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Message: <blockquote data-quote="pemerton" data-source="post: 6120493" data-attributes="member: 42582">Alphastream, I've found your posts on this thread interesting and informative, so thank you.But there was one bit that I wanted to respond to.I don't think 4e was fundamentally different from other RPGs we've seen before - it owes quite a bit to a variety of indie RPGs, for instance. And I think that lessons could have been learned, and weren't, from other examples of adventure presentation.One example I've thought about a bit is the sample scenarios in the HeroWars Narrator's Book. Superficially, at least, there's a lot in common here with a 4e adventure - a series of key events/encounters, where the DCs are set in at least a somewhat scaled way, and the resolution is reasonably metagame heavy. But the HeroWars adventures manage to present, at one and the same time, a useful package for a GM - likely story pathways, a range of DCs and opponents suitable for those pathways, etc - without appearing to dictate outcomes or railroad players through them. Whereas the 4e adventures present these linear sequences of encounters with almost no story pathway or logic at all (Demon Queen's Enclave being the closest to an honourable exception, at least of the ones I've seen). And the skill challenges are also presented in a terrible way, with no real advice to the GM on flexible and engaging adjudication (more effort is given to setting out likely creature tactics, even though these are mostly self-evident from the monster stat blocks).Part of the problem is obviously the need for XP to make a D&D game progress, but 4e has its own tools there - especially Quest XP, but also skill challenges - so that you don't need to fill your adventure with encounters that serve no purpose other than XP grinding.Anyway, I hope your prediction that they'll do a better job this time comes true.</blockquote>

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