote>

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