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4th edition D&D = Different. That fact alone would have spawned endless teeth gnashing from loyalists of prior versions - but what differences are we talking about? How different is it? In a word: very. 4th edition is a sea change in the core rules that is easily on par with the change from 2nd Edition to 3rd Edition. Start with the thematic changes: The core races have changed. Humans, Halflings, Elves, Half-Elves and Dwarves are back - they've just been supplemented with three new races. Dragonborn (dragonmen), Eladrin (magical fey of the wood) and Tiefling (humanoids with an otherworldly taint). Classes from 3.0 and 3.5 have been dropped from this volume (There is no druid, monk, bard, or barbarian). These classes are promised in future Player's Handbooks. Not the most auspicious beginning. Thematic changes like this are easy to spot - but are perhaps the least important changes in the game. I dislike the concept of Dragonborn ("Dragon-anything" is a label I feel makes its subject seem cartoonish and clichéd), but as a GM - I can easily fix this. In my world Dragonborn will be lizardmen, with a backstory that I choose. I take the rules and make them my own. The WotC game designers have clearly tried to shift the game mechanics towards customized character development: (a rules buffet, so to speak) - so anyone who wants to have a druid could achieve a reasonable facsimile of powers and rituals and achieve the rest thematically. Many will have a problem with this - but I frankly don't. Being able to mix and match classes in 3.5 was a radical shift (and a brilliant one) and the re-thinking of that model that occurs in 4th Edition provides more options, not less. The artwork (particularly the book's cover) will come in for a large amount of abuse - but again, this is such a minor issue. Quality artwork is important for RPG (imagery is the lifeblood of storytelling), but any one picture will have those who love it/hate it. So long as the majority of the art isn't bad (like the schlock in 2nd edition) any gamer is free to switch to pictures they *do* enjoy. Again, thematic changes will get a lot of attention, but any GM is free to re-imagine any theme that they have a problem with. On to Rules: This is where the true sea change is. Any discussion of what is happening in 4th edition can be boiled down to this: 4th edition wants to simplify things and speed up your gaming sessions. 3rd edition and 3.5 attempted to create flexibility and lots of independent rulesets (feats, prestige classes). This was good - but the complexity inherent in this model caused a lot of problems. When scalable feats collided with spells and class abilities - often the only guidance the GM would have is the precise language in the rulebook. Is a charge an attack action? No, it is a full round action that allows you to attack - and so on. I sincerely believe that 3rd edition was superior to 2nd edition, but I never had as many rules disputes when I played 2nd edition. 4th Edition was clearly intended to address this issue. Base attack bonus tables? Gone. You get a bonus of half your level, rounded down, to pretty much anything you do (as well as to many stats, like your AC). The advantage of this is twofold - it's easy to remember and it always scales. All attacks are now attacks: be they claw, sword or spell - the character will roll a die, add their modifiers up and try to hit a defense number. This streamlines combat spells, since instead of a sRead full review
I have played D&D for years, and I have to admit, I was nervous when I first looked at the new players handbook. The new core races were over the top, and all the classes seemed as complicated as the wizard. After reading through it and playing a game, however, I have enjoyed this edition more than any previous version of the game. If you are looking for an update of Dungeons and Dragons, this isn't it. Instead, this game was totally redesigned from the ground up. It takes several of the things I loved about D&D and streamlines them. Wizards are no longer firecrackers, and clerics are no longer walking bandaid boxes. A party of adventurers can now last more than two encounters without having to rest for the night. New simpler rules, and more abilities without daily limits let the game go on.Read full review
Very useful, as an extended resource, but it is a bit vague in spots and does not give complete details of some things mentioned. Apparently, you must have players guide also. That may clear things up it seems.
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
Is your thief always getting caught? Is your swordsman(woman) always at the wrong end of the sword? Is your archer always looking like a pin cushion? Is your knight being turned into a knight in a can, always in need of can opener? Does every spell your wizard uses turns him into a pile of goop or a toeasted marshmellow? Are you just new to the game and can't tell a wizard from a jester? Well, help is here at last not only will you be able to tell the difference between a wizard and a jester. Your wizard will be able to rule the magic world. Your swordsman(woman) will will always come out on top. Your knight will always walk away from the battle victorious and claim all the fair maidens that he wants. Your archer's arrows will fly straight. Your thief will be rich beyond your wildest dreams. So be ready to kick tail and have a great time doing it.Read full review
I love fourth edition, it took out the majority of the bad things from 3rd edition. Sure, losing some of the optimization sucks, but dear god. It's stupid spending hours on working on NPCs when you get above lvl 14, only for them to die just as quick as any other monster. 3rd edition was overly-bloated with rules, worthless abilities, worthless classes, and furthermore awful combat for any martial class while the magic users were laughably overpowered to absurdity as the meek martial classes trudged around to make sure the casters survived the painful lvl 1-2 stages. I will not miss lvl 20 combat with it's 6 attacks in a row, that after which the first 2 attacks none of the other 4 will hit, and over-the-top druid/cleric/wizard. Combat is simple, intuitive, and fun. Very fun, I also like the healing surges immensely as the cleric is no longer necessary as so many pointed out, and it gives a limited amount of independence. Although it is a shame they cut down on spells, there was rarely a need for the enormous amount they had as each spell added yet another chance of broken gameplay (2d4 Dex reduction? Bye bye dragons!). Martial classes actually have variety and choice, they can also play the game too and affect combat drastically while not having to solely relate to a 2 handed "I use power attack" monotone. Health is also much better along with the bloodied value, as well as the fact many powers scale along with weapon damage, as well as the fact shield users are not nearly as gimped now. The monster manual's lack of fluff is kind of disappointing, but it's presented well. HD being dumped was awesome, that was painfully tedious compared to the new template and simple +1 rule. Oh, and races that are viable? Half-Elves being useful? Awesome.Read full review
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