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I got a look at the PHB. I'll get a more thorough look when I get my copy, but one thing struck me, and I really tried to convince myself otherwise: There are very FEW powers available for a given class. Each class has a couple of "build" options. These options tend to push you towards one line of powers or another. Given the synergies between builds, relevant stat, and powers It seems fairly obvious that a Fey Pact Warlock in one game will look very similar to a Fey Pact Warlock in another game. I assume more powers will be released in a variety of supplements, but it seems a bit disappointing to know that barring a few feat differences and racial differences, (using the warlock example again) All fey Pact warlocks will be nearly identical. I suppose I just need to convince myself that an enchanter vs a conjurer in older editions were really different classes. When I think in those terms, most conjurers were the same as well... Anyway, I wanted to throw that out and see if anyone else gets that impression. I'm sure in about 3 months it will be moot as the character build possibilities are explored.
One thing about WoW, and MMORPGs in general, is the mechanic that prevents you from either a) getting any xp from defeating a creature 6 or so levels below your own (you are effectively immune to the creature)or b) being completely unable to hit, let alone damage a creature 6 or more levels above you (creature is effectively immune to you). The encounter with the black dragon at the "D&D xp" convention is certainly indicative that D&D does not follow that mechanic. One could even imagine that with 10 player characters, a level 10 creature might be able to be killed. Or 20 player characters could drop a level 20 creature. Granted, D&D "never" followed that mechanic, but 3E encouraged that sort of thinking in adventure design. The christmas tree effect, the scaling of saves, etc lent itself to the notion that creatures of a certain CR were "immune" to the PCs. If you sent an army of thousands against a pit fiend, that entire army would die in 3E. Same is true in WoW. You can send as many 1st level characters you want against Doomwalker, it wont matter, it will always win. But now, perhaps it is indeed feasible to send an army, maybe even a brigade, against a pit fiend and have a fighting chance to succeed. If you notice any way that 4E is NOT like WoW, please share.
MindwandererB, a frequent poster at andycollins.net and montecook.com, has posted this BLOG at gleemax. Linked here for your enjoyment. (it is shown as Alethea, and he has stated at andycollins.net that it is indeed him, and gleemax is working on foxing the error) I suggest reading the whole thing. He is a very astute gamer. His comments at the might be some red meat for the Paizonians.
I think I started playing D&D (basic set, Frank Metzer Red Box) in 1983-1984. I remember listening to a lot of the 1984 VanHalen album during those early days, but I don't recall which came first. In those early days, D&D was me drawing a dungeon (essentially a maze) filled with whatever cool creatures were presented in the back of the DMs Guide. My little brother was my only player, and he spent hours wandering the maze, killing whatever he could find, and taking their stuff. In those days, the pinnacle of video game technology was the original Nintendo game (NES) iirc. My brother and I played a hell of a lot of excite bike when we weren't playing D&D. I remember day-dreaming about the day when D&D would be translated into a video game. I didn't have to wait long. Games like the Legend of Zelda came out on the Nintendo, and eventually the Personal Computing market exploded. I quickly upgraded to AD&D about 1985 or so. I graduated High School in 1990, and was running regular AD&D games with my brothers and my own friends (we are all still friends to this day). We talked about the day when they would make a "real D&D video game" rather than the "fantasy D&D-like video games". Heck, I think we even envisioned virtual reality D&D games we would be playing in the future. Good times. Depeche Mode was playing constantly. We were mostly playing "warez" we got via BBS's on our commodore 128 at the time. We ran our own BBS, the Boatman. We we sort of out-of the video game mainstream at the time, but in retrospect very ahead of the curve in terms of computer tech. Final Fantasy II was the hot game on the Super NES, although I didn't own it, my fiends did. I didn't have the time/money. I was busy running a BBS! 2nd Edition came out just before I graduated, and as DM I bought into it, readily accepting the "clean-up" of 1st edition. But we were out of High School by this time, busy with college, or Alaska trips, and what not. We played, but less frequently. Grunge music exploded on the scene, and being a rocker at heart, I abandoned the proto-emo music I was listening to and embraced it with gusto. Nirvana rocked the house as we wrestled with something called Baetzu. WTF? Playstation launched, and Final Fantasy (seven?) came out soon after and things were looking great for the whole genre. By 1997 Ultima Online was released. Personal computing was exploding, and 2nd edition D&D was dieing. The "Options" rules (AD&D 2.5) was release around this time, but I had completely stopped playing D&D as well as stopped listening to "grunge". What was I thinking? I returned to old Led Zepplin, Black Sabbath, VanHalen of my youth. Eventually, as the millenium approached, there was some hope on the horizon. Everquest came out in 1999, D&D 3.0 released in 2000, and soon after, in 2002, Even Ozzy Osbourne had a TV show. Rock On! Everquest 2 released ion 2004 as did World of Warcraft. The dream of a video game version of D&D never materialized. Many attempts were made, but none have been able to capture it. I beleive it's the Dungeon Master that makes the game. Video Games will remain a distant cousin to D&D until such a time as we have "real" artificial intelligence that can make for a dynamic play experience tailored to the the individual players. Music will continue to get worse. If you managed to wander this far down memory lane, I thank you. But I do have a point. Sort of. I think the video game industry has been driven to some extent by the fantasy rpg industry. We want an a fantasy video game that mimics D&D. The Video game industry has responded. Games like WoW are an expression of that. The mechanics of video games are similar to the mechanics of D&D. There are "Hit Points" and "Strength Scores" and such. While I don't see it, my video game character makes a "to hit roll" to over come a creatures "armor" etc. Video games, due their wide audience, and fast-paced nature have driven the mechanics of such games hard. Anyone who played the Original Ultima, Everquest, or even Diablo know that there are some "broken" aspects to those games. In this light, Video games have "evolved" faster than D&D. I think there are a lot of things that Video Games can teach D&D. WotC seems to be looking in that direction for that reason. Not everything translates of course. As I said, D&D is great because of DMs because a human being is better than any "AI". There are many posts of 4E becoming too "video-gamey". But I am not so sure this is a bad thing. Relegating the DM to the status of "Computer AI" is a bad thing. I think 4E will do well financially but it will, say a decade from now when 5E is released, be remembered as a hamfisted attempt to adopt what worked in video games that ultimately tried to fit a square peg in a round hole. 5E will learn from this "mistake" and adjust, and the game will go on. By then, who knows? Maybe I'll get to play the holodeck version of Everquest 4.
New article up at WOTC HERE. I'd reprint, but it occurs to me that the copyright prohibits distribution or public display or some such language so I'll refrain. Nothing really new here. Basically "Juicy" feats are rolled in class features whats left are simpler basic things. FOr example, Rapid SHot is most likely moved to "striker" class features and not available for mass consumption as a feat. "Alertness" remains a mass-consumption feat but gets a change to reflect the new mechanics.
Quick thought. After eating WAY too much turkey, I relaxed and re-read "Burnt Offerings". Well, I started too, but drifted off into a weird half-awake state where my mind floated in D&D goodness. Somewhere in that 'purple haze' an idea formed. Streamling D&D, making more accessible, more appealing to a wider audience is in a way trying to bring more people into the "in" crowd. Kind of weird to think of people playing D&D as the "in" crowd, but thats not really my point. The point is that whenever there is an "in" crowd there are people who want in, but for whatever reason can't get in. The cliched jocks won't let the bowlegged, four-eyed asthmatic in, for example. But what happens when EVERYONE is a jock? It's not so cool to be a jock anymore. It may be the candied yams talkin, but I swear to god 4E is threatening my excellent Geek-Fu. I don't want to let everyone in. You have to pass the D&D test. If you can't calculate A 4th level Barbarians To Hit roll bonus while raging and using 3 points of power attack, you definately are not in. So Phooey on 4E, I want to remain a glorious D&D geek. Who ate all the stuffing!
Spoilerized to condensify: Spoiler:
A proper command of terrain wins battles -- generals from Sun Tzu to Norman Schrwarzkopf have known this to be true. There's a similar relationship between encounter design and terrain -- a canny use of terrain can transform good encounters into great ones. One of the goals of the 4th Edition Dungeon Master's Guide is to help the Dungeon Master perform just such transformations, which includes providing a bunch of evocative terrain types and advice on their placement and use. Since the book doesn't come out for a while, let's illuminate some of the basics of terrain in 4th Edition Dungeons & Dragons.
While it might seem elementary, let's first examine what we mean by terrain. Terrain is not just what litters the field in an encounter; terrain also forms the dimensions and tactile experience of the encounter itself. Knowing that, there are some things about 4th Edition D&D design that you should keep in mind when building encounters. First and foremost, not only does the standard 4th Edition encounter tend to have more combatants than in 3rd Edition, both PCs and monsters are more maneuverable as well. This means that the 10-foot by 10-foot rooms of yore have gone the way of the dinosaur (actually that happened in 3E, but that's not relevant to this discussion). Likewise have the 20 by 20 room and even the 30 by 30 room as the sole encounter areas. In fact, the minimum amount of space you typically want to have for a standard encounter is one of those large 10-square by 8-square dungeon tiles! That's 50-feet by 40-feet for all you still counting in feet. Just hold on before you start chucking all those 2-by-2 square dungeon tiles in the garbage -- you'll still need them! Any DM worth her salt knows that dynamic and interactive stories are more satisfying than railroading narratives. The same is true for battle areas. Larger spaces with interesting terrain that both the PCs and their enemies can take advantage of -- or be foiled by -- is infinitely more fun than a small and relatively empty room that constrains combatant choice to a small set of dreary moves. But here's the rub -- large areas of interconnecting chambers, complete with alcoves, galleries, and antechambers, are far more exciting than just plopping down a 10 by 8 tile and sprinkling it with rubble. Creating a network of interconnected areas creates numerous avenues of conflict and creates the possibilities for a series of evolving fronts that metamorphoses same-old encounters into tactical puzzles that'll sing like legend to a gaming group. See, you're going to need all those smaller pieces! Then, once you have the main layout done, populate it with furniture, shrines, rubble, pillars, or maybe even the occasional lightning column or patch of doomspore where needed (and where appropriate), and you've got yourself a pretty vibrant encounter area for your combatants to interact with. Oh, here's a bit of sound advice that'll keep you out of trouble. Be careful with pits and other steep inclines, and leave 100-foot (or endless) chasms for paragon- or epic-level play. Some of that increased maneuverability of the combatants in 4th Edition comes from attacks that can move foes against their will -- which is all fun and games until someone loses a character! That aside, D&D is more than just a tactical skirmish game; it's also a game of storytelling and heroic adventure. When designing adventures, you're doing more than just placing interesting terrain pieces for the battle that (let's admit it) will most likely occur; you are also setting the stage of your story. A canny eye toward terrain set up can also help you communicate story elements to your players quickly and without the need to say a single word. Just put down some sarcophagi, and the players will know it's a crypt. Put down an altar, and you've just communicated that it's a temple. Put down piles and piles of bones in front of a yawning cavern, and the players will know their characters are likely in a world of trouble … or you've seen Monty Python and the Holy Grail one too many times. by Stephen Radney-MacFarland Edit: My comments. I've already been doing exactly this in designing my own encounters, so its really nothing new. I suppose It goes in the "plus" category for 4E if they are explicitly making terrain "more" a part of encounter design. However, from a design perspective, I am not so sure there is a need for "increased" movement and the associated "expansion" of the encounter space into 50 foot square rooms (for example) seems a bit overdone for folk who prefer more verisimilitude. Imagine a peasant farmhouse encounter with some undead farmers. Seems like they are saying the "living room" should be something like 50X50 and that's outrageous to me. Throw in furniture etc and you have a "tactical puzzle". If they mean, the whole farmhouse is now considered an encounter "unit" that is 50X50, then nothing really has changed in this design. I'll have to ponder the merits of moving in the other direction. Slower movement to fit the current encounter space paradigm, perhaps with less attack "power" (ie no iteritive attacks, spells with less punch) could probably do the same thing. The WoW comparison comes to mind, although in a good way IMO. In WoW the encounter spaces are "HUGE" when you stop and look at them in a real world perspective. owever, the game plays as if the "farmhouse" is actually a realistic size. I am thinking that even though you may draw out a "huge" farmhouse, once you put in beds, chairs, tables, etc, and some space to manuever in-between, tactically it will "feel" like a normal farmhouse. Its only when you start counting feet does belief falter.
I didn't want to start a new thread, but posting in other threads would have been a derailment... Does anyone remember "The Gauntlet"? And if you do, does Hook Mountain Massacre seem eerily familiar? Not implying it was stolen, they are in truth really very different. The whole "Capture the Keep" motif is all thats similar really. But I remember that adventure very fondly because it became an entire campaign as the player's refitted the keep, established a dominion, and opened up trade through the pass. In fact, it was such a popular campaign that I have always felt that AD&D and D&D should really revisit aspects of OD&D, namely the "companion rules" and explicitly make stronghold/dominion building a part of the game. That said, how about you Paizonians? Is that an aspect of D&D you enjoy playing/DMing? If an OGL product that made the "companion rules" updated to 3.5 came out would you be interested? I know there is the Stonghold Builders Guide and its decent, but I am talking about something crunchy to adjudicate running a dominion: Confidence Checks, taxes, Events, wars, etc.
So apparently my Login name and password do not work at the wizards site. You are supposed to "migrate" to the gleemax boards. When I tried that, apparently the forum name I've been using was already taken. Great. Since I can't stand going to something called "Gleemax" for any reason, I am not too terribly inclined to sign up. Oh well. I've always have Pathfinder to read.
I am NOT a comic book reader. Sure, I've cracked a few open. I even Have a leather-bound "Dark Knight Returns" I got as a gift once-upon-a-time. But I do not follow comics in any way shape or form. I've had to ask "is retconning a comic book term?" and subsequently fell asleep during the explanation. In short, I could care less about comic books. Yes, that puts me in the minority among D&D fans. We are known for not only D&D, but Star Trek, Star Wars, Computer Programming, Monty Python, and numerous other bits of "fringe" pop culture. As an outsider to the comic book "thing" I come with an oversimplified view of the hobby. But oversimplification is a step away from generalization and 4E D&D is looking like it is being heavily influenced by the "Comic Book Lobby" (pardon the political pun). This is where my most visceral and superficial disdain of what is presented in 4E arises. That, my friends, is known as a "bias". So I am biased. However, aware of my bias I can work around it, to try and judge without its prejudice. But its difficult to shake. I asked my fellow gamers what they thought: "Is 4E heavily influenced by "comics" or not? If so, is it a good or bad thing and why?" I leave it now to the Paizonian hive mind to have fun with it. I know we didn't even get to Krakens Cove in our STAP game, preferring the debate that night. Enjoy.
With the new edition looming, and emotions high, some common themes seem to be apparent to me. I think it was on Monte Cooks boards that a thread asked "What makes D&D, D&D?" I think I can answer that question for myself a little better now, as well as answer the question "What would get you to buy 4E?". Essentially, I think that crunch does not define a game. It certainly defines how the game is played, but it doesn't make the game. It's the fluff that does this. Crunch serves the fluff, not the other way around. The transition from 2e to 3e was largely a "crunch" transition, and D&D remained the same for most people. Indeed, you can make the argument that D&D experienced a sort of renaissance as a result. A melee attack is a melee attack regardless of what mechanics you use to resolve that attack: d20, percentile dice, drawing cards from a deck, etc. More importantly, its the presence or lack of magic, technology, mythical creatures, gods, etc. It is, in short, the fluff. Within D&D itself, there are devotee's of Greyhawk, Forgotten Realms, and other settings. For many, one of these settings *IS* D&D and the others are not so much. So it is possible to have different fluff and still have D&D. This is what I mean by Crunch serves the fluff. The crunch serves both of these types of fluff (Greyhawk or FR). A Purple Dragon PrC is crunch serving the Fluff. Mordenkainen's Hound spell is crunch serving fluff. With 4E we are getting a change in crunch, some argue much greater than ever before, as well as a change in fluff. But the limited knowledge almost reeks of Fluff serving Crunch. The mechanics have come first (the game will be faster, leaner, easier, better) with fluff added on. The original printings of D&D were largely this way as well, how could be it otherwise? It is first and foremost a game, and a game needs game mechanics. D&D began as tabletop miniatures rules with a fantasy flare. But the story grew in the telling, and we wanted mechanics to serve the serve that narrative, and the game grew. The very idea behind ROLEPLAYING is the telling of a story, and the mechanics are there to help us tell that story. So as we move into 4E, the question, for me at least, is this: "Will the story be the same?". Whether or not the mechanics are simple, complex, d20-based, 3d6-based, Vancian Magic, Spell points, etc are all secondary. If the narrative that is D&D can be moved forward without any large discontinuities, if the mechanics continue to serve the narrative and not the other way around, then perhaps it will still be D&D. Failing that, 4E may very well be a good game, a better game even. But it would be a very different game as well.
Having read the STAP in full before begining the campaign, I noticed something during the first adventure: Penkus's not in "There is no honor" has Penkus swearing to meet Vanthus in Hell( or the abyss, I forget). It occurs to me that when the PCs get to Wat Dagon and encounter Vanthus again, a Penkus-turned-Petitioner torturing Vanthus would be fun. I really love how the players instantly HATE Vanthus...I really played up him toying with the PCs (he urinated into the 'well' for one). Having Penkus show up is a great way to have the STAP come full-circle.
So with 4th edition edition announced, we can finally begin speculation on 5th edition (hey, you clicked the link to get here, not me). So after another 4 years, 2012 will see the release of 5th edition. Here's what I predict: After another crop of game designers take over after doing all the sweat work for 4th edition, they begin to cross-check their own "House Rules" and realize that if house rule A and House rule B replaced canon, and if 4th ed. mechanic was tweaked, just so, they would have a vastly superior game. Like any good Game Designer, they begin hosting D&D sessions (online of course via the DI) with fellow WoTC employees. Sure enough, their players are hooked and soon the buzz of 5th edition leaks and within a few months it is announced at the 2012 Gen Con. What does this new edition entail? It recognizes that the D&D game is best when customizeable. In older editions, when there wasn't a rule, the DM "winged", and if the DM was good at their role, all were happy. So 5th edition will invilve "Game Pieces" that you mix-and-match to create the game that you and your players wish to play. Pieces like (martial combat system) or (Low magic system) or even (character advancement system). In fact, D&D has multiple versions of the same piece so you can truly customize in a plethora of ways. For example you can use the (vancean magic system) or the (spell point magic system) which brings us to where the complexity of 5th edition comes in: Some pieces are exclusive of each other. That is you cannot have both pieces in the same game. Some pieces are inclusive (if A then B), etc. You see, these game designers realized that the player base is not only capable of designing their own game, it is pretty much a given that no two games are alike. The only constant is the language we use (to hit rolls, Armor Class, and Magic Missile). 2012 becomes known as The Year D&D was Liberated from the New Edition Cure-All caused by Sagging Sales Syndrome (a common malady for book publishers - What edition is your copy of "Lord of the Rings"?) This Parady was brought to you by the makers of Slurm! Slurm, get your fix today!
WOW! What an awesome capstone to this AP! The Prince of Demons himself is going to be quite the challenge if the PCs can't accomplish their goals. Although, I must say, Nulonga id by far my favorite encounter on first read through. My wife is seriously disturbed from looking at the picture. I don't want to include spoilers, so I'll leave it at that, but I think this adventure is what High-Level play is all about.
I am horrible at formatting for the web, but here is my first attempt at this Prestige Class. IT IS UNPLAYTESTED and therefore likely UNBALANCED. I am looking for feedback of any kind. Is this something you could see using in a Pathfinder campaign? also: How the heck do I make the table clear? BLOODPRIEST OF PHARASMA
Table : The Bloodpriest
Class Features
I am about to start a Savage Tide adventure with some friends over the internet. I read in someones campaign blog (sorry I can't quote who it is) that they started on a ship bound for Sasserine. I loved the idea so I am shamefully stealing it. However, I wanted to throw in a "minor" combat at sea for a few reasons: 1) I want the ship to be the Blue Nixie, returning from ports North at the behest of Lavinia's parents for a new assignment. In this way, the "minor" combat serves as a way for the ships captain to inform the Vandeborens of the Heroes mettle and courage in saving the ship and its cargo. This helps tie in Lavinia's personal request for the characters. 2) Some of the Players are "very rusty" if not out-right noobs. Nothing like a combat at session 1 to learn the mechanics. 3) I want a way for Malcanthet to "take notice" of the heroes as well. With this in mind, I need a ship-born encounter, featuring a servant of Malcanthet, that both conjures a sense of immediate doom (the ship might sink if we do nothing) as well as being "lightweight" enough for noobs. I was thinking of a Crimson Fleet pirate ship. Since they are after the cargo, they refrain from destroying the ship and prepare for boarding. A bunch of cutlass wielding, no armor, warrior 1, pirates lead by a female cleric of malcanthet might be easy enough, especially if the Crew of the Nixie pitch in. The boarding could be prefaced by a conjurer summoning numerous Manes demons. The Captain yells at the party to "Buy me some time" as he dissappears into his cabin. So basically the combat lasts, say 5 rounds, when the Captain returns with an elemental gem, summoning a water elemental to pound the Pirate ship. The Pirates retreat and the Blue Nixie slips away. If the party manages to kill the Cleric, Malcanthet will know, if they fail, the cleric will curse them in her prayers, so malcanthet will know. I know its probably not necessary, but I know some of players will be very intrigued by a cleric of malcanthet and it will stew in their minds for quite some time. Anyway...Compelling? Too much? I have statted up the encounter, so please take the above with a grain of salt. I do not want to kill everyone, just make it look like I am going to.
<b>Dawn Council Says No To Pye and Yes To Worms For Upcoming Festival</b> By Korin Shortleg, Staff Writer NOBLE DISTRICT -- The Dawn Council has announced that Lucious Pye, famed Greyhawk performer, will not be retained to perform at this years market festival. Instead, the Dawn Council has announced that this years festival will be a new yearly holiday celebrating the fall of the worm-god Kyuss. "We decided that this festival has grown beyond the scope of a market festival. Last years festival was marred by the attacks of Kyuss-spawn from the Spire of Long Shadows. We wanted to honor those who defended Sasserine, and to remember those who lost their lives. We feel the Festival of Worms will be a great way to remember Sasserines heroes and those who fell that fatefull day.", said Lord Worrin Lidu, speaking on behalf of the Dawn Council. When asked about why Lucious Pye was retained for the Festival of Worms, Lord Lidu said, "Pye's morose style of performance isn't what we are looking for. The Council is interested in a more upbeat performance.". Some people are against the festival. Dhalven Miomar, Lord of the Merchant's Guild, is an outspoken critic of the new Festival of Worms. "This festival has always been a market festival, funded and run by the Merchants Guild since Sasserines liberation. The discounts offered by Saserine Merchants on this day are a boon to the people of this city. Distracting the people with songs, performers, and food will keep people out of the shops that keep Sasserines economy alive.", said Dhalven Miomar at a gathering at the Merchants Guildhall soon after the Dawn Council made it's announcement. The Dawn Council has already begun making preparations for the Festival of Worms, the most noteworthy being the open call for performers. Sasserine natives will be given first priority for the few "stage" performance openings. Interested party's should inquire at the Sasserine Opera House, Noble District, where auditions are being held. Street performers can acquire a permit at the Watch Garrison of the district they wish to perform.
Over a year ago, Dungeon included a large quarter-panel of the Greyhawk world. These were pretty cool, but since we were playing Forgotten realms at the time, I just put them in my "Greyhawk box" and forgot about them. With Savage Tide, we are going to start in Greyhawk. So I open the box... and I am missing the Upper Right Corner! (The Ice, Frost, Snow Barbarians...) More accurately I have 2 panels of the Bottom Right Corner. I would be Happy to send this extra panel back in exchange for the correct panel (my panel is perfect condition). Heck, If I must I would re-purchase the Dungeon the magazine it came in. Except I forget which it was. This won't impact the STAP at all, but it would be nice to have the complete map. I always have a large map behind the DM chair in the game depicting the world we are playing in. Would be very odd missing a big chunk. Can I get a little love? |
