Dungeons & Dragons 4th Edition

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System

  • Player's Handbook

    Player's Handbook

  • Dungeon Master's Guide

    Dungeon Master's Guide

  • Player's Handbook 2

    Player's Handbook 2

  • Monster Manual

    Monster Manual

  • Should have been the Player's Handbook, ended up being the cover art for Dungeon Delve

    Should have been the Player's Handbook, ended up being the cover art for Dungeon Delve

The fourth edition of Dungeons & Dragons, the newest and the most controversial edition of the system.

Basics

Nearly every roll consists of making a single D20 roll, plus a modifier, against a target number. Saving throws have been replaced with Defenses that work like AC; the term 'Saving Throw' is now used to refer to a 50/50 roll every turn to recover from a durational effect.

Character Generation

Chargen is simplified compared to 3rd Edition (although still time consuming) - skills are all-or-nothing, you either have training in them or you don't. Each character gains a selection of Powers which can be used at will, once per encounter, or once per day, in ascending order of power. These abilities often consist of an attack plus some special effect, such as knocking someone prone, setting them on fire, or moving yourself or your opponent. There are also five possible alignments, none of which have much effect on gameplay any more: Lawful Good, Good, Unaligned, Evil and Chaotic Evil. So all you chaotic good drow rip-offs are gone.

Races

The character races in the PHB are:

In addition to the races in the PHB, the following player races are in the MM and other sourcebooks: (all of them are "LA +0", to put things in 3.5 parlance):

Character races in the PHB 2 are:

Character races in the PHB 3 are:

Classes

Character classes in the first PHB consist of:

4e Classes table
  Leader Defender Striker Controller
Martial Warlord Fighter Ranger
Rogue
Divine Cleric
Runepriest		 Paladin Avenger Invoker
Arcane Bard
Artificer		 Swordmage Warlock
Sorcerer		 Wizard
Primal Shaman Warden Barbarian Druid
Seeker
Psionic Ardent Battlemind Monk Psion
Shadow Assassin
  • Cleric (Role: Leader, Power Source: Divine)
  • Fighter (Role: Defender, Power Source: Martial)
  • Paladin (Role: Defender, Power Source: Divine)
  • Ranger (Role: Striker, Power Source: Martial)
  • Rogue (Role: Striker, Power Source: Martial)
  • Warlock (Role: Striker, Power Source: Arcane)
  • Warlord (Role: Leader, Power Source: Martial)
  • Wizard (Role: Controller, Power Source: Arcane)

Classes from the second PHB are:

  • Avenger (Role: Striker, Power Source: Divine)
  • Barbarian (Role: Striker, Power Source: Primal)
  • Bard (Role: Leader, Power Source: Arcane)
  • Druid (Role: Controller, Power Source: Primal)
  • Invoker (Role: Controller, Power Source: Divine)
  • Shaman (Role: Leader, Power Source: Primal)
  • Sorcerer (Role: Striker, Power Source: Arcane)
  • Warden (Role: Defender, Power Source: Primal)

Classes added in the third PHB are:

  • Ardent (Role: Leader, ower Source: Psionic)
  • Battlemind (Role: Defender, Power Source: Psionic)
  • Monk (Role: Striker, Power Source: Psionic)
  • Psion (Role: Controller, Power Source: Psionic)
  • Runepriest (Role: Leader, Power Source: Divine)
  • Seeker (Role: Controller, Power Source: Primal)

Classes in other books include:

  • Artificer (Role: Leader, Power Source: Arcane) from the Eberron campaign guide
  • Swordmage (Role: Defender, Power Source: Arcane) from the Forgotten Realms campaign guide
  • Assassin (Role: Striker, Power Source: Shadow) available only to D&D Insider subscribers

Gameplay

Gameplay is divided into encounters. The GM selects monsters and traps up to a total experience value as recommended for the size of the party, and the encounter plays out as a tactical miniatures game. Non-combat encounters consist of "skill challenges", where skill checks (sometimes of multiple types) are made in sequence. XP is awarded for non-combat challenges and quests, as well as for combat encounters.

Each character can take one standard action (such as an attack), one move action, one minor action, and any number of free actions per turn. Each character also gets one immediate interrupt or immediate reaction per round, which may be used outside of the regular turn order. Generally each character will use their standard action to make use of an attack power. Characters are highly specialised as noted above, and fit into MMO-style combat roles of controller (lockdown/AoE), defender (tank), leader (buffer/healer), striker (DPS).

Characters level up from level 1 to 30; with the scope of the game changing every ten levels. At level 30 characters are expected to undergo some form of apotheosis.

Setting

The setting of 4e is highly generic and designed to give the DM a relatively blank canvas to paint on. This default setting consists of a wild medieval landscape in which isolated human and demihuman communities ('Points of Light') struggle to survive after the fall of a greater empire. This provides an explanation for the large areas of wilderness and many ruins for monsters to hide in, and the need for adventurers as opposed to more regulated militias. Which doesn't make any Goddamn sense, but okay.

The Planescape cosmology, present in 2e and 3e, has been removed, and a much vaguer "Astral Sea" cosmology has been put in its place.

The DMG contains an extensive section explaining the tropes of the setting and how they might be used, and also suggesting ways in which the DM can deviate from them to make the setting his own.

D&D 4e on /tg/

The reaction of some fans.

Since its announcement 4e has been a source of controversy and trolling on /tg/. Its supporters consider it to have made D&D simple and fun. Its critics have numerous objections to the system and setting, often referring to it as 'shit twinkie' (with the implication that they had been expecting a certain type of D&D goodness and sorely disappointed by what was actually delivered.)

It is virtually guaranteed that any 4e thread will descend into trolling within the first dozen replies.

Criticism or troll?

A criticism is one or more factual statements that, when combined, suggest that there is a shortcoming. What separates a criticism from a troll is that a criticism merely lays out facts and allows the reader to decide if the facts strongly communicate a flaw. A troll statement is one that includes possibly inflammatory statements that do not allow the reader to come to their own conclusion. For example, a criticism may be "Light blue type is difficult to read on a white background". A troll statement might be "The light blue type is stupid" or "Light blue is a shit twinkie".

Benefit or Schill?

A benefit is one or more factual statements that suggests some advantage. What separates a benefit from a schill is a benefit lays out facts and allows the reader to decide if the facts strongly communicate an advantage. A shill statement is one that includes puffery or exaggeration or unsupported claims of goodness from which a reasonable reader cannot come to a conclusion; the things you might see or hear during a sales pitch, for example. For example, "classes are designed to complement each other" or "paragon grants a sense of prestige and accomplishment" are examples of schilling, as they are unsupported or include extremely optimistic claims that cannot be verified.

Criticism

This article or section is being fought over by people undoing each other's changes.
Please use the Discussion page for fighting instead of the article.

This section is for what people say is BAD about 4e. If you want to argue, put it in the Benefits section below, don't inject your rebuttals nor counter-arguments here.

A year after release, 4e still hadn’t really caught on with D&D fans in general, and conventions, such as Origins 2009, still have more events devoted to ‘old’ D&D than to 4e, as documented in their event guide. Planned events at Origins 2010 have it showing even worse, unprecedented amongst all other 'newest' editions of Dungeons and Dragons. GenCon 2010 will probably have more tables for 4e, but this is due to WoTC renting a hall where tables will be present; these aren't actual events, however, just tables where people can play, so counting tables here isn't as reasonable as counting actual events with people running and in them.

The reasons for this lack of popularity are many. While 4rries thinks it's all about random hate, there are actually quite a number of valid complaints, as well as some folks that really didn't like being insulted by WoTC in many ways, with wide swaths of the game virtually unplayable as written.

Some of the criticisms leveled at 4e include:

  • none. There are only trolling points.

Common trolling points

Trolls on the critic side often use these points in an attempt to start an edition war.

  • Claim that power-based class abilities is too similar to MMOGs, in particular World of Warcraft.
  • Claim that Martial characters resemble magical anime characters in capabilities.
  • Claim that the roles that fighters, wizards, clerics, and rogues fill were lifted from World of Warcraft.
  • "I could use Page 42 as canonical rules for skill checks to climb inside a dogs ass" or some other patently absurd action.

Benefits

This article or section is being fought over by people undoing each other's changes.
Please use the Discussion page for fighting instead of the article.

This section is for what people say is GOOD about 4e. If you want to argue, put it in the Criticisms section above, don't inject your rebuttals nor counter-arguments here.

Some argue that 4e hate is summarily recognized as the inane rantings of butthurt grognards. In fact, most 'criticisms' about 4e to an actual 4e player make little sense and are founded on a lack of understanding or outright attempts at deceit to discourage players from playing a game even they don't know why they hate. The fact stands that in GenCon 2010, 4e will feature the most tables of all D&D events. In any case, the game has numerous good qualities, with only the most important listed in this section. Take any criticism with a grain of salt, because so many are false that the actual ones get lost in the pile; and read below to know why you might enjoy trying it.

  • 4e has a more uniform artwork system that's much easier on the eyes.
  • No more random chargen! Now everyone can have an 18, or even a pair of 18s in their attributes, instead of unfair dice rolling, putting all players on even ground.
  • 4e made changes to the previous system to make the game sometimes more accessible or play out faster than its predecessor.
  • The streamlined nature of the game means you don't have to flip through the book to figure out how a power works, as there aren't different types of "Blind" or "Stunned" effects.
  • "Powers" are feat-like additional options when developing their character. This replaces the old spell system and allows base classes like fighters to enjoy the versatility enjoyed by clerics and prestige classes in combat.
  • There are few attacks in the game that merely do damage; most will change the battle with ongoing damage, moving opponents against their will into better position, status effects, & other stuff more interesting than just 1[W] damage.
  • Most classes earn the same amount of powers, giving each class a simple balance of combat effectiveness and utility - however, each class is still unique and performs in its own way.
  • Skills are simplified into broad categories, no longer needing an accounting degree nor half the page to keep track of points. Now everyone rolls the appropriate skill, but only those "trained" in class-appropriate skills or taking skill-feats get a bonus.
  • "Roles" simplify what each class will bring the party in combat. Strikers deal damage to single monsters and expose weaknesses for others to exploit; Defenders focus the enemy's attention on away from vulnerable partners and can withstand more punishment, Controllers use their strategically to hinder multiple enemies beyond damage, and Leaders can encourage, heal, and grant benefits to their comrades. Classes with the same Role still have their differences: a Monk (Striker) is known for leaping around the battlefield with fast movement, using judo and kung-fu to move enemies so a Rogue (Striker) can flank and sneak-attack on their turn.
  • Classes complement each other's tactics.
  • "Skill Challenges" are used as encounters without combat (ie.: disarming complex mechanisms, protracted diplomatic negotiations, sage research, &c.) with a series of tasks to achieve a final goal, each task a skill roll with modifiers for tactics.
  • The game encourages out-of-the-box, creative thinking, allowing players to gain advantages rather than a whirlpool of penalties for doing actions the rules don't cover. Page 42 in the DMG allows Dungeon Masters to quickly adjudicate creative tactics so a DM will never have to say "you can't do that because I don't know how it would work out."
  • The streamlined effect system makes power descriptions easier to understand and remember. Powers that blind, slow, stun, and etc don't come with their own set of rules on how the blind, slow, or stun works - no more magic-users flipping through the rulebooks in the heat of combat trying to remember what dice to roll to know how long their spell lasts.
  • Saving throws are now a static 10-or-better on d20, so that unlucky rollers won't be screwed over by having a poor Will defense. This reduces the chance you will be blind or confused for a whole fight. You still have a Will, Reflex, and Fortitude defense for when these effects are put on you in the first place.
  • Fortitude, Reflex, and Will Saves have been replaced with Defenses that are functionally identical to AC. No longer do you roll your Will versus a DC, instead the attacker rolls the spell/effect's "attack" against your defense.
  • The Fort, Reflex and Will defense numbers each depend on the higher bonus from TWO stats. No more dump stat where everyone in the party has shit Charisma.
  • Prestige classes have been taken out, you don't have to count how many levels you want to forgo on your base class anymore. Instead, each class has several "paragon paths" which are like specialties. Your class gains new features powers based on its paragon path, but still retains the benefits of leveling the base class itself.
  • More monster races, without needing to use "Level Adjustment" mathematics that feels like you were kept back a few grades in school.
  • Feats are more interesting, and easier to choose from. All classes and races have feats geared towards them for each tier.
  • Powers are divided into At-Wills (every turn), Encounters (once per fight), and Dailies (once between sleeps). With At-will powers, lower-level Fighters can now cleave on every attack or push enemies around, and wizards can continually cast spells instead of three rounds then crossbow.
  • The three tiers for character levels (heroic (1-10), paragon (11-20), & epic (21-30)) give a sense of prestige and accomplishment not seen since Original D&D with Basic/Expert/Companion/Master.
  • Traps can be designed like monsters, with roles and templates, and introduced into an encounter.
  • 4e has many supplemental books even for being so young. Each of these splatbooks arrive quickly.
  • Monsters in the 4e Monster Manual come with a pre-packaged set of features that make them interesting encounters even without any alterations.
  • Any race can take up any class, and still be an effective contributor to the party - though that shit will still get you thrown out of CharOp. Enjoy your Halfling Fighter!
  • You say you actually wanna play Drow and Minotaurs and not be levels behind everyone because you thought something looked cool or it fit your concept? Welcome to 4th Edition! You can say you're playing any cool monster you want!
  • Alignment has been abridged, and no class loses its abilities because they change (except Invoker), thus no kobold babies trap or Use Poison = Fall From Grace.

Common Trolling Points

Trolls on the supporting side (or pretending to support, just to start a shitstorm) have their own glitches that will drive the rational behaviour out of a discussion about D&D:

  • "You can just fix that with houserules." aka the Oberoni Fallacy
  • Claim that 4e is better because it is newer.
  • Claim that more video game players will switch to D&D now that it's easier for them to understand.
  • Inform everyone that you're switching to 4e
  • Claim that the game encourages 'out of the box thinking', by citing Page 42.

Fandom

It is said that in the darkest corners of /tg/ and behind the very stars themselves, there exist fans of 4e. There are many rumors of these "fans", but most reports say that they are mostly nice folk who recognize the game's flaws but still want to play and share it with people for fun, making them either a very tragic folk or just... folk. The fanatic, ferocious 4efag or "4rry" may be a rare breed, but one to be wary of! It is said that logic and previous editions bounce off its hide, and the best way to escape alive is to wave a D&D Insider subscription to their nose, huck it in the other direction, and run, praying to the gods.

The most dedicated unpaid fanwork based on 4e would be the Touhou Power Cards, although it's difficult to say whether these weaboo fags are using Touhou to be 4e fans, or 4e to be Touhou fans, or perhaps using Touhou as an overly-elaborate satire of the 4e concept of class powers.

See also

External Links

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