Off-topic: 4th Edition Playtests

I'd like to stray from the intended path with a second post this week, about 4th Edition Dungeons & Dragons. There are forums out there full of criticism (as well as praise) for the upcoming rules change. I was decidedly opposed to 4E, at first. I bandwagoned with the cries that roleplay was being undermined, that the gameworld was being made unbelievable and non-conducive to deep storytelling.

And then to see if my points were valid, I ran a 4E playtest using what we know about the rules so far.

It's not so bad. As a ruleset for managing the world on your game table, Dungeons & Dragons still works. It's not a perfect system - some powers have damage outputs too high or too low for the situation, although that's the only problem I've seen so far. I know I'd rather be playing Shadowrun or Ars Magica, if anyone around here was willing to give it a chance. But that's not the case, and D&D (regardless of edition) seems to attract both experienced and first-time gamers like moths to a lamp. So, we use D&D.

I almost exclusively use homebrew materials at my gametable, blending campaign settings together like smoothies and taste-testing the combination with my players, but for 4E I'm using adventures released by fans on ENWorld.org. Despite this, I've been able to put my own spin on the game. It's also taught me that the story that the GM and their players tell is more important than whether or not there are rules for Tieflings in the PHB, or what the specific traps and monsters in room D4 are supposed to be.

So, I like at-will and per-encounter powers. I like the ability to throw hordes of level 1 to 3 enemies at my 1st-level party without utterly crushing them. I don't like Tieflings, I do like gnomes. I'll probably write a lot of rituals for the casters in my party, if the PHB doesn't have a good enough selection.

Yes, I'll take up 4E. I don't care if you do, too, or not. Play whatever edition (or game) you think helps you tell the most interesting stories. Save or Die will continue to focus on weekly, setting- and game- free thoughts on roleplaying in general: it isn't the rules that make the game, it's the people, and how they play it.