Rodney Thompson's Playtest Report on Gleemax

[mhensley]

Ray of Frost slowing people excites me.

pics or it didn't happen

 

[mach1.9pants]

This blogpost has me excited about 4E, I like playing Wizards and have since DnD basic. My intro to fantasy started with War of the Twins. Yep I started with the 2nd book of second Dragonlance series, read it and was hooked. So my basic vision of a Wiz is Raistlin with Vancian magic and tiredness from casting. But in reality, while gaming, it sucks! Starting as a Wiz with 2 or 3 spells is lame; let alone 1 from basic DnD! So even though it goes against my inbuilt feel of how DnD should work (i.e. like in DL) I am excited. I feel I need to throw out my preconceptions and embrace what makes playing good NOT try an emulate a story I really enjoyed at 10 years old.
It ties in with the fact that I (reluctantly) let Bo9S into my campaign (while removing a lot of the magic flashiness) and it rules.
So bring on 4E, I am gonna dump my low magic high simulationism home brew medieval game and do some serious high fantasy everybody has something to do every round 4E! I have been to stressed about making a realistic world as a DM instead of focusing on havin fun during the sessions.
I hope 4E stands up to what it is promising

 

[mach1.9pants]

Three impressions from this-
................
3. Am I the only one that thinks that giving a race an inherent teleport ability as being bad? Why bother picking locks- let the eladrin teleport behind the door. That ability seems like it will short circuit a lot of standard low level hazards.

I don't: if a player wants to teleport behind a door into a new room with no other PCs to help, that's his funeral ! But I do hope there are strict limits on it in accordance with the PCs level.

 

[MerricB]

3. Am I the only one that thinks that giving a race an inherent teleport ability as being bad? Why bother picking locks- let the eladrin teleport behind the door. That ability seems like it will short circuit a lot of standard low level hazards.

Note that racial abilities don't all start at 1st level. If this is a power gained at a later level, then it's fine.

Also, having one character able to bypass a door often doesn't help the rest of the party.

Cheers!

 

[Rechan]

3. Am I the only one that thinks that giving a race an inherent teleport ability as being bad? Why bother picking locks- let the eladrin teleport behind the door. That ability seems like it will short circuit a lot of standard low level hazards.

In my experience, a lock isn't the problem - it's the traps that go off when you open it that is.

And just popping onto one side of a door isn't all that stealthy in the first place, and quite dangerous.

 

[Scholar & Brutalman]

Also, having one character able to bypass a door often doesn't help the rest of the party.

Unless you have a party of eladrin!

On the other hand, this may be a once per encounter power, which could mean your party of eladrin teleport into the Room of Death with a locked door behind them.

On the third hand, if one race is getting this sort of ability, how good are the other races?

 

[Sir Brennen]

3. Am I the only one that thinks that giving a race an inherent teleport ability as being bad? Why bother picking locks- let the eladrin teleport behind the door. That ability seems like it will short circuit a lot of standard low level hazards.

Who says they can teleport behind the door? It could easily be a line-of-sight ability - you have to actually see where you're going.

 

[Henry]

Note that racial abilities don't all start at 1st level. If this is a power gained at a later level, then it's fine.

Also, having one character able to bypass a door often doesn't help the rest of the party.

Cheers!

Not to mention if it's like Shadow Jaunt from Book of 9 swords, and you need line of effect to the destination. No teleporting behind doors or out of sight, then.

 

[BryonD]

Three impressions from this-

1. I thought it strange that magic missile (as vanilla a spell as it gets) is still being tweaked.
2. Ray of Frost slowing enemies - sounds like WoW to me.

I thought the same things. Not that these things bother me.

3. Am I the only one that thinks that giving a race an inherent teleport ability as being bad? Why bother picking locks- let the eladrin teleport behind the door. That ability seems like it will short circuit a lot of standard low level hazards.

Did I miss something? How do we know that this is an inherent racial ability? The character is a wizard. It may very well be a Wizard power that is simply called Fey Step. Or maybe even a wizard power that only Fey can take.

 

[JohnSnow]

Did I miss something? How do we know that this is an inherent racial ability? The character is a wizard. It may very well be a Wizard power that is simply called Fey Step. Or maybe even a wizard power that only Fey can take.

It was part of the Races & Classes preview info we got from Kunadam over on the WotC boards. Eladrin have the ability to step into the Feywild briefly thus making a short range teleport. People are assuming that's what this power does.

Michele Carter, I believe, also mentioned using an Eladrin movement power (without specifics) in one of her blogs.