Goodman Games

I'm not trying to start a debate about what is better or worse about edition X. I'm genuinely curious. My gaming group has played 4E for a month now and we just had this discussion. For instance one of us said that his number one without a doubt is being able to go through multiple encounters without having to leave the dungeon and rest every five minutes. So what does everyone think?

I like how mages can cast at least something, something effective, every round.

I do like how Surges free up clerics to be something more than the party band aid dispenser.

Um, I think thats all I like. I can't recall anything else.

I like the ways monster design has been changed.

I like that less time is spent on book keeping.

MatthewJHanson wrote:I like the ways monster design has been changed.

I like that less time is spent on book keeping.

This was our DM's favorite thing as well. Combats are so much faster now for the DM. In fact I think the players are spending more time deciding which power their character is going to use than the DM spends running all the monsters.

OK maybe I could change this to just a top 5.
5. Lots of HP and lots of hitting things.
4. Crits are auto max damage.
3. Spell casters having an at will power. So after two rounds of spell casting you don't have to hide in the back and try to shoot a crossbow.
2. Our DM seems less stressed behind the screen. He says you can get all the info you need for an encounter at a glance. No flipping through books to look up this and that all the time.
1. Rolling a natural twenty to save against death and hearing the DM say that you recover and get to spend a healing surge. I was able to stand up and get right back into the battle.

I like that monsters now have just a few powers they can do rather than a whole bunch of spells, spell-like abilities, etc. Monsters never got a chance to use more than three or four of their abilities in a given combat, anyway.

NinjaDancer wrote:I like that monsters now have just a few powers they can do rather than a whole bunch of spells, spell-like abilities, etc. Monsters never got a chance to use more than three or four of their abilities in a given combat, anyway.

Yeah, I'm glad the days of having to write up an entire full character sheet, huge spell list etc. included, (based on class) for a bad guy or npc are over.

It's just as fun now, if not more, and much easier to manage.

In no particular order:

• The implied "points of light" setting.
• The new cosmology.
• The prevalence of movement, positioning, and repositioning in combat.
• Ease of prep for DMs.
• A clear discussion of expected roles in combat.
• Many distinct, conceptually strong classes.
• Increased focus on teamwork.
• Monster personalities/behaviors have stronger mechanical backing.
• The generally open, "try anything" spirit of the rules.
• Taking the best parts of old, classic adventures and settings and incorporating them into the "default" game.

I'm not sure I can come up with 10 things, but I'll toss a few out.

* The artwork is really neat. Different from other editions, and distinctive. (I won't say it's my favorite, but each edition brings a different art style.)

* I like the fact that characters have so many things they can do each encounter, each day, whenever. (Also a disadvantage, since I don't have it all figured out yet, but it's a neat concept.)

* I like the fact that characters have so many options. (Personally, I'm a very traditional gamer and prefer the standard races and classes, but my son and some of my players like to try more unique characters and 4E gives them those choices.)