Today is the day. The Fourth Edition of the Dungeons & Dragons rules are officially released to the wild. Rumor has it that Amazon is already low on the new Player's Handbook, Dungeon Master's Guide, and Monster Manual and that the books will be hard to find in the wild (of Border's and local friendly game stores). Too much Hype? Not Enough of a good new game with plenty of demand?
When I first learned of the new edition a year or so ago, I was pretty pumped. The move from AD&D, 2ed to D&D 3ed was masterful, in my mind, slimming down the rules and making them more cohesive; without sacrificing the flavor of what made the game so much fun to play. The early information trickling out from the folks at WOTC made it sound like 4e was taking the 3e kernel and making it better.
As I learned more however, I wasn't as convinced. Less dice rolling and weird inter-party party powers seemed to be cropping up that made life confusing and turn 4e into a minis game more than a role playing game. I haven't pre-ordered the books and don't plan on running out today to get them, but I was able to peruse a copy of the Player's Handbook. It is organized well and the quality seems pretty darn high. But I can not tell if the flavor is there. So I will be getting the books in the next month or so. I guess we'll just have to play the darn thing and find out if it is worth all the hype.
Verdict? TBD
Saturday, June 07, 2008
D&D: 4e
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5 comments:
Wow. Haven't thought about D&D in years. Lots of years (AD&D at best). Frankly, I thought it had been subsumed by computer games like WOW.
It does indeed appear that Amazon has completely screwed the pooch on supplies of 4e. I got an email this morning that my pre-order ship date had been pushed back from yesterday to somewhere between the 17th and the 1st of June.
Well, I got the PHB yesterday, and the rest of the books are on their way.
I started out enthused, then became really skeptical right around when the Paladin article came out. I didn't quite cancel my pre-order, but I was very worried WotC would screw the pooch. Now that I have the books, I'm more excited by the game than I really thought I would be.
I went to my FLGS for the first time today, ran into a few old friends, played a session - and then since there were people who wanted to play but there were no DMs left - unexpectedly ended up running a session. (It was a good deal, too - I got a set of dice and a crapload of sweet minis. And the adventure. And a map.)
In short... I love it. It absolutely felt like D&D to me, both while playing it and running it. Combat was much more dynamic, and it felt like I had a lot of options. The statblocks for creatures were easy for me to use, even coming to them cold.
It's more battlemat-dependent than 3e, but since I've used a battlemat in every game I've run for the past several years (including 3.5, Arcana Evolved, Star Wars Saga Edition, and WFRP), this doesn't bother me.
I have never played WoW or anything, and so can't speak to the MMOness. Flavorwise, it feels like D&D - my cleric was still smiting his foes for his god and healing his allies; the fighters fought; and the wizard plunked bad guys from a distance with spells.
As a DM, it was simple for me to pick up the adventure - relatively cold - but I was glad I'd familiarized myself with the rules beforehand. My players had a great time, too - they were 3e veterans, and loved the way everything worked.
I'd say give it a shot.
Hell, give me a week or two of advance notice, get a group of people together, and I'll head up to run it for you some Saturday or Sunday. :)
I am glad that there are somme positive reviews. WOtC doesn't always deliver on the "trust me, you'll like it" predictions; but sometimes they do. I am glad to hear that this time, they delivered, despite some grumblings.
WoTC sucks and will until they re-release Robo Rally (cause someone stole my bots and playing with elven mini isn't nearly as cool)
4th edition? I suppose that means my copy of Deitites and Demagods is out of date? Damn...
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