Grimstaff
Explorer
First I want disclaim that me and my friends are extremely open-minded.
So we decided to give 4E a try, to see if its really the soulless video-game other open-minded internet critics have declared it to be. I went out and bought the core books, H1, H2, some dungeon tiles, and a set of dice (you better hope I like 4E, WotC, or you won't get another dime of my money, nope, that $200.00 is it!). Here are our observations:
1. 4E is totally a video-game! In 4E, "monsters" have a random chance to hit your "character" and do a certain amount of damage. This is obviously completely ripped off from WoW.
2. I can't believe how totally nerfed the 4E wizard is! When we fought the black dragon, the wizard player actually had to roll to hit with his magic missile, and even then it barely scratched the dragon. Sorry, but give me my 3.5 magic missile any day, automatic hit, and kills all dragons in a 50' radius.
3. Where are the bards!? This "no-bards" policy is another WoW rip-off. Imagine my friends' disappointment when they showed up at my house: they had been planning an all-bards campaign, and I had to tell them "sorry guys, can't do an all-bard campaign in 4E". They were so upset, it took a while to calm them down.
4. Their next idea, an "all half-orc sorcerers" party was also a bust. Why did they bother releasing 4E with these severe restrictions on gameplay!?
5. My best-friend's girlfriend did not like the "no role-playing" rules in 4E. As the party was approaching the castle of Winterhaven, some guards wanted to ask them their business. She wanted to use her Profession: Guard skill to negotiate a friendly entrance to the place. I had to explain to her why she can't negotiate, because there is no "Profession:Guard" skill anymore. So she says she'll just use "Craft: Lie" instead. More sadness, way to go 4E!
6. Not happy with the encounters in H1, I decided to pull a fast one on the players and substitute some orcs. Looking through the Monster Manual, I tried and tried to find a description to give the players. "Uh, you see, some guys....they uh..." Finally I gave up. WHy didn't anyone tell me there was no fluff in the Monster Manual. Dear gods, how can I describe these bizarre creatures to my players!?
7. The over-all quality of the paper of the books itself was disappointing. With 3.5, I can submerge my books in salt-water, acid, and urine for weeks at a time with no difficulty. These 4E books, one little grease-fire and I had to go replace my DMG.
Overall, I'd say that despite some very open-minded mockery and pre-conceived notions we were completely unwilling to ignore in favor of actual play experience, 4E has ruined not only D&D, but the hobby of role-playing in general. We're all switiching to Fantasy Football now.
Please post any complaints you have, maybe WotC will read this and change their minds about the whole 4E thing, and just concentrate on Pathfinder!
P.S. This is *not* edition wars described as humor. I just don't want people to switch to 4E because I feel very alone.
So we decided to give 4E a try, to see if its really the soulless video-game other open-minded internet critics have declared it to be. I went out and bought the core books, H1, H2, some dungeon tiles, and a set of dice (you better hope I like 4E, WotC, or you won't get another dime of my money, nope, that $200.00 is it!). Here are our observations:
1. 4E is totally a video-game! In 4E, "monsters" have a random chance to hit your "character" and do a certain amount of damage. This is obviously completely ripped off from WoW.
2. I can't believe how totally nerfed the 4E wizard is! When we fought the black dragon, the wizard player actually had to roll to hit with his magic missile, and even then it barely scratched the dragon. Sorry, but give me my 3.5 magic missile any day, automatic hit, and kills all dragons in a 50' radius.
3. Where are the bards!? This "no-bards" policy is another WoW rip-off. Imagine my friends' disappointment when they showed up at my house: they had been planning an all-bards campaign, and I had to tell them "sorry guys, can't do an all-bard campaign in 4E". They were so upset, it took a while to calm them down.
4. Their next idea, an "all half-orc sorcerers" party was also a bust. Why did they bother releasing 4E with these severe restrictions on gameplay!?
5. My best-friend's girlfriend did not like the "no role-playing" rules in 4E. As the party was approaching the castle of Winterhaven, some guards wanted to ask them their business. She wanted to use her Profession: Guard skill to negotiate a friendly entrance to the place. I had to explain to her why she can't negotiate, because there is no "Profession:Guard" skill anymore. So she says she'll just use "Craft: Lie" instead. More sadness, way to go 4E!
6. Not happy with the encounters in H1, I decided to pull a fast one on the players and substitute some orcs. Looking through the Monster Manual, I tried and tried to find a description to give the players. "Uh, you see, some guys....they uh..." Finally I gave up. WHy didn't anyone tell me there was no fluff in the Monster Manual. Dear gods, how can I describe these bizarre creatures to my players!?
7. The over-all quality of the paper of the books itself was disappointing. With 3.5, I can submerge my books in salt-water, acid, and urine for weeks at a time with no difficulty. These 4E books, one little grease-fire and I had to go replace my DMG.
Overall, I'd say that despite some very open-minded mockery and pre-conceived notions we were completely unwilling to ignore in favor of actual play experience, 4E has ruined not only D&D, but the hobby of role-playing in general. We're all switiching to Fantasy Football now.
Please post any complaints you have, maybe WotC will read this and change their minds about the whole 4E thing, and just concentrate on Pathfinder!
P.S. This is *not* edition wars described as humor. I just don't want people to switch to 4E because I feel very alone.
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