Well, I Went Ahead and Did It

[InzeladunMaster]

I am greatly disappointed with 4th edition. When 3rd edition came out I had hundreds of character ideas with that system. With 4th edition, I have none. I don't know how I would convert any of my 3rd edition characters and I am not interested in playing 4th edition at all.

Wow. Knowing just how many ideas you used to get from 3E, this does not bode well for 4e. It it sounding less and less likely to be a game system I will like or play.

 

[InzeladunMaster]

One of the things I really liked about 3E is how malleable the monsters were - they could take classes, change feats, etc. to become really unique.

Does 4E retain this?

 

[thormagni]

One of the things I really liked about 3E is how malleable the monsters were - they could take classes, change feats, etc. to become really unique.

Does 4E retain this?

Well, 4th edition takes the philosophy that if the players aren't going to see it, why bother to write it down? Do you really need to figure out the exact benefits of a certain level fighter applied to a monster, or will just tossing in the appropriate feats and powers do what you need. Who needs to know how many skill points were spent on skills that the players will never see before they kill the beast? That's the gist.

Also, monsters have roles too. Take a party of a given level. The party should be able to handle a single Solo-role monster of their level, while a bunch of Minion-role monsters of the appropriate level. I don't remember all the monster roles but there are a small handful.

 

[thormagni]

For example, instead of applying all the classes and such to make a human opponent, Human is actually a monster again. A bunch of normal humans are a Level 2 Minion monster encounter. A human mage would be a Level 4 Artillery encounter.

 

[Fyrestryke]

Yes, it's pretty ingrained in the MM. You have monsters that are tougher because they're fighters, etc.

 

[InzeladunMaster]

Well, 4th edition takes the philosophy that if the players aren't going to see it, why bother to write it down? Do you really need to figure out the exact benefits of a certain level fighter applied to a monster, or will just tossing in the appropriate feats and powers do what you need. Who needs to know how many skill points were spent on skills that the players will never see before they kill the beast? That's the gist.

I can agree with that philosophy from a practical point of view, but I have to admit sometimes I enjoyed really working out a monster to that degree of detail (but for most monsters it wasn't at all necessary). Hmmm. This might be an actual improvement in the system!

 

[BobProbst]

Reviews I've run across say that combat is quite a bit more streamlined and faster too.

 

[InzeladunMaster]

Reviews I've run across say that combat is quite a bit more streamlined and faster too.

Reviews like that are actually what convinced me to buy it. I am interested in checking that out.

 

[Fyrestryke]

Well, once you get your books and get them digested a bit, perhaps we should all sit down, make up some characters, and have a "see what it's like" session... =) You've got the books, Thormagni has two of the books (no MM) and I have all three. That should be enough to get us started.

 

[Odovacar's Ghost]

I'd be interested to give it a shot. First need to buy a copy of it first.