Hail fellow dungeoneers, Chief Neckbeard here with the first edition of Tabletop. Some of you may be asking yourselves "well why didn't he post it on Tuesday and make it Tabletop Tuesdays?" To which my reply is "Because alliteration is dumb *snort*" Every other Sunday I will present you with a choice of the finest (and not so finest) in tabletop pen n paper role playing games.
Dungeons and Dragons 4th Edition
(the new logo reminds me of when Wizards changed the MtG logo back in 8th edition or whatever)
When I first gazed at a preview to the new edition of the most popular role playing game in the world, my first thought was "Is this DnD or Dungeons of Dragoncraft?"
Sure enough, the chief theme of 4th ed. is undoubtedly "Roll playing, not role playing." Flipping through the massive Players Handbook which condenses much of the information once featured in the 3.X Dungeon Master's Guide one can find a plethora of features that influence combat and combat alone. Every paragraph is bereft with, and I exaggerate only slightly, illusions of grandeur that revolve around the singular idea of "reaching the end." One of the major editions, Tiers, "fixes" the confusion a newcomer might have with the vast amount of options presented in earlier editions but it's also the games biggest boon.
(it's funny to note that in an interview one of the components of the game they wanted to eliminate forever is the thought of dwarven women having beards. this was discussed... IN LENGTH.)
As it is, every character is essentially the same. Every ability culminates from the same pool and every feat either enhances a combat ability or gives a slight bonus to skills. Characters are now considered "heroes" being adept at everything as bonuses are granted based on levels. A level 10 wizard is just as experienced at fighting as a 10th level fighter but fighters gain skills and feats that improve their proficiency with specific weapons making every character a powerhouse regardless of class. Balance issues are even more complicated as every combat encounter is balanced based on a 5 character setup of specific "roles" meaning smaller gaming groups have to be saturated with NPC's and larger gaming groups require more work from the DM to challenge the party.
The game literally runs like a console RPG as monsters are no longer based on the same rules that builds characters. While there are currently rules that allow you to play as monster races it's impossible to, say, capture and convert an enemy into an ally and expect him to put up a decent fight. There's no rules for monster creation meaning a DM either has to modify a current creature or just use weird combination to challenge the player (fighting harpies in an inn because there are no specific Ogres matching the parties level hooray!). Speaking of the larger focus on combat, social skills and sensory skills (like search, sense motive, bluff, diplomacy, etc.) have been stuffed into a generic skill respectively degrading their importance. It doesn't make much sense that a fighter, a class that focuses on hitting things, would be equally excellent at negotiating with royalty as he is with detecting magic items and discerning their properties.
(hey look, i'm a wizard with cool energy swirls even though my only power is shocking hands and fireball oooooh)
Magic as well has been nerfed to no end allowing Wizards, Warlocks, and Clerics a generic array of ranged missile spells making them more like magical ballistas than specialty casters. Rituals take up the reigns as generic spells but they're a small category of generic everyday spells like raise dead, magic circle and gentle repose. Gone are a wizards ability to play with matter and a clerics miracles of extraplanar shelter and food creation. All the flavor of summoning noxious clouds, controlling the wind, and molding the environment are gone and replaced by a glorified archer with magic missiles and holy bolts vice arrows.
(Dungeons and Dragons, now offering virtual pens and paper)
Wizards main proponent is DnD Insider, the online mode where players can play... well, online. It's a novel idea; how many times I've had to cancel a game because I couldn't gather all of my buddies together is uncountable but it saps all the magic away from the game itself. Tabletop gaming is more of a social event than an actual
GAMING event and it's a lot of fun getting together with your buddies, sipping on beer, cracking jokes, and rolling dice at the same table. Online chatting is just as sociable, but the atmosphere isn't there unless you enjoy going "lol shit sux" at giving an exasperated sigh because one of your players types at the blazing speed of 10 words per hour.
There is some positive behind 4th edition truly. Combat is fast and simple. There's very little confusion as far as the rules are concerned and, when 5 players are present, the game is incredibly balanced. Every class has SOMETHING useful to contribute to combat which is both a positive aspect and a boon on the gameplay itself. It's a shame greater focus and encouragement isn't placed on the roleplaying factor because fighting stuff has been nearly perfected.
All in all, if you want options, options, and more options pick up 3.5 and it's multitude of errata and flavor books. At the moment, 4E presents the clearest and most concise form of Dungeons and Dragons ever but without the added flavor presented in 3.5, the game is boring for anything other than recreating your favorite roguelike.
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