D&D 4E New 4e Info! GAMA Tradeshow Scoop

[Fifth Element]

I agree with you by the way (it just dosn't bother me that much), just found it funny.

Ultimately it doesn't bother me that much either. But I've been accused of being a 4E fanboi before and this was a good way to register my displeasure with something about it.

 

[pukunui]

Because opportunities for doing so are few and far between.

When you were learning to shoot a bow, you discovered that on occasion, if the two deer broke for cover at just the right angle, you could nail them both, two arrows but one shot. Later, as you became an adventurer, you discovered that the technique worked just as well in combat; the moments when the enemies were moving at just the right angle were few and far between, but when they did, bam! You were ready to take advantage of it.

In other words, some of the powers allow the player to take a tiny bit of narrative control. You're not just deciding "my character is using his power," but also "my character has spotted the opportunity to do so."

Thus, it's a combination of ability and opportunity both. Sometimes you have one, sometimes you have the other, but only rarely--in game terms, once a day, for ease of play--do they both align.

Now that does make sense. Thanks, Mouseferatu!

I don't suppose you'd be able to tell us if the PHB (or perhaps the DMG) attempts to explain the concepts behind at-will/encounter/daily powers, can you? I'm not asking for detail. I'd just like to know if there is anything there at all.

 

[Majoru Oakheart]

As I said before, these attack/buff divine powers aren't the only ones that bother me. The ranger's Split The Tree bothers me as well. Can anyone explain why a ranger should only be able to do that once a day? Once an encounter I can understand (because it could fall under the "your enemies won't fall for that trick again" explanation) but only once a day? This isn't a magical trick. It's a trick gained through physical training ...

It's too powerful an ability to use more than once a day. If it was usable every encounter it would be overwhelming.

Oh, you mean from a simulationist point of view. I can't come up with a good one. There generally isn't a good one. I believe reaching into your deepest reserves of energy and pulling off an amazing exploit that is very difficult for even you to do. It just happens to be allowed only once per day due to game balance reasons. Probably for the same reason a first level Dervish can only dance 1/day in 3e.

 

[pukunui]

It's too powerful an ability to use more than once a day. If it was usable every encounter it would be overwhelming.

Yes, I'd already come up with this metagamey answer myself. However, see Mouseferatu's response above. It's a good one and satisfies the "simulationist" in me, if that term is necessary.

 

[Cadfan]

Sorry but I don't see the relevance. I wasn't questioning the mechanical definition of "ally".

Yes, you were. You quite clearly asked what would happen if your character didn't want to be affected by a power that boosted an ally. You not only quite clearly asked that question, you then went on to make up a funny story to illustrate the conversation of two characters in a dispute about whether the second character was affected by an ally-affecting power used by the first character. So I provided you with a link to a quotation from the 4e PHB that covers the answer to the question "What happens when someone doesn't want to be affected by a power which affects an ally?"

 

[Spatula]

Yes, there is a difference between needless symmetry and useful symmetry. If you want a campaign against metallic dragons then it's handy to have one that has a more brute feel to it than a more tactical feel, so that battles against multiple types of dragons don't get boring from being exactly the same.

The symmetry they were talking about is: Good people go to a good plane when they die. That must mean there is an evil plane...and a neutral plane, and a neutral good plane, and so on. Now that we have all these planes, there has to be creatures who live in them all. So now we have angels for the good planes, devils for the LE plane, demons for the CE plane, and so on.

That sort of symmetry adds more monsters and more things to know, but it doesn't make the game any easier to run.

More monsters makes the game harder to run?

 

[Kishin]

Too much simulationist thinking about gameplay mechanics going on here.

Or as Hong would say, thinking too hard about fantasy.

 

[pukunui]

Yes, you were. You quite clearly asked what would happen if your character didn't want to be affected by a power that boosted an ally. You not only quite clearly asked that question, you then went on to make up a funny story to illustrate the conversation of two characters in a dispute about whether the second character was affected by an ally-affecting power used by the first character. So I provided you with a link to a quotation from the 4e PHB that covers the answer to the question "What happens when someone doesn't want to be affected by a power which affects an ally?"

Are you referring to the bit where it says "both terms assume willing targets"? I can only assume that that means if the target ally isn't willing then the power has no effect, in which case, yes, my question is resolved. Thank you. Sorry for the misunderstanding.

 

[qstor]

There's always the possibility of a brand-new setting - I expect 4e will see at least one of those.

They mentioned at DDXP that a new setting was planned. IIRC it was going to be after Eberron.

were GREYHAWK and DARK SUN mentioned as definate?

Mike