New playtest report 9/20...

[breschau]

Here.

[Character creation] took about 90 minutes, because this iteration of the rules is fiendishly complex. (We’re paring it down as I write this, actually.)

Wow. That sounds good. I think.

 

[Jack99]

Rampage sounds like an interesting ability...

 

[Exen Trik]

Rampage sounds like an interesting ability...

The fact that it could cause a collapse if used in the wrong spot was what caught my eye. This is the kind of stuff I like.

 

[Gloombunny]

Rampage sounds like an interesting ability...

Well, we can't really tell from that snippet if they have an ability called "rampage" or not. He might've just been using it as a regular word.

 

[Pygon]

The idea of reinterpreting characters instead of converting them sounds pretty much like what I expected. We won't be able to convert directly, but we should be able to come up with something reasonably similar except for the most exotic abilities in current supplements.

Also, I couldn't help but notice that a gnome build was invented for the playtest. Maybe gnomes got less of a shaft and more of a... pit.

And the "processor load" being moved off the DM's tasks will be a VERY welcomed change.

 

[Glyfair]

What I thought was interesting was that we have lengthy list of probable monsters for the MM.

Azer Minions
Bonecrusher Zombies
Githzerai (Monk, Zerth)
Hellsword Cambions
Magma Brute
Rot Scarab Swarm
Wraith
Yuan-Ti Assassins
Zombie Hulk

 

[Soel]

I'm thinking that the minions, brute, swarm and hulk are actually types, like mini-templates, applicable to a base creature, or even vice-versa, base types, that you apply specific creature qualities to...

Seems like that'd be the way to go for quicker prep.

 

[Atlatl Jones]

And at this point in the game’s design, monster creation is much more a function of benchmarking than a function of deriving statistics by formula (which is pretty much the 3.5 design technique). I begin with the end in mind in terms of AC, hit points, and all the other salient statistics. I add cool attacks, plugging in relevant numbers there, too. And voila!

I know this is mostly just a confirmation, but I'm incredibly happy to hear that. Being able to improvise monsters in D&D, and not having to go through calculations when doing prep, imagine that!

I filed the serial numbers off the githzerai monks and githzerai zerth and turned them into Vol’s “Sentinels of the Ancestral Bloodline.”

Based on this, I wouldn't be at all surprised if we see a gish in the 4e books. . . where it belongs, as a subtype of githyanki in the monster manual.

 

[frankthedm]

I know this is mostly just a confirmation, but I'm incredibly happy to hear that. Being able to improvise monsters in D&D, and not having to go through calculations when doing prep, imagine that!

All the 'cost' of PCs being unable to use them MM as another PHB. Win-Win!

Rampage sounds like an interesting ability...

The fact that it could cause a collapse if used in the wrong spot was what caught my eye. This is the kind of stuff I like.

"Rampage" sounds like a whirlwind attack that effects everything in range; friend, foe and objects. Combine that with Mike Mearls's penchant for things like 'break away terrain' [see combat zones in Iron Heroes] and you have a recipe for mayhem.

 

[Maggan]

Wow. That sounds good. I think.

I'm wondering how long it takes before the "truth" that it takes 90 minutes to make a first level PC in 4e is adapted as a criticism of the new rules.

/M