(no subject)
so, it's pretty clear that i'm a huge nerd so it comes with no surprise that i would have picked the latest "version" (i.e. - money grab) of dungeons and dragons. and while it's taken some unusual for d&d version mind twists, i think i'm comfortable with the new system. i'm not certain it's the best system to date or anything like that and i can't really recommend fourth edition, but it's not that bad.
when you pick up the book for the first time, you realize that it's put together very well. even third edition books has binding problems and weak glue and really tough painful corners. the art is great, the paper quality nice. it's nothing more than these type of products should be produced; learned from countless feedback sessions i suppose. the combat, i can see, will be very fluid and dynamic; every version gets closer to making combat actually fun to both play and dm. you get to use the perfect amount of dice, no 10d6 fireballs to have to roll. but you do get to pick up dice and roll. roll well and roll often.
still, the new system seems like a dumb(-er) version of d&d. and that's fine. no longer should the fun and excitement of role playing be limited to the nerds who can memorize a hit table or calculate thac0. third edition took a lot of the math away from combat; fourth edition streamlined the shit to have to remember about your character. you get power, you can use you power either whenever you want, once per fight or once per day. easy, easy, easy. make sure you fill out your character sheet correctly and then update it properly, then all you need to do it look at it to know what your dude can do. a lot of the stress of dm'ing instantly gone; you can stress story and content over rules now.
the bad parts are mostly nitpicks rather than true complains. you have to roll to hit with magic missile. in fact, the entire wizard class is pretty weird and looks a little chunky to use. sure, you get to actually participate in all combats instead of just that one combat per day, but it feels like you can't be as flexible which was the point of the wizard class in the first place. you're now just an arcane version of a bow ranger *snore*. healing is "better" in the sense that everyone can heal and you don't have to worry about the cleric going down first and being really screwed. but now you don't need a cleric anymore, which is sad i enjoyed playing clerics. spells like lay on hands are almost useless. healing potions are good, but not nearly as useful. and i don't really like how small the skill selection is; rogues are way less useful in non-combat situations as are mages. oh and they made fucking half-elves too goddamn broken. and the fairy-guys-who-are-not-elves and the dragonkin are just stupid.
all in all, a good release and a fairly good system. i've been listening to the podcast from the penny arcade guys and even if you're not into d&d you'll really enjoy listening to them. having a d&d noob, a d&d vet and a d&d player from way back when sit down with chris perkins and play through an adventure is amazing. it really does introduce you into the new system and how to run through a campaign. plus, the penny arcade guys and scott kurtz are awesome. just awesome. linky. i wait with baited breath for each friday for the next part.
when you pick up the book for the first time, you realize that it's put together very well. even third edition books has binding problems and weak glue and really tough painful corners. the art is great, the paper quality nice. it's nothing more than these type of products should be produced; learned from countless feedback sessions i suppose. the combat, i can see, will be very fluid and dynamic; every version gets closer to making combat actually fun to both play and dm. you get to use the perfect amount of dice, no 10d6 fireballs to have to roll. but you do get to pick up dice and roll. roll well and roll often.
still, the new system seems like a dumb(-er) version of d&d. and that's fine. no longer should the fun and excitement of role playing be limited to the nerds who can memorize a hit table or calculate thac0. third edition took a lot of the math away from combat; fourth edition streamlined the shit to have to remember about your character. you get power, you can use you power either whenever you want, once per fight or once per day. easy, easy, easy. make sure you fill out your character sheet correctly and then update it properly, then all you need to do it look at it to know what your dude can do. a lot of the stress of dm'ing instantly gone; you can stress story and content over rules now.
the bad parts are mostly nitpicks rather than true complains. you have to roll to hit with magic missile. in fact, the entire wizard class is pretty weird and looks a little chunky to use. sure, you get to actually participate in all combats instead of just that one combat per day, but it feels like you can't be as flexible which was the point of the wizard class in the first place. you're now just an arcane version of a bow ranger *snore*. healing is "better" in the sense that everyone can heal and you don't have to worry about the cleric going down first and being really screwed. but now you don't need a cleric anymore, which is sad i enjoyed playing clerics. spells like lay on hands are almost useless. healing potions are good, but not nearly as useful. and i don't really like how small the skill selection is; rogues are way less useful in non-combat situations as are mages. oh and they made fucking half-elves too goddamn broken. and the fairy-guys-who-are-not-elves and the dragonkin are just stupid.
all in all, a good release and a fairly good system. i've been listening to the podcast from the penny arcade guys and even if you're not into d&d you'll really enjoy listening to them. having a d&d noob, a d&d vet and a d&d player from way back when sit down with chris perkins and play through an adventure is amazing. it really does introduce you into the new system and how to run through a campaign. plus, the penny arcade guys and scott kurtz are awesome. just awesome. linky. i wait with baited breath for each friday for the next part.