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Stonwulfe
Seeker
Canada
81 Posts |
 Posted - 16 Jun 2008 : 02:22:51
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Fourth Edition Series
If you are reading this thread you are a regular of the Candlekeep Forums. I will assume this to mean that you are also then a long-time, thoughtful, regular participant in the Dungeons & Dragons experience; whether as Dungeon Master, Player, avid fan of the fiction, or just a curious observer. Whatever your experience, this thread is for you.
I am an experienced and long-time Dungeon Master, and I have seen changes and revisions and errata ammendments come and go. I started back when Advanced D&D was just seeing its revised edition published, and I respect that there are those here who sat at the table with Dave and Gary. In the last thirty-three years the game system has profited by the contributions of hundreds of voices, the stewardship of a few bright minds, and the submissions of literally thousands of articles in print. It has become more than the game system Gary first envisioned when he sought to add a little fantasy to his tabletop wargames.
Like a child D&D has been nurtured caringly - and at times sternly corrected - it has evolved. It continues to grow like a youth coming to the fringes of adulthood. Many of us strongly hold to our memories of earlier, "better" times, and the sweet nostalgia of felled dragons, THAC0, and gazing deeply into the Temple of Elemental Evil. Like parents remembering our children's first steps, skinned knees, and hard-won lessons in infatuation we are perhaps reticent to talk about new changes and new developments. Some of us don't want to see the agency that the game itself has gained, or the new directions in which it is moving.
Perhaps because I am a parent I feel it would be an injustice to dismiss the new direction out of hand without seeing where it goes, and following close behind in case it should fall. I want to know what our game has become, and judge it on its merits, and not weigh it against the sum of my memories of what it was - and not what it is become. In this spirit, I have started this thread where I will be posting three articles.
The purpose of these articles is to examine the new Core Rulebooks from the perspective of an experienced Dungeon Master or Player and highlight their benefits, identify and suggest alternatives where difficulties arise, and showcase the new system with specific focus on how it can benefit new players, existing players, and the attentive and serious DM.
The articles will follow as I complete them. Please, feel free send me any critiques in the form of a private message or email (cab22@sfu.ca).
Please start a second thread for commentary so as to leave this thread free of clutter and to accomodate the reading of these articles as they are finished.
Thank you.
Craig
a.k.a. Stonwülfe
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Edited by - Stonwulfe on 16 Jun 2008 22:36:49
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Stonwulfe
Seeker
Canada
81 Posts |
Posted - 16 Jun 2008 : 05:55:06
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Player's Handbook
A Closer Look
Hello all and welcome to the new Dungeons & Dragons Player's Handbook!
This article will take a close look at the new PHB; organization, rules changes, benefits, pitfalls, and value. This will be a more-or-less linear examination, working through the book and addressing issues as they are encountered. Hopefully this will give those of you who are still "on the fence" a reason to pick it up, and those of you who haven't had the funds to pick up the book a good idea of what it contains.
Overview
I'd like to start by saying that the developers have come through on a lot of their promises. It's rare that I get to say that, so please bear with me. For those of you who don't know what I'm talking about I can save you a lot of time listening to podcasts by saying that the new system follows three new operational rules very closely. These are:
1. It has to be easy to learn.
2. It must be playable with a minimum of time spent referencing the books.
3. It has to be fair, fast, and fun.
It achieves these, and more, though for the experienced Player and DM there will likely be a couple of sticking points - which I will address in due time.
In terms of organization and layout, this is where the new PHB really shines. Where previous editions have become increasingly complex over time and have more or less followed the order of previous examples a priori, this has not necessarily been the best course and has created a tendancy for players to have to chapter-jump during play and character creation. The new PHB is written in a linear fashion that follows the course of character creation.
In short, in the making of a new character you start at the front of the book and move to the back. When you've chosen your equipment, you're done. What's left at the back of the book is tips on adventuring, details on rituals (more on that later), some glossaries, and the character sheet.
The artwork is a sweet, eclectic blend by some fantastic artists, and the table of contents is somewhat more useful than previous editions.
Chapter 1: How to Play
Never has there been written a roleplaying book where you could hand the book to a complete has-been-living-under-a-rock novice and say, "Hey Rob! Read pages 4 to 11," and know that they'll be caught up on what D&D is, roughly how it's played, and be left with a feeling of anxious excitement.
I kid you not.
It has some bright points that deserve specific kudos. First is a sidebar detailing the history of D&D with a hefty nod to Dave & Gary. The second is a very succinct explanation of the role of the DM that will leave many DMs thanking Wizards. There are excellent explantions of the functions of the various dice, with graphics, and a well-written example of play.
The strength of this chapter is the passage explaining the core mechanic. The new(ish) core mechanic is as follows:
The Core Mechanic
1. Roll a d20. You want to roll high!
2. Add all relevant modifiers.
3. Compare the total to a target number.
If your check result is higher than or equal to the
target number, you succeed. If your check result is
lower than the target number, you fail. (PHB 11)
This is supplemented by a set of three basic rules:
- Simple Rules, Many Exceptions: There's a lot of places where PCs get to break the rules in little ways, giving them some advantage in their role.
- Specific Beats General: If a feat, power, or character class ability breaks a rule, the specific description wins over any general rules that may apply.
- Always Round Down: A lot of checks and calculations are based on fractionary values (half your PC level, for example). In these instances, round down not up.
Chapter 2: Making Characters
The process of creating characters has been much simplified. The 16 pages of this chapter detail this process, introduce the races and classes, detail character roles, explain the basics of ability scores and skills, alignments, deities, and offer roleplay advice and backgrounds. Advancement is also covered.
The Character Roles suggested are a new development, and this is where a lot of people will begin to see the similarities to some Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games (MMORPGs) such as World of Warcraft and Everquest 2. This is not a bad thing, per se. This approach makes it easier for new players - who likely will have seen or experienced an MMO at some point - to understand the general function of the different classes without peg-holing any of them in any specific way.
The character roles are described as Controller, Defender, Leader, and Striker. Controllers (Wizards) deal with large numbers of foes. Defenders are the 'tanks', your heavy-hitters. Leaders are the ones who support and direct the party (if only in combat). Strikers are the direct damage dealers in the party, those capable of getting close to enemies and delivering devastating blows, such as the rogue's backstab ability.
Leader is one role that will see some discussion later.
The alignments have been stripped down from 9 to just 5: (chaotic) good, lawful good, unaligned, (lawful) evil, and chaotic evil. Your goody-two-shoe'dness increases to the right, and decreases to the left, with a happy medium between. This makes logical sense.
quote:
Rinonalyrna submitted the following: "The only quibble I have is the implication in your review that the alignment scale is linear and that Lawful Good is 'more good' than Good. IMO the PHB doesn't say that, and even Rich Baker recently denied that was the case."
I'd like to revise the above by saying that by 'increases', I did not mean to say that your character is any more good to the left of unaligned; only that to the 'left' of unaligned is Good, and ostensibly to the right of unaligned is bad. (Don't go thinking I apply the same to Politics, I don't live in a bipartisan country.) This can be misleading though, because in the PHB the alignments are listed as follows:
Alignment
A character's alignment (or lack thereof) describes his
or her moral stance:
- Good: Freedom and kindness.
- Lawful Good: Civilization and order.
- Evil: Tyranny and hatred.
- Chaotic Evil: Entropy and destruction.
- Unaligned: Having no alignment; not taking a stand.
(PHB 19)
A good character could be all about the 'greater good', but give little regard to the laws of the land which may be hindering or oppressing the people. An evil character may not necessarily resort to outright mass murder to achieve their ends, instead creating laws and regulations that exert force on the people in their benefit. Unaligned people fill the gamut in between.
There is only one Character Advancement / Experience Progression chart for all classes. I cannot tell you how happy I am to see this addition. Surely there are others who will feel differently, but this immediately reduces the amount of mediation I will have to engage in as a Dungeon Master, as everyone is always on the same footing, and knows where everyone else is in regards to advancement. The introduction of Powers is a result of this move.
Every class gets Powers. There are four kinds: at-will, encounter, daily, and utility. The first is self-explanatory, the second may be utilized only once per encounter, and the latter two vary in use. Daily powers may be used only once per 24 hour period (depending on how your party measures in-game time, this will vary considerably), and utility powers run the gamut from at-will to daily, but do not deal damage, instead serving the user in some other way.
Chapter 3: Character Races
The core races are the Dragonborn, Dwarf, Eladrin, Elf, Half-Elf, Halfling, Human, and Tiefling. The Dragonborn and Eladrin are obviously new, and the others are largley unchanged, each possessed of their own individual benefits and strengths. However, the developers do deserve kudos for bringing them closer to their individual strengths.
The Dragonborn are proud, honor-driven, martialistic beings. They have a free encounter power that allows them to use draconic breath as a dragon disciple, only more often. They are not half-dragons, nor nearly as gifted as dragon disciples who are nearing apotheosis. The closest comparisons I can make are Klingons and Wookies. They are fiercely loyal allies and the worst of enemies.
The Eladrin are the ephmeral cousins of the Elves, and the two were once one-in-the-same. Eventually, the Elves and the Eladrin speciated as the veil between the fey and the wild grew heavy. I don't know how they plan on rationalizing this emergence in the 4e FRCS, but I will be explaining it as an immigration from one of the other Elf-inhabited worlds via portals. It just makes sense to me.
The Eladrin have an ability to teleport short distances (as per the blink spell) once per encounter. They trance as Elves do, and are considered Fey in the same way that Tieflings used to be considered native outsiders. In the 4e PHB, Elves do not trance as a result of their strong physical connection to the natural order. I plan on disregarding this.
Chapter 4: Character Classes
The core classes are the Cleric, Fighter, Paladin, Ranger, Rogue, Warlock, Warlord, and Wizard. The Monk, Druid, Barbarian, and Sorcerer are gone (for now). Don't stop reading here. Nah ah ah!! I mean it. Don't stop reading!
There will be successive PHBs or expansions reintroducing these other classes and, no doubt, classes from past accessories. I understand this move on the part of the developers. It's very rare that you don't have a party with an arcane magic user. Now that wizards have powers they can use at will, the sorcerer becomes more of a plot device. The rest of this selection means that players get their choice of two or more classes for each of the four roles. Therefore, depending on the number of players, you're more or less guaranteed a well-rounded group. (Of course, there are no guarantees, but the chances have been greatly improved.)
There are three tiers of advancement. Levels 1-10 is the Hero tier, Levels 11-20 is the Paragon tier, and Levels 21-30 is the Epic Tier. Like several MMORPGs you keep one class until you reach Paragon, and then further specialize or add an additional class (this is indeed the only way multiclassing now works, there is no multiclassing from first or second level). Each class descriptor contains all of the data you will need to play that character class through levels 1-20, and can be found in this chapter, including spells, class powers, etc. This negates the need to jump back and forth as you look for spells if you're a magic user.
I will comment on multiclassing in another, later thread.
Paragon Paths are the specializations you choose upon reaching level 10/11. Again, this is similar to MMORPGs, but they offer enough of them that they effectively replace prestige classes, and many more options will follow in successive books.
The Epic tier is unique in that it includes all of the cool things an epic character should have, but it adjusts the focus of the character to its logical conclusion; the end. This is something that previous editions simply didn't address to any degree of satisfaction. When a character has become this powerful, how do you retire them? Do you go out in one last big bash? Do you become too powerful to stop? Do you retire from the world? Many opportunities exist and they are powerfully addressed, as if to tell the players, "It's okay. You've done good. You can let it go from here and start again."
The big thing to know about advancement and progression in 4e is Retraining. Every few levels you can freely swap out feats and powers that you've learned in exchange for new ones. In this way, if one of your previous choices hasn't worked out as you planned, or isn't as valuable as you might like, you can change. This also accomodates a PCs ability to adapt to changing party dynamics as new PCs or Players come and go throughout the course of a campaign, whether due to attrition or character death.
This also removes the potential annoyance of players who can never decide exactly what it is that they want to play... rather than having them constantly falling on their own swords and making new characters, potentially destroying the party experience and dynamic along the way, it gives them an avenue for change.
A closer look at the Warlord
Everyone knows the Paladin, Cleric, Ranger, Rogue, Fighter, Warlock, and Wizard. The Warlord is a new beast. I've read in a few blogs and forum threads statements to the effect of:
- "The Warlord is a cleric without spells."
- "The Warlord's only useful if you want to be the party leader."
- "The Warlord is like the myrmidon."
Rubbish. Complete rubbish. In any given party the party leader may take any form, nearly any combination of race, class, and alignment. Every group is different. In 4e the Cleric and the Warlord are given the Leader role, though that does not necessarily mean that they are delegated the role of party leader, or even party 'face'. Often, the Rogue or the Paladin has the charisma to make a much more effective diplomat than the Cleric in the party. Many clerics are interested only in a support or combat role.
The Warlord is to the Fighter as an Infantry Officer is to the common Soldier. They both carry a gun, they both dig trenches, they both huff their own gear around on their backs. Where they differ is that it's the officer's job to identify weaknesses in the defenses, identify enemy weaknesses, direct the movements of his party members to the greatest tactical effect, and to capitalize on the enemy's mistakes. Theirs is a guidance, consultation, and support role. In the case of surrender between large forces, it is also their position to negotiate terms.
Because they are natural tactical thinkers, the Warlord also makes the obvious choice for party banker and quartermaster (unless they're evil or greedy), as they are best able to identify what the party needs, even if they are just giving that information to the party leader to authorize. They make natural selections for second-in-command.
Chapter 5: Skills
They have done away with the 40+ skills of old, and there remains 17 group skills to take their place.
A lot of the individual skills that were complementary are now subsumed into one of these, and this makes a lot of sense. For example: what's the rationale behind a rogue being very, very good at hiding but not so great at moving quietly unnoticed? Hide in Shadows and Move Silent are now covered under Stealth, just as Open Lock, Set Trap, Disable Device, and Sleight of Hand are now covered under Thievery.
All skill checks, passive and active, function on the same principle as attack checks and ability checks. They follow this formula:
1d20 + {1/2 you level + ability mod + all other mods}
Each class comes with a set selection of class skills, out of which you pick a specific number which you are considered to have received some degree of formalized training or experience in. Having Skill Training gives you a +5 bonus to checks made with that skill. Any player may use any skill, though some skills cover acts for which you must be trained to use, such as disarming a trap or detecting the presence of magic (now a skill).
A fighter need not multiclass to become apt at detecting magic or opening locks, however. Anyone may take the feat Skill Training, regardless of their class, to be considered trained and receive the +5 bonus and the benefits of the training. This eliminates much of the need to multiclass, and much of the draw to do so, making multiclassing really only advantageous to those players who have specific interests in having two base classes (as is the case if they do not feel compelled to move onto a Paragon Path - or Prestige Class, whichever you prefer).
Opposed checks are made by the DM and are passive or active. Passive checks result from a PC using a skill or having a skill used against/around them. Perception, for example, is applied when an assassin or theif is trying to use Stealth near you. You're treated as having 'taken 10', which as the formula above illustrates, generates a static nubmer. That number is then used as the target of the assassin's Stealth check. If the assassin roles lower than your passive result, you notice him.
This makes the job of the DM infinitely simpler in a lot of respects, and that of the players, and I tremendously respect and appreciate this change.
Chapter 6: Feats
Feats give you static bonuses to other skills, modifiers to your checks, or allow you to accomplish something you normally couldn't. This hasn't changed much since 3.5, however, there are different categories of feats to cover the common-sense application of their function (such as the different armor proficiency feats: chainmail, hide, leather, plate, and scale). Feats are further divided into Hero, Paragon, and Epic feats and those feats reserved for Multiclass characters - one of the few advantages of multiclassing.
You can also take feats which are class-specific, gaining the class abilities of other classes. However, once you've begun to dabble in another class, you can't take class-specific feats from another. In short, if you're a fighter dabbling at being a mage, you can't then dabble with being a warlock.
Here is one such example of such a feat:
Sneak of Shadows
(Multiclass Rogue)
Prereq: Dex 13
Benefit: You gain training in the Thievery skill.
Once per encounter, you can use the rogue's Sneak
Attack class feature. (PHB 208)
Chapter 7: Equipment
Armors have been divided into 6 categories (plus shields), and 'Medium' is not one of them. You have the feat/class skill for their use or you don't. These categories are:
- Cloth (Light) - Chain (Heavy) - Shields
- Leather (Light) - Scale (Heavy)
- Hide (Light) - Plate (Heavy)
In each of these categories, there is a subset of armors in that line. To me some of these feel as though they were created to justify the ruling on the change, but many of them strike me as functional.
For example, Chainmaille:
- Chainmail (+6 Armor, -1 Check)
- Forgemail (+9 Armor, +4 min enhancement, -1 check)
- Spiritmail (+12 Armor, +6 min enhancement, -1 check)
Weapons have also been recategorized into different groupings, and in this the categories make much more sense. There are simple melee (one and two handed, respectively), military melee (one or two hand), superior melee (one or two hand), improvised melee (one or two hand), and then the categories for ranged weapons, which follow the same order.
An example of one handed weapons from each category in one-handed would be as follows from above:
- Dagger (simple one-handed) 1d4 damage
- Short sword (military one-handed) 1d6 damage
- Rapier (superior one-handed) 1d8 damage
- Chef's knife (improvised one-handed) 1d4 damage
The best part of the new PHB Equipment set-up is that the Magic Item section of the old DMG is now in the PHB, so you won't have your players borrowing your DMG to look up item prices, manufacturing costs, materiel costs, etc.
Magic Weapons and Armors do much of what they did before, but many of the other items have changed in terms of function or classification. This includes the introduction of magical Holy Symbols as a core feature (they increase the functionality of class powers), Orbs (function as per Holy Symbols for arcanes), Rods (mostly for Warlocks, but have other functions), Staffs, and Wands. Staffs and wands provide bonuses to skills you may already possess, or contain powers you may not presently have access to, which are usable a certain number of times per day/encounter or at will.
Most of the other items are largely unchanged.
Chapters 8-9
These chapters cover far too much for me to cover here. Chapter 8 is Adventuring and explains how players should, could, will, and can interract with the environment. Chapter 9 covers Combat. If you've liked what I've written so far, buy the books.
What I will explain, though, is one of the new class features and a major component in Combat; Healing Surges. Healing Surges are encounter powers that all players possess, and each class determines how many you get, how much health they restore, and how they are modified. Since you no longer roll for hitpoints, but everyone progresses at a static rate, this relieves a great deal of pressure from the party cleric to run around healing and frees them up to assist in other ways, or to engage the enemy directly.
The other advantage of Healing Surges is that they lessen the likelihood of PC death between levels 1-10. This is really where they see their greatest application, too, as most characters 9th level and higher will have regular access to items of magical healing.
Chapter 10: Rituals
Rituals are essentially spells that have long-lived or permanent durations. Anyone can perform a ritual so long as they meet the skill prerequisite (usually training in a skill, and a skill check) and possess the feat Ritual Caster, which means that a Fighter with the Skill Training feat in Arcana can use the ritual to summon a Tenser's Floating Disk for 24 hours... which is extremely handy for carting treasure out of a dragon's horde or a mummy's crypt.
One warning: Rituals often have hefty material component costs. Therefore, they tend to be used sparingly in-game, and rightly so. While Arcane Lock is rightly permanent, scrying is not, nor should it be. A high cost for a powerful ritual is a fair trade, given the benefits.
Conclusions
Overall, the book is exactly what a lot of people have been waiting for. It is a brilliantly easy read, quick to pick up, quick to deploy, and very, very transparent. It is by far the easiest edition for introducing new players to the game, and will likely grow the use-base exponentially (properly marketed).
The few sticking points I can raise are the limited number of powers (both at-will and encounter) for Wizards and Warlocks in the PHB, and the disappearance of the Half-Orc and the Monk. Though the latter is largely due to the fact that I am fond of Half-Orc Monks, the former is a point of irritation because these are the classes that will be largely responsible for directing or funneling enemy NPCs reactions and responses to the group. I suspect this will be resolved in a later accessory, so I'm patient.
Overall, I'm very happy with this product, despite MANY reservations and beefs before its release. Having seen the final product, I give it my seal of tentative approval, and hold my reservations now for the 4e FRCS. You will have my review of the 4e DMG shortly.
END
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Edited by - Stonwulfe on 17 Jun 2008 04:23:54 |
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Hawkins
Great Reader
USA
2131 Posts |
Posted - 16 Jun 2008 : 22:41:27
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| Thank you, this was quite informative. I am looking forward to seeing what you have on the DMG. |
Errant d20 Designer - My Blog (last updated January 06, 2016)
One, two! One, two! And through and through
The vorpal blade went snicker-snack!
He left it dead, and with its head
He went galumphing back. --Lewis Carroll, Through the Looking-Glass
"Mmm, not the darkness," Myrin murmured. "Don't cast it there." --Erik Scott de Bie, Shadowbane
* My character sheets (PFRPG, 3.5, and AE versions; not viewable in Internet Explorer)
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My game design work:
* Heroes of the Jade Oath (PFRPG, conversion; Rite Publishing)
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* Compendium Arcanum Volume 2: 1st-Level Spells (PFRPG, designer; d20pfsrd.com Publishing)
* Martial Arts Guidebook (forthcoming) (PFRPG, designer; Rite Publishing)
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Rinonalyrna Fathomlin
Great Reader
USA
7106 Posts |
Posted - 17 Jun 2008 : 18:26:49
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| Indeed, same here! |
"Instead of asking why we sleep, it might make sense to ask why we wake. Perchance we live to dream. From that perspective, the sea of troubles we navigate in the workaday world might be the price we pay for admission to another night in the world of dreams."
--Richard Greene (letter to Time) |
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Aaron Highcolor
Acolyte
USA
45 Posts |
Posted - 17 Jun 2008 : 18:53:14
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| Thank you very much for the review! |
Run when you have to, fight when you must, rest when you can. |
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Fourth Edition Series
