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1 year ago ::
Apr 14, 2012 - 6:27AM
#21
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fave-you can get creative w classes that have a variety of choices from level one. also the dynamic combat that sets it apart. the core world is awesome too, doesnt get enough credit
least fave-skill challenges and item rarity are pretty amazing failures, but i think the lack of high level support is my least fave. the poor balance as well as the lack of quality support
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1 year ago ::
Apr 14, 2012 - 5:39PM
#22
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favorite: arcane at-wills. I have played a 1e Wizard who had one Magic Missile ... ALL DAY. And had to wave a dagger around while wearing a robe and worrying about his 1 HP, the rest of the time. Finally I can contribute something wizard-ly to the second fight, and the third, &c.
least favorite: the broken math. Most people say "math fix" or "feat tax" here, but you wouldn't have to pay the tax if the math had been set up balanced in the first place. If I pick up a +to-hit feat it should be because I want to be a sniper, not because the rules won't let me hit the broadside of a barn without it. If I pick up a +damage feat it should be to indicate that I put out Haymakers (not Punches) as my normal blow, not because it'll take 10 turns to get through the DM's big bag of HPs otherwise. There are feats like Linguist or Fast Runner that sound like fun at the table but I can't fit onto my character, darn it.
Best complements I have yet received: Spoiler:
Show
Making it up as I go along:
{BRJN}
If I was writing the Tome of Lore, I would let Auppenser sleep. But I also would have him dream.
In his dreaming he re-activates the innate powers of (some) mortal minds. Or his dreaming changes the nature of reality - currently very malleable thanks to Spellplague &c. Or whatever really cool flavor text and pseudo-science explanation people react positively to.
{Lord_Karsus}
You know, I like that better than the explanations for the Spellplague.
My plot device: http://community.wizards.com/go/thread/ … #489880509 (The reaction is the next post.)
Prepped ahead of time:
I started the thread "1001 Failed Interrogation Results"
{ADHadh}
These are all good and make sense! I just can't come up with something that's not covered here and is not completely ridiculous.
My characters: Spoiler:
Show
Active Characters:
LFR Half-elf StarLock6 Gondolin Nightstar
AoA Dwarf Guardian Druid6 Narvik from House Wavir
Character A-building:
Neverwinter Dwarven Invoker / Heir of Delzoun / worships Silvanus (!)
"Truenamer" - speaks Words of Creation
Concepts I'm kicking around:
"Buggy" Wizard - insect flavor on everything
Halfling Tempest Fighter - just because nobody else is doing it
Shifter Beast-o-phile Druid - for PoL campaign
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1 year ago ::
Apr 14, 2012 - 6:53PM
#23
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Date Joined:
Oct 25, 2007
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Most favorite thing: Balance. The balance is such that I can play fun concepts without worrying about whether I can contribute as was problematic in earlier editions and other games.
Least Favorite: The magic items. Most characters have similar items, which has happened since early in the edition.
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1 year ago ::
Apr 14, 2012 - 8:21PM
#24
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Date Joined:
Jun 10, 2010
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Favorite as a Player: The power system. I love that spellcasters always have -something- useful to contribute, and that they don't eventually completely overshadow non-casters. I love that non-spellcasters have cool stuff to do that isn't "I hit it with my axe."
Least favorite as a Player: The excessive proliferation of feats and magic items. A search on the Compendium shows 3,218 feats and 3,586 items (most of which are magic, not all though). I do -not- want to have to slog through thousands of options every time I choose a feat or item.
Favorite as a DM: Ease of encounter setup. It is incredibly easy to build encounters of an appropriate difficulty (whether that be high, normal or low) in 4E.
Least favorite as a DM: The excess of interrupt powers. In my experience, immediate interrupts become the biggest drag on the speed of combat encounters as levels get higher. Don't get me wrong, I like some interrupts. Opportunity Attacks are fine, as are defender mechanics. But when several characters have interrupt powers that can potentially negate a hit, combat becomes a slog of either double checking after every monster attack to see if it is interrupted, or being halfway through applying damage before somebody realizes they could have negated the hit.
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1 year ago ::
Apr 15, 2012 - 4:54AM
#25
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Date Joined:
Jun 23, 2009
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Favorite: Much like most other people on the thread, I like how balanced the game is. 4E is easily my favorite version of D&D ever.
Dislike: Honestly, if I get started on my dislikes, I'd end up writing a book. Heh, I know I said this is my favorite version of D&D, but maybe that's why I'm so critical of it.
To state just one critique... um, I'll go with powercreep. The fact that monks effectively get twice as many powers as everyone else has lead me to ban them from my game, for example.
Also, feats annoy the frick out of me.
Dammit, I need to stop griping...
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1 year ago ::
Apr 15, 2012 - 11:03PM
#26
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Date Joined:
Sep 26, 2001
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Favorite: Tough choice, as powers, surges, and many other innovations are all great, but I'll have to go with the unified class progressions. When someone does the impossible (and bringing even a modicum of class balance to D&D has always seemed impossible), you have to give them credit for it.
Least Favorite: Essentials.
Love 4e? Concerned about its future? Join the Old Guard of 4e"You want The Tooth? You can't handle The Tooth!" - Dahlver-Nar. "If magic is unrestrained in the campaign, D&D quickly degenerates into a weird wizard show where players get bored quickly" - E. Gary Gygax
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1 year ago ::
Apr 16, 2012 - 6:43AM
#27
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Favorite: Skill challenges. These are quite simply, amazing, when you step outside of the restricted methods that the DMG suggests and use a more organic approach to them.
Honorable Mention: Encounter building and monster building. Every part in these processes are elegant and fluid. 5E needs to maintain this.
Least Favorite: Magic items, for pretty much all the reasons presented already. I am at least glad that I have the option to remove them from being a necessary component.
Reflavoring: the change of flavor without changing any mechanical part of the game, no matter how small, in order to fit the mechanics to an otherwise unsupported concept.
Retexturing: the change of flavor (with at most minor mechanical adaptations) in order to effortlessly create support for a concept without inventing anything new.
Houseruling: the change, either minor or major, of the mechanics in order to better reflect a certain aspect of the game, including adapting the rules to fit an otherwise unsupported concept.
Homebrewing: the complete invention of something new that fits within the system in order to reflect an unsupported concept.
Default module =/= Core mechanic.
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1 year ago ::
Apr 16, 2012 - 6:46AM
#28
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Date Joined:
Jan 16, 2012
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Favorite/ There's a few here. Class balance, Designing encounters and adventures is easy and fun, consolidated simple skills.
Least Favorite/ Skill challenges and the lands of southern Faerun in Forgotten Realms.
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1 year ago ::
Apr 17, 2012 - 8:26PM
#29
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Date Joined:
Mar 21, 2011
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Favorite Aspects: Class abilities, Rituals (when they're used), Refined and condensed skills, and racial powers.
Least-Favorite Aspects: All defenses (these scale too uniformly, and the +1s on even levels feels like contrived math), saving throws (55% success rate on all saves is a bit too anticlimatic), magical items (magic-item levels, encounter or daily-use powers, and underwhelming utility make Inherent Bonuses a better option; they're less confusing!), and drawn-out combat (why, oh why, do enemies have so many hit points? In an effort to make combat less deadly, this edition has made combat a war of attrition).
Things I'm on the fence about: Healing Surges, non-divine healers (I'm looking at you, Warlord, and your encouraging words that bind wounds as effectively as a deity), and the overall approach to magic (I like 4E magic, but I am, at times, upset when a fireball fails to kill a group of orcs; that seems inherently wrong).
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1 year ago ::
Apr 18, 2012 - 8:23PM
#30
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Dear Forum Users,
I created this thread because I thought it would be interesting to see what people's favorite and least favorite things about 4e are. You only have to write one thing you like, and one thing you don't; but feel free to post as many "pros" and "cons" as you want.
I'm looking forward to hearing your replies.
***
Favorite thing about 4e: the power system: Daily, Encounter, and At-will.
Least Favorite thing about 4e: lack of some of the multitude of spells built up in 3e.
***update April 16th 2012***
Just thought I'd give you all a recap of what most people have been saying so far:
4e Cons sum up: Magic Items are too crazy, Rituals implementation, Feats too mechanical, too many effects stacking up in combat, too many interrupts, combats too formulaic, no out of combat flexibility, and too many number increases at higher levels which makes combat slower.
4e Pros sum up: Encounter Building, Monster Building, The Power System (most people like it, some favor Essentials) All PCs being equal and more balanced, tighter and more flexible system, clear page layout and formatting.
4e Splits (some people like, some don't): Essentials, Skill Challenges, The skill system in general, Healing System, and Status Effects.
Hope that helps you guys!
--David L. Dostaler
Author, Challenger RPG a Free Roleplaying Game
www.amazon.com/Challenger-Free-Roleplayi...
For me the best thing is that all classes are equally interesting. Every prior version had a major class imbalance IMO. In all honesty, I like almost everything about 4e; I feel it is by a huge margin the best version of the game yet, and I've been playing it since the mid 70's.
The thing I like the least in 4e is all the combat tracking; the ongoing, the until-the-end-of-your-next-turn stuff, etc. I have no issues with something like wall of fire setting a patch of ground on fire, but I wish all the personal and direct effects occured and then were done with at the end of that players current turn.
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