Weblog post #1 of 1

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I'm bored, therefore trying out this new "web log" thing that seems to be popular these days. So to be really original...

D&D 4e... it's actually not bad. The combat for fighters has progressed beyond "I hit it", and now requires tactics! I was shocked as one can imagine. And nice At Will powers for all classes mean that everyone always has options, while Encounter and Daily powers mean there's still some measure of resource management. The combat is streamlined, and even high levelled wizards can take their turns in less than an hour.

But this leads on to my biggest problem with 4e... while combat has so many more options (particularly for the magic-less), things like skills and non-combat feats have been greatly cut back. While the World Of Darkness player in me can see the potential of this - letting the players decide what they want their characters to do and the DM deciding how it turns out without resorting to "rules" - the cynic in me sees DMs ignoring the peaceful approach and sticking to the combat, which is clearly what the rules were made for. I find this saddening. Also, many of the interesting spells are gone; the cantrips a tactically-minded player can use to slaughter whole legions of foes. They will be missed. But the group I play with is very focused on the storylines and character development anyway, so it hasn't become a butcher-fest yet.

I shall persevere with 4e, despite the lack of bards (!!! ) and gnomes (); we're meeting up every month for a little session, and possibly more often if we can arrange it. Good fun.

This is probably my first and last weblogging attempt - I doubt I'll find the time for it again. Not as tedious as I was expecting, though.

Yay.

 

Even something like Dancing Lights/Ghost Sound can be used for the old will-o'-the-wisp trick of leading groups of enemies into monster lairs etc. Or Mage Hand to help someone fall down... No Light (Book of Vile Darkness) when underground... Lots of potential merriment, if you've got the imagination for it (and a DM with enough of a sense of humour to let you ruin his encounters).