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View Full Version : What you are looking forward to about 4th edition



Sequinox
2008-05-05, 08:29 PM
Well? What are you looking forward to?

Please don't do this:


Originally posted by A made up person

OMG wth would you wanna play 4th ed it sucks I dont get to play my bard or my druid so leave me alone cuz 4th ed will suck!



Let's keep things positive. With fourth edition, it may just be a first.

Starsinger
2008-05-05, 09:07 PM
Well? What are you looking forward to?

I'm waiting for the bloated, ugly bird that is 3.5 to fall to the ground and combust into flames, and the glorious phoenix that I hope 4e will be to rise from the ashes and herald an age where my gaming group wants to play D&D again.

EvilElitest
2008-05-05, 09:17 PM
I'm waiting for the bloated, ugly bird that is 3.5 to fall to the ground and combust into flames, and the glorious phoenix that I hope 4e will be to rise from the ashes and herald an age where my gaming group wants to play D&D again.

Didn't they just freaking say to keep things positive

Anyways, as this is 4E positive only i'm looking forward to the new monsters actually and the new way some of the classes are done
from
EE

Eldariel
2008-05-05, 09:25 PM
I'm looking forward to Elven Fighter/Wizard. That's always been my first character and I don't see a reason to stray from the tradition. Other than that, I'm hoping for a sensical combat, something remotedly resembling class balance and non-Vancian magic. Oh, and the new monster creation method; I absolutely loathe CR since it's so restrictive, unrealistic ("Wow, I'm in a world where every encounter just happens to be just the right level for me to beat! Wow, Goblins just grew mostly extinct or with the few I'm meeting being tougher-than-Giant!"), so I'll take anything - right now I've resorted to ignoring CR and rolling encounters which can lead to some very ugly sitiuations.

EDIT: Sorry for the CR-rant, I got carried away. It really bugs me though.

Devin
2008-05-05, 10:00 PM
I don't really intend to play it, but I like that warlocks, tieflings and warforged are core.

EvilElitest
2008-05-05, 10:02 PM
I'm looking forward to Elven Fighter/Wizard. That's always been my first character and I don't see a reason to stray from the tradition. Other than that, I'm hoping for a sensical combat, something remotedly resembling class balance and non-Vancian magic. Oh, and the new monster creation method; I absolutely loathe CR since it's so restrictive, unrealistic ("Wow, I'm in a world where every encounter just happens to be just the right level for me to beat! Wow, Goblins just grew mostly extinct or with the few I'm meeting being tougher-than-Giant!"), so I'll take anything - right now I've resorted to ignoring CR and rolling encounters which can lead to some very ugly encounters.

EDIT: Sorry for the CR-rant, I got carried away. It really bugs me though.

Well nobody loves CR anyways
from
EE

Hzurr
2008-05-05, 10:04 PM
I really like some of the fluff changes. The way the planes are done, as well as changing up angels, demons, and devils I really liked.

I'm also looking for a bit of a reset. Playing a d&d game where we only use the 3 core books will be a refreshing change. Our old games were getting a bit bloated and crazy, so this is a nice re-start for us

The Necroswanso
2008-05-05, 10:04 PM
I don't really feel like learning an entire new system. What with having 15, 3.5 books and all ;).

But, hopefully 4e will have easier to reference rules.

Cuddly
2008-05-05, 10:08 PM
I'm looking forward to the bitching.


....what?

EvilElitest
2008-05-05, 10:10 PM
I'm looking forward to the bitching.


....what?

can't argue with that
from
EE

Rutee
2008-05-05, 10:11 PM
I'm waiting for the bloated, ugly bird that is 3.5 to fall to the ground and combust into flames, and the glorious phoenix that I hope 4e will be to rise from the ashes and herald an age where my gaming group wants to play D&D again.

Too bad the phoenix will itself glut given time, eh? But yeah, pretty much. I'll miss the magical melee of Swordsages, but apparently the Swordmage that's reputed to be in the FR book will be similar and actually give me a reason to buy an FR book.

EvilElitest
2008-05-05, 10:18 PM
Too bad the phoenix will itself glut given time, eh? But yeah, pretty much. I'll miss the magical melee of Swordsages, but apparently the Swordmage that's reputed to be in the FR book will be similar and actually give me a reason to buy an FR book.

well the setting is totally different now
from
EE

John Campbell
2008-05-05, 10:29 PM
I'm looking forward to 3.x no longer being the current, supported edition, in hopes that it'll make people at the FLGS more open to trying good gaming systems. Or, failing that, AD&D.

Vortling
2008-05-05, 10:29 PM
I'm looking forward to the bitching.


....what?

No show quite like a derailed thread, eh? I hear that.

I'm looking forward to seeing the full skill challenge rules and the full power lists. Actually the full rules in general.

de-trick
2008-05-05, 10:31 PM
im happy for not having a million sorse books that make the PbP games harder, ill be happy not to here this "if i take this feat from Complete ***** then take this prestige from races of ***** combine it with the template from MM ** I can have this overpowered character"

Mewtarthio
2008-05-05, 10:36 PM
I'll be happy that I can finally convert World of Warcraft into miniatures, except with more anime! :smallbiggrin:

tyckspoon
2008-05-05, 10:39 PM
I'm looking forward to angels that burst into invulnerable pillars of freezing flame, demons that use their minions as bob-ombs, and landsharks that fight like, well, earth-swimming sharks. Say what you will about the rest of the creature design philosophy (only don't, because that'd turn this thread into another repeat argument) but it looks like they're going to deliver on the idea of enabling interesting, memorable, and outright awesome fights.

purepolarpanzer
2008-05-05, 10:53 PM
Balance. Interesting monsters. New classes. But most of all new rules. A lot of the current stuff (full attacks, spells-per-day, etc.) really grinds my gears, and the new stuff looks like a breath of fresh air.

Tequila Sunrise
2008-05-05, 11:11 PM
Simplicity.

...I hope.

TS

Pronounceable
2008-05-05, 11:11 PM
I'm looking forward to the culling of the Forgotten Realms. I'm hopeful that with these last changes, it'll finally shrivel and die.

Starsinger
2008-05-05, 11:18 PM
im happy for not having a million sorse books that make the PbP games harder,

This right is what makes 3.5 bloated and ugly.


Didn't they just freaking say to keep things positive

The Phoenix is a myth of hope and redemption. Therefore, positive.
Too bad the phoenix will itself glut given time, eh?

Well that's how it goes, isn't it? The phoenix gets hideous, then dies, and is pretty again.

Alleine
2008-05-06, 12:18 AM
While I won't buy it when it comes out, I'll at least head to the gaming store to flip through and compare it to 3.5

I am excited that I got into DnD just a wee bit before the edition change, so it'll cost little for a switch over. I really want to see how they changed rules, what they've made clearer(ex: grappling), and now the clutter of source books is gone! Hooray! Now my powergaming tendencies will be quelled, or at least centered on the core books.

Very excited to see how things will turn out, maybe it'll give me insight into ToB and Incarnum which have me downright confused, yet intrigued. I hear 4ED is supposed to be the full idea of what was behind ToB and other all-day-long abilities.

Shademan
2008-05-06, 12:59 AM
all the new weapons and armours!
YAAY!
wait...chainmail bikinis??? NOOOOOO! WHYYYYY!?!?!?

Starsinger
2008-05-06, 01:20 AM
wait...chainmail bikinis??? NOOOOOO! WHYYYYY!?!?!?

I find your statement and your signature incompatible.

Xefas
2008-05-06, 01:44 AM
Perhaps more than anything, I'm looking forward to the Monsters. I really love the separation of minion, normal, elite, and solo enemies.

I don't know if it was the case for everyone, but in 3.5, if I wanted to throw a mob of weak enemies at the PCs, then they were completely ineffective at damaging them at all and could be mostly ignored.

Similarly, if I wanted to use one big monster against them, either 1) the PCs would slaughter it simply by having 4 times as many actions, or 2) the PCs wouldn't be able to come remotely close to threatening it and it would slaughter them.

It seems like 4th is fixing that, which is very liberating. I think that this one change will make designing adventures, on the whole, vastly easier.

KIDS
2008-05-06, 04:01 AM
That's a long list, but in particular:

a) more viable and different character options in less space and bookkeeping
b) nerfing the dependence on magic items
c) a lot of fluff changes seem more accepting of a variety of ideas that would have been plain impossible/grossly out of place in 3.5/before

Hawriel
2008-05-06, 04:02 AM
Im looking forward to all the 3.5 books ending up in the bargen bin.

Dhavaer
2008-05-06, 04:09 AM
I'm hoping for attractive art in the core books.

DrowVampyre
2008-05-06, 04:52 AM
Class balance, elves that are mechanically good at magic (ok, ok, eladrin...they're elves as far as I'm concerned!), the death (hopefully) of Vancian magic (gods how I loathe it!), the new encounter design philosophy, which sounds more exciting by far than 3.x, less emphasis on alignment (from what I understand anyway), less of a "character is its items" mentality, first level not being a meat grinder...um...that's all that comes to mind just now. >_> <_<

Morty
2008-05-06, 05:05 AM
The few things I still have hope for are better class balance, better CR system and more dynamic combats. Everything else I might've hoped for is dead, so otherwise I only hope they FR won't be utterly corrupted beyond recognition. Oh, and that those idiotic Dragonborn will be easy to ignore. And generally, I hope that WoTC won't wire their horrible fluff into core books too hard, so that I might ignore this rubbish and only take the mechanics.

Kizara
2008-05-06, 05:22 AM
The few things I still have hope for are better class balance, better CR system and more dynamic combats. Everything else I might've hoped for is dead, so otherwise I only hope they FR won't be utterly corrupted beyond recognition. Oh, and that those idiotic Dragonborn will be easy to ignore. And generally, I hope that WoTC won't wire their horrible fluff into core books too hard, so that I might ignore this rubbish and only take the mechanics.

I'll second this.

I for one like Vanican magic.

Duke of URL
2008-05-06, 06:29 AM
What am I looking forward to? Bolstering my 3.5 collection with cheap books from eBay.

:smallbiggrin:

Scintillatus
2008-05-06, 06:58 AM
Making my Tiefling Hair-Metal band, SUPREME BADASS OVERDRIVE, with Ultra Superdude Pwnington the Third on lead guitar.

Well-organised books
Excellent art (except those crazy crab-people)
Cool stuff being in Core (Tieflings, Tome of Battle schtuff, Warforged, Warlocks)
Rules what ain't ridiculous
The ability to punt people off a cliff.

SamTheCleric
2008-05-06, 07:40 AM
I'm actually looking forward to DMing. I haven't done that in quite a while and I volunteered to be the 4e DM to start out.

I'm also looking forward to Living Forgotten Realms, as Living Greyhawk just rubbed me wrong the last few months.

serok42
2008-05-06, 07:45 AM
Im looking forward to all the 3.5 books ending up in the bargen bin.

Agreed!

As far as 4e goes, I am looking forward to a world where spell casters never run out of spells :smallbiggrin:

Jarlax
2008-05-06, 08:08 AM
i am looking forward to surprising my players again (without having to slap 3 templates a a few class levels on a creature). and i am sure they are looking forward to being surprised.

i am also looking forward to more sensible publishing schedule. they are on the right track for the time being, post release we have the following:

- a book dedicated to all melee classes (with a caster book on its way too)
- 4e magic item compendium
- book of dragons I: chromatic
- premade adventures.

we got the magic item compendium for 3.5 too late in the game, this was something, just like monster manuals, that you could release annually or bi-annually instead of sprinkling magic items across every sourcebook under the sun.

i liked the fiendish codex set. a book that was half campaign setting, half monster manual. if the book of dragons follow suit then i will be appeased.

and i ran expedition to undermountain, it was a different experience to running my own game but it was a lot less effort on my part to give my players an enjoyable adventure. so premade adventures are something i will buy, and interchange between my stuff, premade, my stuff, premade.

SamTheCleric
2008-05-06, 08:15 AM
and i ran expedition to undermountain, it was a different experience to running my own game but it was a lot less effort on my part to give my players an enjoyable adventure. so premade adventures are something i will buy, and interchange between my stuff, premade, my stuff, premade.

Yeah, I'm running the pre-made hardcovers... H1 and H2 are already preordered.

bosssmiley
2008-05-06, 09:07 AM
Im looking forward to all the 3.5 books ending up in the bargen bin.

+1. Most of them aren't worth the cover price. The 50% off that the bargain bins offer is more reasonable once you factor in the waste of pages represented by the reprinted PrCs, ill-considered feats, cheesy spells and lazy fluff.

I paid £10 a throw for 1st Ed hardbacks. The same price for 3.5 books 20 years on will do me just fine. :smallbiggrin:

As for 4th Ed. I'll wait until the feeding frenzy of the release period dies down, take a few straw polls of people whose gaming opinions I value, then decide whether to make the jump. Likelihood at this time is still 20% Yes / 80% No.

As for actually answering the original question: I'll pre-echo Trog below. Custom creature creation that doesn't take the better part of an hour. Gimme gimme gimme!

Trog
2008-05-06, 10:20 AM
• Needing only 3 rulebooks.
• New options for PCs as well as monsters
• Better, simpler rules
• Not having to take a week off of work to be able to make up custom monsters [/exaggeration]
• Kewl new artwork
• DMing my group in a custom made campaign
• Playing
• The geekgasm I'm gonna have when I get the books. *readies Coffin Nail™ cigarette for afterwards*

Swooper
2008-05-06, 11:37 AM
Price drops on 3.5 books. :smallamused:

...what?

Human Paragon 3
2008-05-06, 12:01 PM
A simple system that gives players a selection of tools and let's them choose how to apply them, instead of the opposite (Telling you what your class is supposed to do then letting you try and figure out how to do that with the class as written...).

ImperiousLeader
2008-05-06, 12:48 PM
1. I tried DMing 3.5. Didn't like it. 4e makes me want to try again. I've got ... ideas. :nale:

2. Everything feels fresher, more fun. Every class, every race sounds intriguing and like something I'd want to play. I never gave core 3.5 non-spellcasting classes much of a glance. Now I want to play fighters and paladins and rangers and other classes.

3. The books. They just look clean and gorgeous. Even if I don't find a group to play with, I'd be glad to own the books just to look at them.

4. Streamlined rules. Fewer spreadsheets and accounting.

Lord Tataraus
2008-05-06, 12:58 PM
What am I looking forward to? Cheaper 3.5 books and the 4e SRD to steal borrow ideas from.

Rutee
2008-05-06, 01:04 PM
I like the passive aggressiveness of statements like "Cheaper 3.5 books". Grats on skirting past.


Well that's how it goes, isn't it? The phoenix gets hideous, then dies, and is pretty again.
Pretty much. WotC loves their splatbook monstrosities.

Ecalsneerg
2008-05-06, 01:50 PM
I look forward to (hopefully) better class balance.

Then taking these classes into the good ol' Planescape cosmology and hurling abuse at any who say otherwise :smallbiggrin:

kc0bbq
2008-05-06, 02:30 PM
I am excited that I got into DnD just a wee bit before the edition change, so it'll cost little for a switch over.Hmm, sure, rub it in. I have all of the 1st ed hardcovers in various states of decay. My FF is in good shape, though. Though I did pick up the Greyhawk hardcover in the pre-2nd ed firesale for $9 or whatever it was, hadn't seen it in person ever before. 15 or so hardcovers paid for in 80s money, when it was worth it's weight in electrum.

I'm excited to finally get an attempt at making first level characters playable. Of course, some people didn't find them fragile enough so we got level 0 rules. Seriously, not having to play a stack of tissue paper frail characters to get the power doubling jump from level 1 (unplayable) to level 2 (playable).

I like a lot of the system so far. I actually like what's been described of the multiclass system, I really like that the monsters are built to fill various roles as written, I like the bloodied gimmick and it's effects.

I really haven't been this excited about new rules since the Master Set black box.

Glawackus
2008-05-06, 03:20 PM
-Campaign settings getting culled down to 3 books per.
-No more Vancian casting.

Rutee
2008-05-06, 03:45 PM
-Campaign settings getting culled down to 3 books per.
I keep hearing this; Where was it stated?

Flickerdart
2008-05-06, 03:52 PM
I'm hoping for attractive art in the core books.
Same. Epic artwork is always nice to have, and with 4E's early success hinging on the core material, they better have some eye candy in there.

From the mechanical perspective, I can't wait to see how people will abuse Prestige Classes now that they've been replaced by the Paragon Path.

And also...Neverwinter Nights 3, baby!

AKA_Bait
2008-05-06, 03:57 PM
I'm looking forward to the bitching.


....what?

This, sort of. I'm looking forward to the point where we can actually have a discussion on the boards with most people involved actually having read the system we are discussing.


What am I looking forward to? Bolstering my 3.5 collection with cheap books from eBay.

:smallbiggrin:

Same here. Say, if you see Sneekypat bidding... message me. No need to run up the price afterall...


I like the passive aggressiveness of statements like "Cheaper 3.5 books". Grats on skirting past.


Why is that passive agressive? There are quite a few 3.5 books I don't yet own but would like to, if only for fluff stuff. 4e will cause quite a few of them to drop in price. Might even be enough personal savings to balance out the cost of buying the 3 new core books.

Vortling
2008-05-06, 04:00 PM
I keep hearing this; Where was it stated?

It was stated in this (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/dramp/20080430&authentic=true) article.

Infinity_Biscuit
2008-05-06, 04:00 PM
I'm really looking forward to having a new system to explore. The splatbooks are like new levels in a game, but an entirely new addition is like the next entry in the franchise. And not one of those fake "new" games like the yearly football game, either.

ImperiousLeader
2008-05-06, 04:35 PM
I keep hearing this; Where was it stated?

Bill Slavicsek was quoted saying this at the GAMA Trade Show. The idea is that each campaign setting will only have three books: A DM's Guide (Campaign Setting), a Player's Guide and an Adventure. The idea is that WOTC will no longer be writing "Magic of X", "Faiths of X", "Races of X" for each setting. Here's how Bill elaborated in his Ampersand column (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/dramp/20080430):


I wanted to take a few moments to clarify what I said at GTS last week. In regards to campaign settings, our goal for this edition is to make each setting we release unique and exciting on its own while still making it usable in any D&D campaign. Now, what exactly does that mean?

You wouldn't believe how many times over the years I've heard people say "I play in [insert favorite campaign setting here] so product X is of no use to me," or "I only play Core D&D (whatever that means) so I can't use that [insert campaign setting here] product." I plan to change that under 4th Edition by getting the word out that it's okay to mix and match. Go ahead. Get peanut butter in the chocolate. Some of the best campaigns I ever ran or had the pleasure to play in had a little bit of [insert campaign setting here] mixed with a smattering of [insert other campaign setting here] and combined all that with homebrew ideas to create something totally new and different.

So under 4th Edition, we're making every product look like a core product. The Forgotten Realms Campaign Guide releasing in August, for example, is a separate and unique setting on one hand, while being totally core D&D on the other. That means you can play a strictly Forgotten Realms campaign, or you can borrow the bits you like best to use in whatever D&D campaign you're playing in. This has always been true, but you wouldn't believe how many players were reluctant to cross the streams like that. I say cross away! (At least as far as your personal campaigns are concerned.) Why not use the best ideas, powers, feats, monsters, villains, and plot hooks from any product -- regardless of the campaign world your game is set in?

This means we won't be producing campaign lines, per se. For the Forgotten Realms, for example, you'll get the Campaign Guide, Player's Guide, and an adventure as physical products, as well as our ongoing line of bestselling novels, and plenty of ongoing support via D&D Insider. If a product idea comes along later that makes sense, we'll do it, but there won't be an ongoing regular release schedule of Forgotten Realms game products. Why not? Because every D&D product we do is a Forgotten Realms [or insert your favorite campaign setting here] game product. This is a subtle but significant change in philosophy geared toward making all players D&D players. It just makes the products and the brand stronger if every player is using the same material.

This is significantly different than what has occurred in the past. We won't be making the mistakes of line proliferation that helped sink TSR, and we won't be actively segmenting our audience. Instead we'll be providing all kinds of options and ideas through the core line of D&D RPG products. It's all D&D, all the time.

The model described above will be used every year, and we'll focus on a different campaign setting. Next year, we'll give this treatment to Eberron. After that? Well, we'll be exploring the best worlds from our vault, as well as creating new worlds as warranted. I can't guarantee which worlds will see this treatment as of yet, but chances are that your favorite campaign setting is on my list for consideration. And for all of them, in addition to the physical products we do, you'll see novels and novel lines (as appropriate), and ongoing support that continues to explore the worlds through D&D Insider. This plan makes D&D stronger, without sacrificing the heart of any campaign setting.

Skjaldbakka
2008-05-06, 04:49 PM
What am I looking forward to about 4e? Pathfinder. :smallwink:

Also possibly Spelljammer, but only for setting material. Just can't stand 4e. Don't take it personally, people that like 4e.

tarbrush
2008-05-06, 04:50 PM
I'm looking forward to dusting off some of the old fighter backgrounds I have lying around, reading the rulebooks, picking the right options and rolling him up.

I'm looking forward to fighting through a dungeon and encountering a wizard.

And I'm looking forward to cleverly avoiding his spells and breaking his head with a large spiky object.

Also I want to take his stuff.

I'm also looking forward to playing a fighter wizard that makes some kind of sense.

Oslecamo
2008-05-06, 06:05 PM
That one year after the books are out, we will again get all those lovely discussions about how combination X is so broken in situation Z while combination Y is 5.8% less effective in said situation, except that this time it will be 4e based.

And soon the uber combinations will be finded, and Wotc will be declared heretic because your basket weaver rogue-cleric-bard-kobold isn't as effective at combat as the dwarf batman fighter.

You doubt of this? Just you wait.

Rutee
2008-05-06, 06:12 PM
This, sort of. I'm looking forward to the point where we can actually have a discussion on the boards with most people involved actually having read the system we are discussing.
....*Scratches cheek*
Oh, I feel stupid. You mean "have all read 4e".



Why is that passive agressive? There are quite a few 3.5 books I don't yet own but would like to, if only for fluff stuff. 4e will cause quite a few of them to drop in price. Might even be enough personal savings to balance out the cost of buying the 3 new core books.

It comes off more like "The best thing about it is that I'm not playing it", I suppose?

SamTheCleric
2008-05-06, 06:12 PM
Well all of you hoping for Cheap 3.5 books... I'll most certainly be selling off my collection to pay for more Dungeon Tiles, Minis and 4e Books... so bid high. :smallbiggrin:

Skjaldbakka
2008-05-06, 06:42 PM
I'm looking forward to not having to shell out any dough for 4e to take a good look at it. The local gaming group got a WotC grant, and is buying them with that (and a full set of 3.5 books, which are locked away in the club library right now).

So I get to hate my 4e and have it to.

ShadowSiege
2008-05-06, 09:09 PM
I'm looking forward to the entire system in general, though for specifics, I'm especially excited about the new class progression, encounter design, and combat mechanics. The greatly reduced number of books per campaign setting will be nice, as I'll be more inclined to purchase them (especially with the pruning of the Forgotten Realms).

Jack Zander
2008-05-06, 09:30 PM
I'm just glad that I'll never have to see Mialee's 8 Cha again.

DementedFellow
2008-05-06, 09:54 PM
I'm looking forward to how 3.5 and older 3.0 books will become cheaper.

...And that's about the only nice thing I can say. :smallbiggrin:

quiet1mi
2008-05-06, 10:32 PM
the lack of a CR system

Talyn
2008-05-06, 10:33 PM
Then why say anything?

Personally, I am excited about the new fluff about races and setting, though I imagine I'll be taking a lot of the old 3E fluff and seeing if I can make it work (I like the Great Wheel cosmology, even though we've almost never ever actually used any of it in my games)...

Evil paladins.

Points of light, and on a related note, the PCs being significant right off the bat.

Smoother level progression.

Warlords.

Monsters not using the same rules as players in generation (though, honestly, that was one of the things I really, really liked about 3E when I made the switch over from AD&D, so who knows, there?).

The first PC in my campaign who makes a tiefling warlock with a wangsty backstory, because I am going to make sure he dies. Horribly. :smallyuk:

Different levels of mundane armor, and mundane equipment still being useful past, oh, level 3.

Last, and certainly not least... learning to play D&D with my friends again! Woohoo!

Roderick_BR
2008-05-07, 08:20 AM
I'll join the chorus of expecting a balanced game by default. If people want to try to break it, fun times, but not start out broken/flawed from the core.
Or, simply put, I want D&D to be fun to everyone again, not a handful of people mastering the same 3 or 4 classes.
And that splat books actually bring new ways of doing things, not *only* better ways of doing things.

Charity
2008-05-07, 08:37 AM
What he say ^

AKA_Bait
2008-05-07, 09:05 AM
....*Scratches cheek*
Oh, I feel stupid. You mean "have all read 4e".

Well, generally. I actually meant that most will have read 4e. I'm not so optimistic that I honestly expect everyone who participates in a dicussion round these (or any parts) to have actually looked at what they are talking about.


It comes off more like "The best thing about it is that I'm not playing it", I suppose?

But it can, and does, mean the other thing in some cases. I'm pretty sure myself and Duke of Url for example will both be buying and at least experimenting with the new system, if only for VP purposes.


I'll join the chorus of expecting a balanced game by default. If people want to try to break it, fun times, but not start out broken/flawed from the core.
Or, simply put, I want D&D to be fun to everyone again, not a handful of people mastering the same 3 or 4 classes.
And that splat books actually bring new ways of doing things, not *only* better ways of doing things.

Yeah, well, I'd have to actually expect that to be looking forward to it. I pretty much have to reserve judgment on that for any system until I see the full mechanics and see them in play. It's not WotC specifically mind you. I don't expect Pathfinder to be like that either, for example. I'd rater keep my expectations mediocre and be pleasantly surprised than get my hopes up and have them dashed. /pessimism

Duke of URL
2008-05-07, 11:06 AM
But it can, and does, mean the other thing in some cases. I'm pretty sure myself and Duke of Url for example will both be buying and at least experimenting with the new system, if only for VP purposes.

Can I expense it? :smallbiggrin:

I'm at the very least going to be pouring over the SRD with a micrometer-sized strainer.

Artanis
2008-05-07, 01:38 PM
I look forward to being able to play a spellcaster. Seriously, I suck so badly at planning ahead that I could probably turn a Fighter into a better batman than I could a Wizard :smallfrown:

I look forward to being able to play an archer. Bow-users have always been my favorites in RPGs, but my first attempt at playing such a character was...traumatic. And when I started to look into trying one again in the last year or so, the general consensus was that archer-types either sucked or were monotonously boring. So being able to use a bow without sucking and without being limited to saying "I shoot the bad guy" every round for twenty levels is something that I really, really hope works out in practice.

I look forward to the removal of PrCs. Some people may not like them doing that, and they're entitled to their opinion. For me though? I never liked the prospect of having to decide between A) sucking, and B) pouring through book after book looking for something that I probably wouldn't even notice anyways.



I'll join the chorus of expecting a balanced game by default. If people want to try to break it, fun times, but not start out broken/flawed from the core.
I'm with this as well. 3e is unbalanced on a fundamental level because all the classes use different mechanics. Of course, some people like an imbalanced game, but a LOT more people - including me - prefer one that's more balanced, and having everybody using different ways of doing different things makes it d*** well near impossible to achieve that balance.

4e, on the other hand, makes the mechanics more uniform. Now don't get me wrong, I am NOT - I repeat, I am NOT - saying that it necessarily will be balanced, because it's inevitable that something will be out of whack even if for no other reason than that the playtesters are merely human. However, it's a hell of a lot easier to get it right when you have everybody using mechanics that at least vaguely resemble each other. And when that imbalance does crop up, it will be a hell of a lot easier for a GM to correct it in 4e than it is in 3e.

The same goes for class roles as well. When you have one guy who's good at combat, one guy who's good at finding traps, and one guy who's good at diplomacy, it's one hell of job for the GM to try to get them all equal time in the spotlight even when there isn't hideous power imbalances. And getting them equal time in the spotlight without saying "Andy, your turn to have fun, Bob and Chuck, your turn to be bored senseless" is much harder still.


Will it work out in practice? I don't know. NOBODY knows, and anybody who says they do know is a liar of the worst sort, period. But it's a hell of a lot more likely to work out in practice when it actually works out in theory, and working out in theory is something that 4e has and that 3e does not.