My biggest complaint about a lot of the utility spells were the amount of suspending disbelief that was required in order to buy the fact that with a handwave a portal could be opened, or someone raised from the dead. My gut reaction when I saw that most of these focused magical events had been moved into the rituals category was “people aren’t going to like this” followed by “but as a DM I really do.”

The Rationale Behind My Opinion

One of the biggest pain points as my 3.5 campaign moved up into the epic levels was the relative ease that the player characters were able to exercise complicated, game changing magic. This made for several “Dante aneurysm” moments toward the end of the campaign, one of which left both me and Kanati, my co-DM, scrambling.

The players resurrected the dead gold dragon that we had placed in their path as they fled an oncoming army.

This completely derailed the rest of the plans for the session, and we had simply placed this dead dragon as a “holy crap, strong things are afoot” piece of set dressing. In 3.5, the players were high enough level to have the material components on-hand so I let them exercise their powers and do what they wanted to do. I could’ve said “hey, the dragon’s soul doesn’t want to return” but that is very clearly DM code for “NO” and I had no good justification for why the dragon wouldn’t want to come back and have at those that killed him.

In 4e, the preparation and casting time would’ve simply excluded this as an option. The oncoming army simply would’ve overtaken them.

This is the root of what I like about the new ritual system. The things that should take awhile (making a portal, raising the dead, and so on) takes enough time to give the DM some modicum of control over the situation. This allows the integrity of the written storyline to be retained within the game mechanics if needed, or at very least it provides a bit of time for the DM to get his head around the changed situation while the characters perform the ritual.

Does this mean that I think the players should be limited when they use the rituals? By no means. Do I think that people should roundly convert the rituals back to their 3.5 edition counterparts and treat them as per day abilities? Absolutely not. I can clearly see the value added by the distinction between spells and rituals, and I also see opportunity for growth.

I will be very interested to see what additional rituals get added and how their execution time gets tweaked in accordance with how much they disrupt gameplay or how much relative peril should be undertaken when casting. Aside from the battle simplification, I think that this aspect alone is among the best in the new edition.

That being said, it did seem somewhat more straightforward to roll up one’s character in 4e than in previous versions. I decided to try out the Wizard class, the lone “Controller” role in the book, to see how it stacked up against the 3.5e wizards I was used to seeing. Here’s a few thoughts on the experience:

• After some mild arm-twisting, Dante talked us all into trying out the various methods of rolling up stats. Sirgeekelot did the point-buy system, I did the standard array method, and Stupid Ranger did the traditional rolling method. I’ve always hated methods other than rolling, I think it lends to mediocre stats and I usually use a crappy stat as a personality quirk for my character. Even so, I did wind up with a Wizard with a 16 INT and no stats so low that he would not to be able to open a door or wet himself in public or something. I think the standard array would be a good way to roll stats up if you wanted everybody to be exactly equal stats-wise or you were in a huge hurry. But I think I’ll be rolling next time.
• The designers of 4e have been dutifully streamlining everything to make play go faster, more balanced and more smooth. This means they’ve combined and abstracted some features out from 3.5e – like Spot and Listen checks, which are now Perception. The list of skills is about one third of its former length, and choosing and training in these skills no longer requires a degree in calculus and a magical sherpa guide of leprechaun descent to guide you through the process — changes which I welcome.

  Saving throws now use 2 ability scores, the higher of which determines one’s bonus. This means that for the first time in recorded history, you can roll up a wizard with a good Reflex save. (Incidentally, our good buddy Sirgeekelot has designed a new t-shirt based on this discovery, which is now on sale in our shop.) I’m not entirely sure why INT would make one’s Reflex save higher, as I’ve seen some very smart people walk into some very hard punches in my day, but I’m going to chalk this one up to “it makes the game more balanced”.

• It seems like everybody has spells now. It’s just that melee types tend to cast their spells with swords and maces and call them “exploits”. Every class features a lot of picking of specifically named powers, which was always the part that took me forever when playing a spellcaster in 3.5e. Despite this, it did not take long for me to pick powers (probably because there weren’t many to choose from at 1st level). This was nice too.
• I initially looked at the wizard and cleric powers and got upset because all I saw was combat spells. How the hell was I supposed to magically lock a door or grease up a staircase/elk/orc princess? I’m a roleplayer, dammit!

  It took me several minutes of kvetching and about 8hp damage from Dante’s Clue Bat before I realized that rituals and spells were not, in fact, the same thing. A lot of the non-combat spells can be found in the Rituals section in the back, but not even close to all of them even the 3.5e PHB had. As previously stated, they have done some work to combine/generalize the usage of many game elements, so it may well be that I just haven’t read over the list enough. One thing I didn’t like, though, is that most of the rituals take a great deal of time longer than their 3.5e spell counterparts. Need to magically lock (or unlock, for that matter) a door before the bad guys catch up to you? I hope you have a 10 minute head start. I’m not sure why the designers felt the need to do this or what rationale is behind it, but this certainly puts a cramp in my “use spells for unusual roleplaying purposes” style.

  The other weird thing about rituals — why in the hell are they at the very end of the book? They’re literally the very last thing (besides a page of playtester credits) before the index. Did the people laying out the book forget that part until after the presses got started and just cram it in there at the end? Not that I really mind. It makes them much easier to find. My initial impulse was to say it would have been a little better to find it somewhere closer to the character classes, but I suppose the previous editions had the spells broken out into their own section as well. The fact that class-specific powers and everybody-gets-em rituals are separate was a little confusing to me, but it’s something I can get past pretty easily.

• There were some conventions frequently used in the book that I found, for lack of a better term, obtuse. It was like they expected you to know what it was, but hid the definition somewhere really obscure. Dante and I both searched for quite awhile before we figured out that [W] was shorthand for one’s weapon damage. A lot of the powers in the book say things like “and an ally makes a saving throw”. A saving throw against what? Does that mean he gets to succeed the next time he has to roll one, or is this some beneficial effect you’re giving him (and if so, why is he saving against it)?

  However, I have a feeling these are clearly defined somewhere I didn’t read yet, and that their usage will flow freely like water for all of us at the table once we get to play for a few sessions. I’m sure I’m going to feel completely stupid once I find out what this new saving throw business means.

• I got a definite impression that they’re approaching 4e as a work in progress, with errata being issued and the PHB2 slated for release next year. It sort of reminds me of how software patches work, except unfortunately adding and changing things to tabletop gaming means you either have to juggle 5 books to play with everything or you have to buy new books that have all the new stuff in it. My wallet, my back, and my all-consuming lust for convenience hate that part.

I think most of the pain of rolling up our first 4e characters had a lot more to do with the fact that we are playing with a whole new set of rules than any real problems with the rules themselves. That and we really didn’t get to use these characters at all yet (that’s next session).

I will have to reserve judgment until we actually get to play for a few sessions, but I’m hopeful about this new edition at long last. Overall, I still have some minor concerns with 4e but it’s not the “OMG ITS NOW WORLD OF WARCRAFT TABLETOP RPG” that I had feared. I was confused by a lot of things, but I have a hunch that it will likely turn out that I, rather than the game, am obtuse. Only time will tell!

There were.

Learning is a two way street!

I asked that we get a buffet style look at the character generation options that existed within the new edition. Each of our three players took the three rolling methods described by the PHB: point buy, random rolling, and the standard array.

I believe that all three ended up with satisfactory stats, however there was a great deal of nostalgia for actually rolling the dice. Yeah, you were pretty much guaranteed a better average to high set of stats for the point buy system, but unsurprisingly…. people want to roll dice!

There was a considerable learning curve involved with negotiating the books themselves… some aspects of the Player’s Handbook seemed confusingly laid out and it took some considerable effort to fully understand where all the rules fell together.

Our group got into some interesting philosophical discussions about the class changes that went into place with 4e. It seems that many of the changes make logical sense, and they are intended to make the game more digestible for new gamers. The trouble is that many of us are not new gamers, and we see opportunities for extension, expansion, and growth in the system that excites us. Having such a stripped down core system has left me wanting more to work with.

Do not misunderstand… I think the gameplay of 4e will be fast, fun, and very classic D&D. I’m just afraid that we’ll be subjected to scads and scads of expansion books just to get us back to “normal” and essentially the sound of my wallet emptying is the only motivator in the end.

Time will tell and so will gameplay. Hopefully Vanir and SR will come along in the next few days and provide their insights!

The DMG

Before getting too far into my high level feelings, I must say that the visual appeal of the new core rulebooks is fantastic. The artwork is stunning and the layout of the information is relatively attainable.

As for the actual content of the DMG, honestly I feel like it could have been cobbled together from the collective roleplaying blogosphere. Do not take this wrong: I am not unimpressed, nor could I have done much better… but as I was reading it, I kept having “I saw that on Martin’s site three months ago” or “wow, Yax just mentioned this concept a bit ago” and so on. I guess that reinforces that we’re largely on the right path.

The changes to the game mechanics are interesting. We will be playing our first 4e session this weekend, so I will get some firsthand experience in executing the new combat systems which should be interesting in a group that has historically eschewed miniatures.

I am eager to give the skill check system a try. I think it creates a good situation for storytelling, doesn’t frustrate the players that don’t enjoy puzzles, and gives the DM a discrete “pass/fail” criteria that is easily outlined into an action plan.

One of the more exciting things for me as a DM is the inclusion of the action point system. I think that this is an incredibly good way to handle the “oh crap, I have to rest” process that plagued 3.x editions, and the idea of milestones is an excellent way to reward the group for interim progress toward a goal.

More to come!

I was able to get just into the Treasure section when my plane ride got bumpy enough as to inhibit my ability to remain focused. I’m going to pick up there soon, and I’m sure that will compel a follow-up post along with my first impressions playing with the new rules in practice.

I am happy to say that I’m genuinely excited about the opportunity to get to play the new system. A lot of the aggreviations that we face as Dungeon Masters appear to have been lessened and much good advice is given in the book for how to handle common gaming situations, so the DMG already earns fairly high marks.

Keep an eye out for more soon!

Navigation and storybuilding, both tricky tasks…

In my various wanderings around the mountain countryside, I determined that navigation is made much easier by large, looming markers of direction (like, say, the Rocky Mountains). It’s also made considerably easier by the addition of a Garmin nuvi 350, which one of my coworkers brought with her.

The respective bonuses to Intuit Direction have to be at least +2 and +10 respectively.

Even with this assistence, I still found myself lost a few times. This was only a little frustrating, however a few choice encounters have inspired me for a few campaign ideas. I am in the process of fleshing out these ideas into a servicable 4e campaign, which should be fun to both break me into 4e and unleash on my unwilling player characters.

One may glean from this information that I am finally reading my 4e books in depth, and that means that before long you’ll start hearing glowing praise/moderate indifference/seething rage depending on my mood at the time I sit down to write my various reviews.

I haven’t decided how I intend to structure my opinions of 4e, but I am leaning toward an “in theory” and “in practice” set of segments that would outline how I see a new aspect of the system handling, and then how it actually handles once we get into the game itself.

Any opinions would be greatly appreciated on what you want to hear me talk about. Here’s your chance, blogosphere… choose your own adventure!

Dragonborn

Definitely different. The Dragonborn race is one of the new races in 4E, which by now is not news to you. Dante recently likened them to Klingons, which really isn’t too far off the mark. One of the things that struck me is that their sense of honor is so strong that they treat their adversaries with courtesy and respect. There’s something very poetic about that level of nobility, and that will make a great character trait to highlight as a player.

Dwarf

Familiar but slightly changed. I felt that the description focused a great deal on the Dwarven affinity to stone, more than I remember from the previous edition. But what hasn’t changed the Dwarven loyalty; a friend is a friend, and it is an honor to fight beside a friend, no matter how dire the situation. This gives you a great character progression to follow. In the beginning, you’re merely acquaintences; as you adventure together, you discover the worth of your comrades and are proud to fight with them.

Eladrin

Because I don’t think it was necessary for the Eladrin/Elf split, I’ve decided that it’s just easier to think of the Eladrin as an entirely new race. All that aside, perhaps one of the best descriptors of the Eladrin is “detached.” They are very much separate from the rest of the world around them. The “detached” persona is nothing new to me as a player, having recently played Ari along similar lines (because with Batloaf around, it was just easier and gave Ari reasonably deniability when he did crazy things). I would warn that this can be very difficult to overcome as you adventure; if you are playing an Eladrin, I would recommend softening your aloof nature as you spend more time with your comrades.

Elf

Elves in 4E sound a lot like tree-hugging hippies, but I say this as kindly as possible, knowing that I’m planning to play one soon. They are very closely tied to the woodlands and are very passionate in that the emotions they feel, they feel deeply. Try playing your Elf with particular attention to the emotion reactions they might feel; this is a significant part of their personality.

Half-Elf

Not much really changed with the Half-Elves, but I think we see a lonely side to their existance in this edition. Not quite fitting in with the Humans, not quite fitting in with the Elves, Half-Elves enjoy surrounding themselves with friends, possible to alleviate some of the loneliness they feel from not really belonging anywhere. Your Half-Elf will likely be open-minded to newcomers she meets, eager to learn something new from her new-found friend.

We’ll take a look at the rest of the races in the next installment!

They changed the Elf gods!!

Corellon Larethian has historically been credited as the “Creator of the Elves.” In 4E, he is merely the “patron of the fey.” Did he get demoted? Absolutely! Why? I’m not sure, but the part of me that’s actually an elf is outraged!

Corellon was not only associated with music, magic and the arts (as he is currently described in 4E), but also with warfare when the need to protect arose. He defeated Gruumsh in battle in the beginning of the world, before he created the elves. This battle was the underlying reason elves hate orcs. Corellon also cast out Lolth after her betrayal during the aforementioned battle. This was the underlying reason Corellon despises Lolth and her followers.

Sehanine Moonbow is one of the lesser-known Elf gods, but she suddenly appears in the regular pantheon, but not as we all knew her. Before, she was a goddess of death and dreams, now she’s the goddess of trickery and illusions. In Races of the Wild, Sehanine is described as sending a “dying elf a vision of the next world to give him hope and strength during his passage.” The 4E PHB describes her as sending “shadows to cloak lovers’ trysts.” She just sounds so tawdry, so much less noble.

Races of the Wild also states that Sehanine was Corellon’s consort. 4E says she has “close ties” with him. I can overlook this little change, but it sure sounds like they are “just friends” now. Maybe she didn’t want to be in a relationship with someone who got demoted from “Creator of the Elves.” Or maybe he didn’t agree with her new career choice. Either way, they must have had one heck of a falling out to go on as “just friends.”

Now, I’m pretty forgiving in the changes they made if 4E. But to change the defined roles of the gods in the pantheon? To take away their mythology, their history? That’s just change for the sake of change without any real growth or development.

Questionable Content has been running a storyline lately surrounding one of their characters potentially getting mauled by an errant raccoon, and a few of the jokes lately have been revolving around rabies. Also, there have been a few dream sequence strips lately that reminded me a lot of something that would fall out of Vanir’s head.

This got me thinking to what Vanir could do with a rabies infected character. As this idea took root, I started to contemplate how he could sing “My Sharona” with a mouthful of faux foam to really sell the point and then it hit me… rabies would probably be a minor inconvenience. (At least in 3.5 edition).

Without falling back on the lame shtick of “uh… this is magical rabies. It’s resistant to ‘Cure Disease’”, the best I could do is hope that his antics would lead the group into enough immediate roleplaying to make the notion interesting for a bit.

Sadly, work responsibilities have prevented me from getting far enough into the 4e books to know if they made curing disease more of a process, or if its still a magical balm for all sorts of interesting maladies that could make for an interesting gaming session. Perhaps this week I will tear into those books and all questions will be answered.

Until then, head on over to Questionable Content, read a few, and tell Jeph that Dante sent ya. Maybe he’ll stop by over here and make my month. I don’t even know if he roleplays, but I’m assuming from the tone of his strip that he’s got enough nerd in him to roll a few 20′s.

I’m here because I saw something interesting.

There I was, reading the race description for the new Dragonborn race trying to decipher why it was that we actually needed an entire race for that sliver population of players that wants to act like a dragon. I mused for a few moments about Vanir electing to play a Pee-Wee Herman styled Dragonborn, spewing forth (pun totally intended) “ha-ha’s” with each breath weapon and creating a big blue shield he called Chair-y.

Shaking off that image, I read on to find the “Play a [race] if you want…” block they added to each race. Play a Dragonborn if you want: to look like a dragon, to be the proud heir of an ancient fallen empire, to breath a breath weapon, and favor the warlord/fighter/paladin classes.

Hmm… this feels familiar somehow… oh well, continuing on.

Scanning past the physical qualities (that’s why these books include ART) I lighted on the “Playing a Dragonborn” section. A few keywords kept jumping out at me: commitment, honor, oaths, and dedication. Then it struck me.

The Dragonborn is a D&D version of a Klingon. A Klingon with a breath weapon. They are viewed as arrogant and proud, and recognize the strength and tenacity of their friends and enemies. For a second, I thought I was going to see “secretly loves kittens” in the racial abilities.

I think the Dragonborn race is interesting. I’m wondering if it will feel a little flat once I actually get a chance to try playing one, and I’m not sure I would want to play an entire campaign flowing with the general race description that is given in the PHB. It feels like it could be that haughty contentious, somewhat mean fightery type that tends to darken the whole party with their prattle about pride and honor.

I suppose that’s exactly what I’m supposed to think of them. Time will tell if they handle better than I project they will… until then, set phasers to stun.

Because of this horrible situation, I blearily found myself wandering downstairs this morning and I tripped on the dog. This forced me to wheel out of the way of the end table and love seat, resulting in a vaguely marionettish finish in the middle of my living room. I was satisfied to have avoided all major obstacles, but it got me thinking about something related to the newly released fourth edition of D&D: movement.

I have only made it through what little I could glean from the new PHB, but it seems that many of the battle-oriented skills (the at will/encounter/daily ones) have to do with manipulating squares on the battle grid. I have seen that standard movement is done as a function of squares now as well.

This doesn’t implicitly bother me that much (those skills are COOL, by and large), using a standard measure is bound to make things less complicated in the long run. What I don’t like about this situation is that it does push a little more planning time onto the DM, or at least a little more “board prep” time during the game. I fully suspect that I would be able to squeeze out an impromptu drawing on the battle grid to relay the scene to my gaming group, however the cleanup and drawing process does take a little time when you use a vinyl battle mat like we do.

This might force me into doing the whole “plexi-glass overlay” thing that I have been thinking about for quite some time, but that involves more work than I’m willing to undertake in my currently sleep deprived state.

I’m sure this development is going to increase the sales of battle grid accouterments and what-not, so that might be interesting to behold. In the past, my reasons for not buying in to the many tools designed to make battle grids more interesting, easy to generate, or the like is that it seems to be a fairly large amount of outlay for only a few minutes of enjoyment during most of our gaming sessions. To fully leverage some of the really cool stuff you are forced to plan in advance or else face the annoyed groans of your campaign-members as you pull out set pieces, landscape tiles, and the like… and I’m not very good at knowing when to plan for that type of thing yet.

I’m sure in time, my skills in such matters will improve but for now I’m going to keep enjoying the fun descriptions on skills and not sweat the details so much.