Meltropolis

Thoughts on 4E

Now that 4E has been leaked it’s safe to say some more about it.

Talent trees still bug me. I don’t think that will ever stop. However, I think it’s tastefully done, and the different choices are varied enough to still be able to build the character you want. The powers you get are divided into three groups: at will, once per encounter, once per day. No more “3 times per day for each level of wizard rounded down and add your Spellcraft bonus and Int modifier, stir and just add water.” This is an improvement in my book, and it makes the game easier to get into for new players. Of course I still have to see it in action, but I’m not going to switch systems in the middle of a campaign.

The silly rule that bugged the crap out of me in 3.5 is gone: small weapons for small characters do small damage. While I suppose it makes logical sense I don’t think people needed any more reasons NOT to play a small character.

Which brings me to the new core races. I like the addition of Tieflings, and the fact that Elves have reverted back to being anti-social tree-huggers. The new wizard-Elves whose name escapes me at the moment are okay… I guess… still a bit poofy, though. I like the exclusion of Half-Orcs. Sue me. They presented interesting RP opportunities but I still think Orcs should be evil, full stop.

Another thing I like is that the non-human races are tied into the Feywild, some sort of magical fairytale-world where they all come from, originally, instead of being some sort of evolutionary fluke. Makes me wonder how they’re going to integrate this new backstory into the existing settings like Greyhawk and Ebberon, which Wizards have said would continue to be supported and developed.

Next up is classes. There’s a good selection of them, and including the Warlock as core is obviously a good idea, seeing how popular it was. No more Sorcerers or Druids, just one class per magic type. Good.

Then there’s the Warlord.

Big name for what’s in essence just a pimped-up Bard.

The specialisation that you undertake at 11^th level, sort of a forced Prestige Class, seems a bit arbitrary and reminds me of Ragnarok Online. Then at 21^st level, class progression is gone in its entirity and you pursue your DESTINY instead. Or something. I’m gonna have to see this in action before I can judge.

Either way, 4^th edition is a good edition, with much less hassle and much more accessibility. Even though I don’t want to, what with all the money I shelled out for 3E and 3.5E, I know I’ll probably end up buying it anyway. Damn you, Wizards!

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Bad DMing and the End of 3.5E

With Dungeons and Dragons’ 4^th edition on the way, many gamers are wondering why Wizards of the Coast are abandoning 3.5.

It’s easy to come to the conclusion that they want to sell more books, and 5^th edition will be out a year after 4^th is released, but I guess I’m one of those hippies that believes there are still some people at Wizards that care about the quality of the game.

There is another conclusion that is easily reached, which states that 3.5 is broken. I won’t argue with that. Some aspects of 3.5 are broken, though there is a fine line here between the game being broken and the DM’s head being broken.

Pun-Pun and other “optimized” builds

Sure, the rules do allow for something like Pun Pun to exist, and I admit that Pun-Pun is pretty damn broken.

However, the DM that allows Pun-Pun to exist in his campaign is doing something wrong. It’s not a matter of finding some sort of exception to the rules that allow you to kill off Pun-Pun (though it should still be fairly easy in its early stages), that’s even worse DMing.

The part where you stop Pun-Pun being born is when his player first sits down to create him. Do you let people bring characters to your table that you haven’t approved? Fine in a pinch, I guess. Do you start playing without knowing what everyone’s character is? Bet you don’t. Someone that can pull off the crunching needed to create Pun-Pun properly can roll up a Dwarf Fighter in all of 5 minutes. You can wait that long to start playing, or you can wait for him to leave and find a game where his playstyle is appreciated.

This doesn’t just go for Pun-Pun. It also goes for the character with +214 diplomacy, the squirrel hurler and really anything that has more than 3 or 4 classes and anything out of the Book of Exalted Deeds and/or an animated weapon/shield.

If you don’t want this crap in your game, you say no. How hard can it be. Use as many splat books as you like, just don’t act all surprised when your resident munchkin exploits it.

(And if you do want Pun-Pun in your game, which is bad and you should feel bad, at least don’t whine that he’s broken.)

Ladders’R'Us

Another thing where 3.5 can be considered broken, besides characters, is silly stuff like the quarterstaff being free.

But again, if your players are buying staffs in bulk (for free), and then building ladders out of them that sell for… what, a couple of coppers? Tell them to stop. See if maybe your loot table is a bit stunted since apparently your players are desperately short on cash. For God’s sake give them something better to do! If this is all too much work, at least engineer some sort of saturation in the market. Hey, everybody has all the ladders they need, but we’re all fresh out of staffs! You’re gonna have to pay for them now! (Since ladders still require a significant amount of labour to make, they should never be free.)
Problem solved.

Seriously, the wizard shouldn’t have to pay for a bit of wood that he can just pull off a tree in the forest somewhere, should he?

What The Problem Is

Most of the problem with 3.5 being broken comes from min/maxing players and munchkins exploiting gaps and oversights in the rules, and if you feel their characters or their characters’ actions make the game less fun, you veto the crap out of them. You’re the DM, it isn’t just your right, it’s your job.

On 4E

That said I’m somewhat looking forward to 4^th edition and a rethinking of the core races (no more gnomes!), as well as fewer classes with clearer roles even though that will probably die when the first supplement hits. Raising the level cap to include epic play as part of the core system seems like a good idea. I haven’t looked into the combat system too much, but I’m hoping/guessing they’ve been slimming down the rules a bit.

But there is one thing that bugs me and will continue to do so until I find out it’s all been a big April Fool’s joke.

Squatting on top of the huge pile of potential treasure that is DnD 4^th Ed are… Talent trees.

WTF.

Seriously.

- Mel

Related links:

Check Enworld for the most comprehensive source of 4^th edition news I’ve found so far.

Also the official Wizards site.

Posted in 4th Ed, DMing, DnD, Gaming | No Comments »