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More thoughts on Dungeons & Dragons, 4th Edition
I have been running a monthly, in store, D&D 4e game using the Delve Night adventures provided by Wizards of the Coast. So, I have a little more play under my belt and I have been reading bits and pieces of the new 4e books.
Today, I was looking at the new Arcane Power book, which is new options for wizards and other, well, what used to be spellcasters. Various impressions:
-Art, the cover is terrible and much of the interior art is reused from various 3.x books (which just strikes me as cheap), not that it is bad art, but I have seen it before.
-New Powers, pages (and pages and pages, roughly 2/3rds of book) of new powers which just leave me cold. Which is odd, as I like to look through spell and magic item descriptions. But page after page of carefully blocked out, narrowly defined powers, I find very wearing.
-Vague Nods to Roleplaying, there is a little discussion of how somethings (like a Warlock's curse) might look to the characters but most it is just mechanics and more mechanics. My favorite example of this is there is a feat that can only be taken by dwarves with the beautifully evocative name of "Rune-Scribed Soul", know what it is? Neither do I, as it is only described in mechanical terms! Not a single word of descriptive text or how it might define a character outside of bonuses to dice. Such a waste.
In other words, it fully confirms my existing opinion of 4e.
Today, I was looking at the new Arcane Power book, which is new options for wizards and other, well, what used to be spellcasters. Various impressions:
-Art, the cover is terrible and much of the interior art is reused from various 3.x books (which just strikes me as cheap), not that it is bad art, but I have seen it before.
-New Powers, pages (and pages and pages, roughly 2/3rds of book) of new powers which just leave me cold. Which is odd, as I like to look through spell and magic item descriptions. But page after page of carefully blocked out, narrowly defined powers, I find very wearing.
-Vague Nods to Roleplaying, there is a little discussion of how somethings (like a Warlock's curse) might look to the characters but most it is just mechanics and more mechanics. My favorite example of this is there is a feat that can only be taken by dwarves with the beautifully evocative name of "Rune-Scribed Soul", know what it is? Neither do I, as it is only described in mechanical terms! Not a single word of descriptive text or how it might define a character outside of bonuses to dice. Such a waste.
In other words, it fully confirms my existing opinion of 4e.
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Having said this, I feel like the roleplaying going on in my current 4e game is as rich and clever as any I've seen in the games I've run. The rules don't get in their way.
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I am sure that is true. But I would say it is in spite of the system and, honestly, so has roleplaying been in all versions of D&D. I just find the grinding emphasis on mechanics in 4e painful and distracting. I can see how the tactic game can be a lot of fun, how monsters are easier for most people to stat out and all that. It is just not the game I want to play.
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