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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Radiating Gnome" data-source="post: 5793044" data-attributes="member: 150">I think the tension between a rogue's ability to have fun playing scout and the desire to keep a table full of players engaged is a big one -- and it's really just one example of that bigger problem.  After all, a Wizard doing research in a library, a druid talking to chipmunks to find out information about goblin activity, a fighter's drinking bout with the local toughs -- these are all opportunities for individual gaming fun that have the potential to leave the rest of the table talking about their favorite episodes of Glee or something.  I love rogues/thieves/scouts.  When I play MMOs, I'm addicted to stealth.  But when it comes to D&D, at the table, it's damn hard as a DM to create the sort of fun play experience for a stealthy player that doesn't leave everyone else bored. Skill Challenges are probably one of the better solutions -- get the stealth stuff out of the way fairly quickly, without giving up too much game time -- but that doesn't really scratch the stealther's itch.  It's still better/closer to a good solution than we've had in previous editions, IMO.  When you really look at the way the rogue is built 4e, it's clear (at least to me) that he's meant to be the uber-sneak.  I mean, in most cases, only a rogue is going to have the ability to be sneaky at speeds faster than 2.  Other classes may have training in stealth, but they have to move real slow to be sneaky.  That speed differential practically never comes into play, IME, but that doesn't have to always be the case.  The problem is that to create a situation where that actually plays out means that the DM/Adventure designer has to specifically sit down to write an encounter designed to make a specific character class shine -- and that simply doesn't happen very often, if ever.  In a lot of ways, that's much like ritual magic.  Off-the-shelf adventures can't assume that there will be ritual casters capable of casting a specific ritual in the party, so it's not good to write an encounter that requires that specific ritual.  Perhaps one of the failings of the way 4e has been designed -- with an eye towards making the work of the DM easier, has been very little discussion/treatment of the ways good DMs can adapt print adventures -- or write their own -- to make them more individually engaging and exciting for their specific PCs.  And print adventures never spend the column inches required to discuss customizing an adventure for a specific party.  But I think that sort of specific treatment could really help DMs and players in ANY edition find a way to tune their game to their specific needs.</blockquote>

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