D&D 4E What are the 4E changes you like?

[Darkthorne]

Just curious to what aspects of 4E people like or changes made that they like. Me I like the folowing:
Streamlined base mechanics: Attack vs ac, stat mod vs defense. (I don't need rules to add "color" to my actions, there's flavor text as a guideline, which I can edit as I see fit).
Less "exceptions" to base mechanics (crit on everything fo example). Beginners can learn system MUCH faster.
Less wasted actions (spells, special abitlities have some effect always)
Turning undead: This is great! Even if you don't "turn" them there is still damage. Hit dice is no longer a determining factor.
Sleep spell affects everyone in one way or another.
Streamlined skills. Always hated trying to sneak up on someone (had to make 2 die rolls, more die rolls just increase the chance of failure not success). Also with so many skills choices, beginners (and others) would have issues with character build = character concept too much gets lost in translation (3.X you had to have the skills)
Level drain: Gone! I hated having playing my character to get to a certain cool level only to go against some undead and lose multiple levels in one battle. Seriously where's the fun in that?
Point Build: Everyone is on the same playing field, no gods, no decrepid and infirm.
Fixed HP: Yippee! <happy dance, happy dance> I've rolled more 1's & 2's for high hd classes than I can to imagine. I've never seen a hero with so few HP that a fall off of a horse could kill them
1 for 1 Movement: This is minor, but never cared for the 1-2-1-2. When outdoors use the hex map everything is 1-1 but once on square the 1-2-1-2 kicks in which should be more like 1-1-2 to be distance accurate. Then add in when you do a free 5ft step only do you only go halfway the second time?
This is primarily for posting what people like about 4E even if it is only one thing. Not really interested in hearing if you believe it's broken or it's the worse thing ever just want to know what do you like about it.
Thanks

 

[Ajax23]

Based on the little we have seen so far, I like the following:

Revamping of Spellcaster Roles: I admit I was very skeptical of the result when vancian magic was declared dead (or mostly dead), but one of the biggest changes I like is the impact it has on how clerics and mages are played. Clerics are now more than just a walking first aid kit, which is a huge plus. Mages can no use some form of magic attack during combat at will, without having to make the decision of "do I waste a magic missile here or use my crossbow?" These changes, IMHO, make these two classes more interesting to play.

Healing Surges: A subset of the first, I really like how the mechanic works, and I think it will help to make for longer-lasting dungeon delves.

Minions: I absolutely love the fact that the game now treats cannon-fodder as such: minor adversaries that are relatively easy to kill yet cannot be wholly ignored. The entire concept makes mass combats fun and easy to keep track of.

Simplified Combat: Like most others, I am impressed with how combat plays in this version. While not perfect, it seems to run more smoothly and easily than in 2e or 3e.

These are the big items I like so far, subject of course to revisiting once we see the full rule set.

 

[CleverNickName]

So far, the stuff I like best:

1. Static hit points
2. The new turning undead rules
3. The new fighter abilities

 

[zoroaster100]

I just ran a playtest for two players. One is also often a DM and the other is a player who was initially inclined against 4th edition. We had a great time. The main things that stood out for us from the playtest as improvements were that the characters didn't have to stop to heal after the first fight, that all the characters had useful things to contribute in most situations, and that the fighter in particular was demonstrably better at fullfilling the role of defender of the squishier classes. Also, one player remarked that he liked the different abilities of the various monsters even at low level, which made hobgoblin soldiers different from hobgoblin archers, for instance, and which made hobgoblins tactically different from other monsters other than just using a different weapon or doing different damage.

 

[pukunui]

The stuff I like the best:

1) The underlying design philosophy that everyone should have something interesting to do all the time
2) The idea that DM prep will be faster and will involve less math, thus allowing me to spend the majority of my time using my imagination creatively (currently, I spend most of my 3.5 prep time doing math)
3) The end of the 5 minute adventuring day
4) The elimination of things like Touch and Flat-Footed ACs in favor of static defenses
5) Having Perception and Insight as static DCs (something I've already been doing in my 3.5 game with Spot and Listen for some time)
6) The new cosmology (and associated fluff)
7) The Points of Light concept
8) The elimination of LA in favor of racial feats and the like
9) The toning down of alignment
10) The new Turn Undead rules
11) The new 1-1-1 diagonal movement
12) Separating magic into combat spells and non-combat rituals (and the fact that divine magic is now referred to as prayers instead of spells)
13) The return of evocative landscape fantasy art
14) The reduction of the Vancian casting system (I've turned every casting class except the wizard in my 3.5 campaign into a spontaneous caster)


I could go on but those are the big ones at the moment.
Compare them to my relatively short list of concerns/dislikes:

1) I hate the makeover they gave the green dragon
2) I'm concerned that there will still be a lot to keep track of during combats
3) I'm not sure I like the "smack someone and grant a single ally a defensive bonus" powers
4) I don't like that the druid and bard won't be in the first PHB
5) I'm not pleased that they left stuff like the frost giant and all the metallic dragons out of the first MM but I can live with it
6) I think the new uniform look for the tiefling is stupid (those massive crocodile tails are ridiculous) and doesn't match the flavor text in R&C, which states that their horns and tails are meant to be small. The artist clearly didn't get that memo.

 

[Doug McCrae]

Almost all of it. In particular I like the more balanced classes, nerfing the wizard, optional clerics, four encounters per day no longer mandatory, extended sweet spot, removal of much unfun such as level loss and everything about 4e monsters.

 

[Lanefan]

Assuming the previews and leaks hold any water when it comes to the final result, thus far I like:

- Points of Light setting design
- General look and feel of the art; if Worlds and Monsters, for example, represents the overall look and theme they're going for then they have a winner
- Streamlining of skills
- Elimination of prestige classes

It's a short list - there's lots more that I'm not impressed with - but they've got *some* things right.

Lanefan

 

[Wormwood]

Everything except the reliance on battle-maps.

That said, I ran a 4e scenario last week and everyone loved it. So I'm willing to admit I could be wrong about the whole grid thing.

 

[MaelStorm]

What I like:

1. The new power curve, 30-level sweet spot.
2. The Underdark, the Feywild and the Shadowfell.
3. Faster prep-time for encounters.
4. No more hit dice rolling.
5. The toning down of alignment.
6. At-Will/Encounter/Daily powers. (everybody has something to do)
7. That all classes will be on the same level.
8. Roles for PCs and monsters.
9. The Point of Light concept.
10. The new cosmology.

What I don't like:

1. The emphasis on the grid and minis.
2. Waiting one year for more classes. (No Primal classes the Druid in particular plus just one class that fills the role of the controller).
3. Not enough skills or options to flesh out characters.
4. No animal companion in the PHB.

 

[kennew142]

What I like:

1. The new power curve, 30-level sweet spot.
2. The Underdark, the Feywild and the Shadowfell.
3. Faster prep-time for encounters.
4. No more hit dice rolling.
5. The toning down of alignment.
6. At-Will/Encounter/Daily powers. (everybody has something to do)
7. That all classes will be on the same level.
8. Roles for PCs and monsters.
9. The Point of Light concept.
10. The new cosmology.

What I don't like:

1. The emphasis on the grid and minis.
2. Waiting one year for more classes. (No Primal classes the Druid in particular plus just one class that fills the role of the controller).
3. Not enough skills or options to flesh out characters.
4. No animal companion in the PHB.

I agree with MaelStorm 100% (okay, after previewing my post it is more like 95% ). Here are a few minor points where I differ, or agree with minor variations.

I doubt that I will play epic levels. The playtest info we've seen on that seemed too weird for my tastes, but I haven't liked epic gaming in any other iteration of D&D either. I begin to bored above 10th level in 3e.

I like grids and minis, although I am comfortable running the game without them.

I will agree that I don't like waiting for classes that I want, but I see no alternative. I want 4e now, not next year - not even in June. This desire was driven home to my gaming group by the 4e test drive we did with M.Shea's scenario.

I think that there are plenty of skills and options to fully flesh out characters. Most of the skills that were cut from the game, are skills my group treats as character background anyway. We've always found the craft/profession skills to be unnecessary for (and even distracting from) real character background development. What I mean is that characters in my games have considerable downtime and engage in a life outside of adventuring, and have never felt the need for die rolling to model it.

I too will miss animal companions in the PHB, but I am willing to wait for them. I've always felt that the animal companion rules were wonky and in need of a major overhaul. The same goes for familiars.

Let me add a few more things that I like:

I really love the wizard/warlock/cleric implements. I especially love the fact that they've replaced spell components - most especially material components.

I love how problematic powers/spells, such as flight and greater invisibility have been moved to much higher levels.

The increase in survivability of first level characters was also a major improvement. I had fun playing the 4e playtest characters. And I haven't had fun with 1-3rd level in a very long time.