Playtest Reactions: "Return of the Burning Plague"

[Xethreau]

So, the playtest started last night, when a friend of mine (the one who introduced me to D&D) and I played D&D 1-0-1. He chose the Elf Rogue, based on the Ampersand releases, and I just tossed at him some random monsters. It went as follows:

• 1 Kobold Skirmisher- The rogue handled this guy no-problem. The rogue used both his first-round combat advantage and his Deft Strike power to great effect, even with that little rat ran away.
• 1 Kobold Skirmisher, 2 Kobold Minions- Not much difference from above. The kobolds tried to surround and destroy (a good tactic for their race) but were ultimately destroyed.
• In-between Skill 'Challenges'- The rogue never went through real skill "challenges," as per the rules in the Pre-Release Rules Compilation, but he did use skills to decent effect. He made a successful Nature check to determine that the tree he was hiding in was in fact an oak, and it was neither nutritious nor toxic, so he ate some bark (No, I don't understand why either.) He entered a clearing and used Stealth to get past the two guys by a fire, and make his way to their covered wagon. He used his Stealth again and an interesting usage of Initiative to peak his head in the covered wagon to say peekaboo to the mage sitting inside. He then crawled in the wagon, and then he FAILED his initiative check, major.
• Human Mage, Human Berserker, Human Gaurd- The rogue began battle trapped inside a 2x3 square covered wagon, face to face with mage. The guard and berserker came around from the campfire and both threw their axes at the rogue (and hit). The mage whacked the bloodied rogue for a bit more damage. The rogue exited the card the way he came in (though the side... a move action), and used his second wind in hopes of survival. No such chance. The guard came around the corner and hammered the elf with his halberd. The rogue was down for the count, and he eventually failed all three of his saves against death, and died a sad and lonely death.

The second half of the playtest, in which we played Return of the Burning Plague, involved myself (DM) and 5 PC's, including last night's elf rogue player. I had everyone pick their characters first, then after that, I explained the rules. Two players were fairly new to D&D, so I had to do some fairly through rule explanation, as well as update my two other regulars on rule changes. Last night's rogue picked Corrin, the halfling paladin, the guy playing a sun elf duskblade in my 3.5 game chose the tiefling wizard (which he renamed Bajino as in "buh-[j-eye]-no"), the other regular in my game (who is mostly new to RP) chose Kathra the dwarf fighter, blond newbie chose Erais because he was going to play a human cleric in another 3.5 game, and "Buh-buh" chose the eladrin ranger Raidon.

Once that was done, we began RP. I told them they had been adventuring with each other for two weeks, and they had just come to this mining town, which those characters trained in History knew was a fairly successful mining town, about two decades old. The party starts by entering the pub, where they find that they are dirt broke and cannot afford a room for the night. The bartender kindly explains that they had best skip town, or else they were likely to get very sick, and points them towards the temple of Moradin for more information. The party splits up, Kartha and Bajino (Skamos) explore the town, and Riadon, Erais, and Corrin venture to the temple. Kartha makes a Streewise check, and through exploring the town, finds out that a lot of people are sick, and even notices one person going to bury a body rapped in shrouds. The good-aligned/religious part of the party goes to the temple to find out more about whats going on. A priest of the temple explains the backstory of the burning plague, and sends the characters off to the mine.

Encounter One: Mountain Path Ambush
On the way up to the mine, the party was attacked by a Kobold Wyrmpriest, Dragon Shield, two Skirmishers, and a minion. Points of note:

• Combat Advantage is awesome: A single mechanic for higher ground, running penalties, and surprise rounds. No more flat-footed AC!
• Monsters are a lot tougher in 4e. The dragon shield had more than enough HP to make it last for a few rounds. Minons make me laugh, and being able to use the wyrmpriests to just toss orbs is awesome.
• Halfling's racial ability is pretty useful, but it really sucks when the reroll is a 20, and someone takes 13 cold damage to the face.
• Careful Strike is the ability for rangers. High accuracy is the calling card of the ranger, and bonus damage due to the ever-flavorful Quarry is sweet.
• I loathed Cleave in 3.5, but in 4e it was exactly as I had imagined it should be when I first started playing D&D.
• Even sub-par class-race combos are still pretty neat; Bajino was able to get his Infernal Wrath/Orb of Force against people who just bypassed the Defenders, and that was interesting to see happen.
• As slight as the difference between the marking and bonus damage class features are, they do make a pretty significant impact on play difference.
• Action Points really pump up the cinematic aspect of play, even if both of the attack powers miss...
• Clerics are great. They constantly unleash neat divine attack magic, but are still every party member's best friend due to riding bonuses.
• Difficult Terrain is interesting. As is running. As is running up or down hills.
• Range of 20 on a bow is mean. In a good way, naturally.

That battle went pretty slow, since the new players were new, and the experienced players were not so experienced at this rendition of the game. After that, though, everyone took a 5 min break, and picked up their thrown weapons that they had tossed at the retreating kobolds. They then went on to the entrance of the cave. Nobody bothered to actively search the mine, but Riadon's Passive Perception was high enough to notice blood stains and weapon marks on the walls and wooden supports of the mine. The party entered, lead by Kathra and Corrin, and they very soon encountered two kobold skirmishers and their four minions. Interesting details from this fight:

• Kathra wanted to Cleave the two kobolds that were adjacent to her (they were adjacent to each other as well through diagonals), but there was a mine kart in her hammers path! The player asked if he could try a Strength check to push or destroy the cart (like how he used Kathra's Str check to move another card previously) and get that other kobold. I agreed (since this is a "yes, you can" game), and sure enough Kathra rolled a 20. She succeeded in that cleave, needless to say.
• I was surprised that the kobold minion's attacks deal static damage
• People were less shy about using their encounter powers, though everyone noted that saving the Dailies for later was a good idea
• Since Kathra did not always need to use one of her powers, she still reverted to basic attacks now and then
• Fighters are sticky SOB's! Kobolds are Shifty, but with Kathra around, it was like that didn't even matter!
• Tymora is a bitter Lady Luck; Corrin I think missed every one of his attacks.
• Rangers are slick. I think that they are probably the epitome of grace in battle. Fox's Cunning is made of win.
• Clerics are definitely valuable allies, but I can see the party doing just fine without it. Same with the Wizard.
• Passing Attack is both handy and flavorful!

After that, we had to pack up and head out. The collection of reactions was interesting. I guess there is no real way to sum it up, so I'll just give you a list of insightful dialogue.

• "I get all of those [Powers at first level]?!"
• "So, tieflings are the only [characters] here that do things when their enemies are bloodied? They really are evil!"
• "At first I didn't get it, but now I really see why Striker is its own role. This rogue is definitely different from that paladin."
• "Wait, are there still Spell Components?... YESS!!"
• Upon my explaining how will/encounter/daily powers work, before play even starts, "I love the new magic system!"
• After seeing a person carrying a dead body in a shroud, "I cast Mage Hand on the mid-section of the body, lift it up as much as I can, and then with Ghost Sound scream 'I AM MORADIN! MRAAAAW!!!'"
• "Magic Missile is an at-will spell!?"
• *Ghost Sound* To the Bartender, "BUWAHAHAH!"
• Me: "Diagonals all only count as one space now." Everyone else: "Finally!"
• "Wait, this says 'power bonus'... Sweet! New bonuses rules! Those [new ones] make sense [too]."
• Me: You hit both of your enemy kobolds with your Passing Attack. Roll damage. *player rolls* Me: Alright! You whack both of them upside the head! It takes a moment, but sure enough, the both fall over dead! Kathra's Player: Wow, I feel like a samurai! Except I'm using a warhammer. Other Player: This means you are a hammurai!
• "Hey, was it just me, or was this a lot easier [set of mechanics]?"
• Ranger: "My only complaint is that I just wish I could have done more powers with my longsword."
• "My only problem is that my halfling kept rolling sucky. Not like it's 4e's fault... Yeah, I like [4e] a lot."
• "Are we playing 4e this weekend?"
• "As I said, I love the new magic system."
• "It just sucks that we don't have all the rules yet!"
• "I think 4e is an improvement... I think it does everything as well as or better than 3.5 as far as what we have seen."
• "Wait, when does it come out?" "Are ya'll going to get it?" "Sweet."

Well, you heard it. For better or worse, this group has definitely been won over by 4e. Our only quarrel thus far is that we do not already have the full ruleset!
*waits....*

 

[Hussar]

INteresting read.

 

[phil500]

thanks for the write up.

 

[small pumpkin man]

Looks like you had lots of fun.

Good to see that happening.

 

[Cirex]

[*]Halfling's racial ability is pretty useful, but it really sucks when the reroll is a 20, and someone takes 13 cold damage to the face.

I was wondering about this last night. Let's imagine that, for some reason, the halfling wants to avoid damage at any cost so he/she uses the racial to force the rerolling of the dice, and the second result is a critical strike. So, from a hit that the halfing wanted to avoid at all cost, to a critical strike.

We don't have the final version of the ability yet, but I think that it would make sense that the enemy should be forced to pick the lower of the two rolls.

The power description says :
"When an attack hits you, force the enemy to roll the attack again. The enemy uses the second roll, even if it's lower."
In bold, the same text to describe similar powers, but by the player (the chance to roll again a dice, like the rogue-like class in Star Wars and the power given by gods of luck at D&D).

 

[Xorn]

I was wondering about this last night. Let's imagine that, for some reason, the halfling wants to avoid damage at any cost so he/she uses the racial to force the rerolling of the dice, and the second result is a critical strike. So, from a hit that the halfing wanted to avoid at all cost, to a critical strike.

We don't have the final version of the ability yet, but I think that it would make sense that the enemy should be forced to pick the lower of the two rolls.

The power description says :
"When an attack hits you, force the enemy to roll the attack again. The enemy uses the second roll, even if it's lower."
In bold, the same text to describe similar powers, but by the player (the chance to roll again a dice, like the rogue-like class in Star Wars and the power given by gods of luck at D&D).

Tymora is punishing Corrin for trying to bend the fates so whimsically.

You wait until the natural 20, then you yell out Second Chance! and watch the DM fume. (In the lest two games we did, the paladin--same player both times--has negated four critical hits with that damned power!)

Oh, and great writeup! Sounds like you all had a great time!

 

[Nytmare]

The power description says :
"When an attack hits you, force the enemy to roll the attack again. The enemy uses the second roll, even if it's lower."
In bold, the same text to describe similar powers, but by the player (the chance to roll again a dice, like the rogue-like class in Star Wars and the power given by gods of luck at D&D).

That has always read more like a copy/paste error of Elven Accuracy to me.

 

[Cirex]

I still feel the wording is poorly done. "Even if it's lower" -> Well, that's the point, we are trying to get a lower roll by the enemy.

 

[FabioMilitoPagliara]

thanks for sharing

 

[UngeheuerLich]

yes, hopefully this is a copy paste error, that is actually corrected by now...