taurren

Since its launch earlier this summer 4E has been the center of a maelstrom in the RPG community. Well after a number of play-tests, and the completion of Keep on the Shadowfell, I thought I would weigh in with a review.

At first glance the game really appeared similar to 3E. Dice, stats, spells, base attacks, hit points, skills etc etc. But once play started, everything that I considered familiar became new again and I had to continually shift my internal paradigm to accommodate the new D&D. I had already anticipated the need for a change in perception, but it happened more often than I thought it would. Even with the similar terms, this is a new D&D. When 3E came out, WotC attempted to retain the flavor of D&D even though it had a completely new mechanic. With 4E WotC kept some of the same mechanics, but completely re-designed the gaming experience. I honestly don’t know which of the 2 editions had the most significant change.

Compared to 3E, combat in our games so far have had more of everything. More mobs, more hits, more powers, more teamwork, more misses, more rounds, more choices, more dice rolls, more tactics, more modifiers, more actions, more heals and more things to keep track of. From what I saw, it was not more streamlined, or intuitive. But its clear that the system provides more for the players to do during combat.

Game balance (ie combat balance) has become the over-riding theme in 4E. All player abilities whether they are special melee attacks, spells, racial abilities or anything else ... all use the same mechanic and have basically the same effect in combat. They are called Powers and they make up the primary component for any character class. Each class has the same number of At Will, Encounter and Daily powers that are gained at the same time. This makes every character useful in combat, but IMO it also bleaches out the unique flavor of each class.