Posted by
Arturick on Friday, March 06, 2009 2:03:22 AM
Alright, this is going to be my "I have reached the depths of nerdiness" post. You can't really get more geektacular than a discussion of D&D, but this is my gamer rants page, so here it goes...
I was introduced to D&D by the "Gold Box Games." The GBGs were these little gems of late 80s/early 90s computer RPGs based on Advanced Dungeons and Dragons (a weird mix of 1st and 2nd edition AD&D, leaning towards 2nd). I fell in love with them and became interested in the tabletop version. Soon, I had a little 2nd Ed group going with my uncles, and I was condemned to a life of saying, "Umm... no... you don't dress up like a wizard... it's... it's like a board game."
2nd Ed had quirks, but was enjoyable. It was like making love in a barrel that was rolling down a hill. You keep thinking that the barrel is messing up your groove, but you're having fun. When 3rd Ed came out, my reaction could be summed up as, "Hey! It's a stationary bed instead of a rolling barrel! Awesome!" I proceeded to buy just about every book of expansion rules I could get my hands on, and now have a collection that I can stack around me and use as shelter from sand storms (which, of course, are a HUGE problem in Illinois).
4E broke my heart.
4E, at it's core, is a system for lazy DMs. Statistically, every fight will pan out exactly as planned because there isn't enough flexibility in the rules to let players improvise or strategize their way past things.
Where a high level character in 3E had a plethora of abilities, 4E characters of ANY level have an at-will power, an encounter power, and a once-a-day power. So, if you have the IQ of warm toast, you're going to know exactly what your players will do over the course of a session.
Non-Boss Fight: Encounter power, repeat at-will power until dead or victorious.
Boss Fight: Daily power, encounter power, repeat at-will power until dead or victorious.
Where 3E had relatively tactical sounding "feats" and class abilities like Cleave, Improved Disarm, and Spell Mastery, 4E sounds like a Japanese cartoon. Most of the powers, especially the dailies, sound like they should only be used by adolescent boys with pink hair, floating in a glowing aura while screaming the name of the power.
"
CAAAAASSSSSCADE OOOOOOOOFFFFF STEEEEEEEEEEEEEELLLLLL!!!!"
"DRAAAAAAAAGOOOOOOOONNNNN... FORCE WAVE!!!!"
I kept waiting to see "Buxom Cat Girl" listed in the races section. It would have fit right in, since 4E seems to have been written with an attitude of "let's go lowest common denominator and try to be all things to all fan boys."
I'll be sticking to my 3E books at least until 5E comes out, assuming D&D hasn't imploded before the electronic onslaught by then.