D&D 4E What Rules Do You Want to See in 4E?

[Gooba42]

I like this Idea, I also don't like the idea there are 10001 prestigue classes available that most players feel they have the right to take levels in them just because they meet the prereqs.

This is as much or more the fault of the DMs as it is the publishers. Prestige classes as written are primarily flavor elements. If they increase or decrease a character's power level, that's incidental. Besides, taking the advice of the DMG we'd all be writing our own PrCs for our games anyway, cherrypicking ideas we liked and rejecting the ones we don't.

There are far too many DMs who are too lazy to create good content but too picky to allow somebody else's into their game. They're the ones who demand WotC do all the work for them and then complain how it was done.

 

[hong]

I'd like to see the system place more of an emphasis on defense, so as to encourage a more graduated feel to combat. At the moment, there's no reason for characters not to open a fight with their biggest attack/spell/whatever. If it works, then great, you've stopped the enemy from hitting back. If it doesn't work, then you're no worse off than if you used it on the second round.

Contrast this to what you generally see in the movies, where fights start off low-key, and build up in intensity as you approach the climax. Instead in D&D, what you get is 1st round: meteor swarm; 2nd round: delayed blast fireball; 3rd round: fireball; 4th round: magic missile (or whatever constitutes scraping the bottom of the barrel in high-level play).

 

[KarinsDad]

I'd like to see the system place more of an emphasis on defense, so as to encourage a more graduated feel to combat. At the moment, there's no reason for characters not to open a fight with their biggest attack/spell/whatever. If it works, then great, you've stopped the enemy from hitting back. If it doesn't work, then you're no worse off than if you used it on the second round.

I'd also like to see damage affecting combat ability.

A 200 hit point high level Fighter seriously damaged with 1 hit point left fights just as well as when he had 200 hit points.

I like the concept of being at -1 at 25% damaged, -2 at 50% damaged, -3 at 75% damaged, and -4 at 0 or below (or some such). This would require writing down four hit point numbers instead of one (e.g. 200/150/100/50) though. Even a simplified system of -2 at 50% damaged and -4 at zero is better than super Fighter at 1 hit point.

 

[hong]

I don't know about damage spirals, but some sort of "Dodge pool" like in Iron Heroes might work. Only instead of filling up each time people miss you, it starts full and empties over time.

Other possible ways of achieving the increasing-intensity curve:

- strong 1/encounter defenses (eg +20 to AC, ignore nat 20s, once per fight)

- strong attacks that leave you weakened (eg cast 3 spells simultaneously, afterwards you're dazed 1 round and staggered for the rest of the encounter)

- attack pools that need to be built up (after 3 rounds attacking the same target, you get +5 to hit/+10 damage on the next attack)

 

[green slime]

A few intriguing ideas being bandied about here... Interesting. Don't think many of them are likely to appear in any 4E, though.

 

[brehobit]

Another thing is the concept of one round and one minute per level spells.

At low level, they are basically worthless (e.g. Summon Monster I).

Even one minute per level spells rarely make it from one combat to the next until at least 10th level or so.

Have decent durations for most spells.

I really hate first level spells that are 1 round/level. One thing I miss is the old 2 rounds +1/level or the like. I understand why they went away, but it makes 1st level casters a bit more useless than they need to be.

Maybe have durations be 3+1/level where the units are rounds, minutes, 10's of minutes or hours.

Mark

 

[Destil]

I really hate first level spells that are 1 round/level. One thing I miss is the old 2 rounds +1/level or the like. I understand why they went away, but it makes 1st level casters a bit more useless than they need to be.

Maybe have durations be 3+1/level where the units are rounds, minutes, 10's of minutes or hours.

Mark

I've house ruled a lot of spells to 10 + 1 round / level, myself. Works out fairly well.

 

[Mistwell]

I suspect/hope 4e will allow players to specialize their arcane spell casters better than the current system.

For example, if you make an illusionist, rather than just getting extra spells, I'd prefer it to be an ability based on the image spells (silent/minor/major/programmed series of spells) in this edition. Such as 1 x day x level you can create an illusion. The complexity and abilities of that illusion are level dependent, as are the area you can effect, range, and number of creatures or unattended objects you can create at one time. So eventually you could give your illusion(s) movement, sound, thermal effects, scent, programming, and the number of images you could create would increase with level, and their distance from you, and their size, and the realism of their movements, their reactions to attacks, etc...

You now get abilities at higher levels other than spells, making the class more interesting. And your illusionists actually use their illusions more often probably, and seem more like illusionists rather than generic spell casters who sometimes cast illusion spells.

The other specialties would get similar treatment.

 

[Wanderer20]

Rules that you think should be looked at by WotC?

No rules. No 4E. Period.

 

[Campbell]

Death Spirals actually reinforce opening combat with your tactical nukes, rather than building up to your stronger attacks.