Orcus Previews the 4e Core Rulebooks

[Scholar & Brutalman]

Orcus from Necromancer Games has some early copies of the three core rulebooks. He has posted a short spoiler-free review on the Necromancer Games boards. His summary: "The books are startling"

 

[Fallen Seraph]

OOO, sounds good Also has the same bad-point with the MM. Obviously WoTC will need to step it up next MM.

 

[Oompa]

Orcus from Necromancer Games has some early copies of the three core rulebooks. He has posted a short spoiler-free review on the Necromancer Games boards. His summary: "The books are startling"

I like the review, im getting psyched and more psyched for the release now..

I dont mind missing some iconic classes and monsters, as long as the new stuff is good..

 

[Mirtek]

Damn, didn't really read the thread title correctly. I was hoping to find a preview of Orcus

 

[Wormwood]

4. They are startlingly unashamed in the changes they made. This is where the books, at first glance, will bother people who are predisposed to not liking 4E. The books dont at first glance seem "comfortable and similar and familiar." They used a new layout and new organization. Looking back on all the PHBs since the first AD&D PHB the format has been about the same. This one changes it all up. And that first impression is a bit startling. Plus, some of the new stuff is front and center. Heck, dragonborn are the first player race. The first bit of art in the book, starting from teh first page, is a dragonborn. That is new content. They dont try to ease you into it. I have said in the past, they didnt just kill sacred cows, they hung their carcass in the store windo--but I think this is a good thing. If you are going to make changes, dont %+%+* foot around the issue, jump in and do it. And that is what they did. I firmly believe that if people want to not like 4E, there is enough there on first glance to support their fears, BUT once you look past that first layer, you will see this is not only D&D, its is better and better organized and all the changes are improvements.

This is pure, undistilled awesome.

My respect for the 4e team just deepened.

 

[Family]

This is pure, undistilled awesome.

My respect for the 4e team just deepened.

Well put, I'd like to simply agree.

 

[Rechan]

I am very happy to see that Orcus is startled and satisfied.

8. The books are startlingly fat-free. They are 99% crunch, 1% fluff, if that. They are not for reading anymore. Remember the days you might crack the DMG for a list of suggested reading and to get some fun gygaxian flavor and musings. That is gone. These books are purely designed for game use at the game table. Period. I thought I knew what all crunch, no fluff was, but then I saw these books. These are all crunch, no fluff. I think it is a bold move, but, like many of the above, it will contribute to people who are predisposed to not like 4E to say "this doesnt feel right with me." But if you look past those things, this is D&D.

Can we stop hearing about "The designers are shoving their fluff down our throats and treating my homebrew like toilet paper" now?

 

[Xefas]

When I saw the thread title, I was filled with both hope and dread.

I figured it was another one of those animated shorts, ala the Gnome&Tiefling, the Beholder, and the Mindflayer.

I was expecting, within a few seconds, to hear "Hi, I'm Orcus, and these are my minions. Say hello, little minions!"...

 

[Green Knight]

Damn it, these last 13 days are gonna be nailgrinders.

 

[mrswing]

This review is startling. Startlingly one-sided.
So apart from the bard and druid being AWOL for now, there is absolutely nothing wrong with 4e.
Just as there was absolutely nothing wrong with 3.0 and later 3.5.
Sorry, I'm not buying it (literally and figuratively). There is no way that marking (for example) can be considered an improvement over the previous edition. Simpler monster creation and seriously beefing up lvl 1 characters on the other hand are a big step forward (or backward in the case of the monsters - but still in the right direction).
4 e is going to have some really good new stuff, some average stuff and some really bad stuff, and it's going to take several months before the dust settles and gamers will find out what is what.
And any review worth its salt (rather than an advertisement in disguise) will keep that in mind.