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Message: <blockquote data-quote="TikkchikFenTikktikk" data-source="post: 5250346" data-attributes="member: 67494">I am going to start here:Here is the 4th Edition of Dungeons and Dragons in a nutshell: You are playing a character in a story. You can have your character do whatever you want them to do. When you try to do something that might fail, like hit another character, climb a cliff, or bluff the local police, I'll have your roll a twenty-sided die. We can add to or subtract from the roll based on conditions, but then if you equal or exceed the target number I set you succeed.How can you not love a conflict resolution mechanic of such elegance?I've been running 4E games since it came out in 2008. I do not subscribe to DDI, I start my campaigns with my players having access to only the PHB1, and (until I started running D&D Encounters at my FLGS which gives me a ridiculous discount I've taken full advantage of to buy almost every 4E book) only own the PHBI-III, MMI-III, DMGI-II, and AVI-II.The amount of fun you and your player's have has nothing to do with how much money you put in WotC's coffers. The three core books are more than enough for a lifetime of fun.Pencil it all in. IMHO it all makes the game better (except magic missile, not to threadcrap) especially for new players. It does this by clarify how things are supposed to work, which really, really help new players grok the rules.By pencilling it it, you can still read the old text. Some of the errata is impossible to pencil in the white space available, so cut it out of the rules update printout and make a little note at the affected text that says "See Stealth Rules Insert". Then write "stealth" on the back of that insert for the few pages that will have more than one.This has nothing to do with 4E and everything to do with the DM, IMHO.If you want less combat and more role-playing, as the DM you have the power to provide fewer opportunities for combat and more for roleplaying. If your family is jumping into combat, role-play the bad guys more than you thought possible and then kill all of the PCs. Brutally. And make it clear that their deaths could have been avoided if they had parlayed with the big, bad, evil guy.If you find what combat you **do** get into to take to long, remember this: You can modify the monsters as the DM. And the math to make balanced encounters is pretty easy. PCs and monsters should hit 60-70% of the time, so their expected attack role should be 2-4 higher than the defense of the target. (the expected attack role is 10 + the relevent attack modifiers). Expected damage should be enough to take down the target in 4-5 hits.Limit the use of effects by monsters that can stun or reduce the mobility and actions of the PCs. When PCs get to high levels, their use of stun effect can get out of hand so be ready for that eventuality when you reach upper-paragon- and epic-tier play.DMG2 is a great book and I would have purchased it before PHB3, especially if I was planning on running games.Skill challenges alone are reason enough for 4E to exist. They are the greatest innovation to D&D since allowing elves to be clerics.Here's what you have to do to make skill challenges work:1. Start using them, and all the time. You will get better at creating them and you and your players will get better at role-playing them. You learn by doing, there is no other way.2. Use the rules updates. 3 check failures for a challenge failure, varying successes for a challenge success.3. Read skill challenges in recently published WotC material. I've seen them best used in the D&D Encounters season I and II adventures and in HS1 (Encounter 2: Enter the Town, for example).4. Step back from the rules. Consider what would need to be done to achieve success in our world. Don't play the rules, play the story:"There are three obvious paths into town: through the front gate at the northeast edge of town, crossing the river and sneaking through the kobold slum at the southwest edge of town, or through the forest and across bare farmland on the west or east edges of the Kiris Dahn," you say."We go through the front gate," says your son."So, your Paladin tells your mom and Aunt you are going in through the front gate and starts marching off. Mom, Aunt, how do your characters feel about this? What do they do?"..."You reach the river and start descending but find it extremely slippery. Make an acrobatics or athletics check. You succeed! Tell me what happened.""You try to quietly slip through while the guards are talking. Make a stealth check. Oh, no. The goblin guards heard you! One runs off to, presumably, to sound an alarm or get help while the other keeps a close eye on you.Etc.Regardless of the rules, they shouldn't succeed until they've accomplished enough (crossed the river, gone through the ghetto, and entered the city) and should fail as soon as they screw up enough (attack the remaining guard who is just eyeing them suspiciously).The adventure should give you plenty of plot hooks, and your son should be comfortable telling you what his character wants to do next. If neither is true, there is a table of plot-hooks in the DMGI along with lots of advise on creating challenges between your PCs and their goal.Your job as DM is to create opportunities for your players to fail.Good luck, have fun.</blockquote>

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