Soooo.....DnD 4.0?

[Tainted Bushido]

I gotta ask, since we are a gaming community that features kickass creative writing. What did everyone think about DnD 4.0?

My Personal Opinion;

1) Liked that character creation and growth is less dependent on the dice. It's cool to be able to say that I never accidentally rolled three 1's for hit points three levels in a row, and now the wizard has more HP than me.

2) Disliked the loss of Druid Bard and Monk classes at the beginning. I mean, don't get me wrong I played Dragon Shamans a lot and I would love to see that class, but the loss of those in favor of Warlord and Warlock, kinda doesn't sit well with me.

3) Dig the changes to Rangers and Paladins, they're a lot more flexible now and are free of their quasi caster bonds...

SO yeah, your guys opinions?

[Doomsday]

I heard some things and from what i heard I liked. I especially liked the Tiefling being a core race now. Something that isn't part of the Tolkien stock fantasy races is really nice.

I also like how Race's strengths grow as they level up. Seems like it would make that choice much more fun. I'm sad to hear the Druids gone. Monks really didn't fit the DnD setting and bards were not fun to play but both seemed like they had their fans. Still I think the changes are for the better. It seems that every evolution DnD become more accessible.

[Visla Eraclaire]

It's a very different game. Simplified in a lot of useful ways, occasionally simplified in some distasteful ways. E.G. While spells are now not horrendously complicated and totally different from everything else, playing a Wizard no longer feels the same. While it was irritating to have to know all those rules and deal with the intricacies of how spells worked, it made playing a spellcaster feel genuinely different and arcane.

Combat seems more interesting and tactical, though it sort of forces itself on you. In 3.5 and before, you could easily make a character that is simply not meant for combat at all. Now that's impossible. That's fine, because you can role play the rest of it, and that brings me to the final point that I'm going to bother posting.

Characters are less unique on the sheet. Most of the intricacies and quirks of your character exist only in your head. That's fine. There doesn't need to be a rule for me to RP thigns a certain way, but at the same time, I always felt like having a character with some very noteworthy flaws or strange things was nice, and it was like a badge of honor that it affected her/him within the mechanics of the game and not just when I wanted it to.

As for the lack of bards/druids/barbarians/sorcerors. I'm sure they'll be back one way or another. That's really the thing that makes it hard to judge on the whole. It's a work in progress. Right now the number of feats you get seems excessive and stupid because there aren't any good feats. But try picking your feats in 3.5 out of just the PHB and you feel the same way. We'll have to see how it all comes out. Personally, I'm excited that the devs have promised psionics. The rules for psionics have always been kind of bad. The original psionics handbook was a nightmare of complication and you basically needed great stats all around to be a passable psion. Then the expanded version made them easily godlike. My 13th level psion was more powerful than some much higher level characters I've played, and absurdly useful both inside and outside of combat. I'm interested to see what they do with them in this context. I get the feeling that the flavor of the psion will be gone because, like the wizard, he'll be using homogonized rules. But we'll see.

As a final note, work has now combined with 4E to ensure that comments like this are all you see out of me. Writing online is all well and good, but now that my gaming group is revitalized, this is just a sad reflection of a real role playing experience.

[Winterhair]

Am I the only one who still has and uses the very first D & D manuals? My father owned them and gave them to me, but they are a bit more valuable than hand-me-downs, so I don't bother with the newer editions. Besides, all you really need for Dungeons and Dragons is three things: The Player's Handbook/Dungeon Master Guide, a set of dice and your imagination.

Ah, good times.

[Saxon]

So has anybody actually been sticking this out and been playing consistently with your group again or did yours sort of spiral out and break up like mine did?

Of course, we need practice, but we've tried.

[Visla Eraclaire]

My group played 2 or 3 quick scenarios using the 4.0 rules and then gave up and started a new 3.5 campaign. I will be attempting a new 4.0 campaign over the holiday season with help from the new Faerun books.

[Tainted Bushido]

We did about a months worth of sessions, going through keep on the shadow fell and the DMG adventure. We thought it was cute, then promptly went back to the L5R RPG.

[Rith]

I've never played the game. I know it used to be a board game, but do they have an online version of it now or something. I was never interested in getting into it simply because it was a board game, but online... yea thats a different story because I'd like to play it.

[Visla Eraclaire]

I've never played the game. I know it used to be a board game, but do they have an online version of it now or something. I was never interested in getting into it simply because it was a board game, but online... yea thats a different story because I'd like to play it.

You had better be trolling, because that post was just ridiculous.

[Godhand]

Sometimes I worry that I'm the only person on althanas that isn't a raging nerd.

[Rith]

I've never played DnD in my life and only read one "DnD" book, ever and I'm not into board games. So if you could be a little more helpful and answer my question, that'd be great :)

[Mage Hunter]

Rith, um...how to start...

DnD is not a board game. Sure models are used and there are dice, but that's not exactly the POINT of the game. The Models and the Dice only help clarify whats going on. DnD is a storytelling game, much like Althanas. You have your character which is represented by a model, only when you actually are fighting. The rest of the time you are interacting with the world about you. Thats the difference between a Role Playing Game (Where you take on the role of a character in a story) and a board game.

However, if you are absolutely convinced your opinion of it being a board game is correct, then the answer your looking for is simple.

Pick up Neverwinter Nights 1 & 2.

[Rith]

Thanks, I'll look into it. I was never intersted in it because it involved a board. Lets just leave it at that. The only board games I play is monopoly and chess, and I don't even play monopoly it on a board. I have it on my cellphone as a game and thats where I play lol, yea. Hell half the time I play chess on the computer too and on occasion on the actual board. But yea, you see what I'm getting at.

Are these actual books or a version of the game. Seriously treat me like a newborn infant with this because realisticly my only knowledge of DnD is about all I've shown you thus far :)

[Dissinger]

Its an actual Game. For the Computer that uses the rules for DnD 3.5. So far no game has used the 4.0 rules because they came out just this spring. Too new.

[Rith]

Well that clears a bit up as to why I was coming up with a game when I googled it. Now looking at the system requirements I'm not sure if my puny ass laptop can handle it. Yay for 2.5 year old outdated systems. Computer technology needs to slow the fuck down, seriously...

I'm used to the RPG themed games and actually like them. I don't play them too often but I'd have to say my top 3 are Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, Runescape (insert flame comment here...), and I believe FF3 it is for the Super Nintendo. Yea I'm newschool and old school.

[Skie and Avery]

I've been playing a dwarven warlord named Shanna Greatborn. She's awesome...and a dragonslayer. Lawful Good. I love her to death. Mixing fanbases, I've recently aquired Nanny Ogg's Discworld cookbook and want to make dwarf bread for our next session.

In my second session, I play a Drow Warlock under the Dark Pact (from the Forgotten Realms campaign setting). Those of you old enough around here will recognize how badass she is. After all, I named her Ghauntyrr'Stra Do'afin.