D&D 4E Mouseferatu weighs in on 4e

[Mouseferatu]

I, at least, found myself tending to think of pit fiends as big bads that fight the party singlehandedly; others may have a similar mental stumbling block. Can you (or John) comment at all on how easy or difficult it will be to "upgrade" a monster to a higher category (say, from "elite" to "solo", for instance)? I imagine that higher "category"* monsters tend to get more powers to choose from (and more opportunities to use them).

Without going into detail, since it would require a discussion of mechanics, I'll say that (once I got used to it), I found monster creation/modification pretty easy across the board. So I don't imagine you'd have too much difficulty in doing what you're talking about, though of course it'll require some work.

 

[FireLance]

Without going into detail, since it would require a discussion of mechanics, I'll say that (once I got used to it), I found monster creation/modification pretty easy across the board. So I don't imagine you'd have too much difficulty in doing what you're talking about, though of course it'll require some work.

I had just come to about the same conclusion as coyote6, so this is good to know. Thanks, Ari!

 

[Rpgraccoon]

Worried....a bit still.

To the Dark Mouse,

Okay, this maybe forsaken ground. However, I must try for my Half-Breeds can the half-elf take some racial feats of the elven persuasion. If you can not answer that have they improved to the point of being playable again in this edition? In 3.0-3.5 the Half-Elf was just not as satisfying to play as the 2e half elf.

Plus, is there any summoning rituals, spells, familiar, or flavor of such anywhere... that you can sniff out for me if possible...no

I am hopeful for the edition but the lack of summoning and the Half-Elf being in the dark still frightens me.

P.S. no mechanics needed-hope this isn't too much.

Summery

-Half-Elf is it playable/better

-Summoning any "flavor" anywhere
or abilities/spells no names needed ( familiars better or rituals to summon etc...)

Thanks, long time fan of your work.

 

[mhacdebhandia]

On the pit fiend issue: they might not be solo monsters, but that doesn't mean you have to use two of them at once. With four PCs you could have a pit fiend and two normal monsters of the same level, after all. A pit fiend flanked by a pair of servitor devils sounds like a cool fight to me, and then the pit fiend summons in a crowd of minions . . .

 

[Rpgraccoon]

The only devil I saw as going it alone was an erinyess. She should be able to handle herself without a group or alone. I don't know why. I just always seen her as a solitary fighter or assassin of hell.

 

[Rechan]

On the pit fiend issue: they might not be solo monsters, but that doesn't mean you have to use two of them at once. With four PCs you could have a pit fiend and two normal monsters of the same level, after all. A pit fiend flanked by a pair of servitor devils sounds like a cool fight to me, and then the pit fiend summons in a crowd of minions . . .

Aye. Elite = 2 of 1.

I recall the Monster podcast where they used a Bugbear, which was an elite, and dropped some fey in there who were following the owlbear.

 

[jonrog1]

John, let me get this straight. Begging on your blog actually got you playtesting access, and you didn't invite me to the wilds of Canada to join you?

You, sir, are a cad.

Hey, how ticked-off do you think my LA players were? My regular group for five years isn't my playtest group for 4E because two months earlier I moved to Canada? So, so angry. And that's an angry Johanna. Which any readers fo the story hour know we Do Not Want.

 

[jonrog1]

And speaking of another perspective...

So what is your favorite class(es) in the new edition John? Favorite monster(s)?

I'm not going to give out any comparative details. i thought all the classes my group played not only played well, but had extraordinarily distinctive play styles. I will say that while the Paladin was super shiny, the Fighter for me had the lock on fun and useful "techniques" (I refuse to call them powers. But that's me). I can totally see how you'll not only be able to customize your Fighter, but how once you've made your choices you will have the tactics available to you that are immediately useful. A dig-in-and-anchor fighter is going to be different from a swashbuckler at level one, and effective as an anchor Fighter at level one.

Favorite monster -- again, you've got to throw out how you think of monsters.

 

[Ahglock]

T he only issue I have with the 4e comments made by the play testers is the lack of craft skills and the like. Sure I knew it was going to happen, but if its seen in a positive light by them I'm not so sure they and I are on the same fun wavelength.

I understand the "problem" some people had in that you were spending combat potential points on something you didn't really need for adventuring. I get that, but I have to think there is a better way to deal with the issue than just removing it. Heck SR4s knowledge skill system is better IMO. Or even something similar to D&Ds 2es non-weapon proficiencies let people trade in language skills for other fluff skills like carpentry.

 

[Rechan]

Hey Jon, Mouse. Thanks for your comments.

Question time. Now, as I understand the NDA, you can't reveal anything, you can't tell anyone anything. But saying "No, things aren't that way" isn't revealing anything except the absence of correctness. But my interpretation could be wrong, so if you opt not to answer, understood. With that in mind:

You two seem to know the 4e boards enough, you've seen the threads. What do you think is the biggest misconception or concern that doesn't pan out that people here have about 4e?

On the same veins, are there any predictions/assumptions on how certain things work that you can tell us "No, it does not work that way"?

Also, while I hesitate to ask this because it might fan some more flames, is there anything you feel that 4e does not do well? Or something you wish was in there? Like Monster X not being in the MM, or something else from 3e you can say "This isn't in the document I have"?