First thoughts on D&D 4th edition

[Flyerfan1991]

Originally Posted by roguebfl

never a good reason for use of low level? then this is a HUGE dispartcher from privous vertion of wizards, even a level 12+ i could never ge enough slots for first and second level spell. shore the combat spells did less in need, but those level were chock full of utility spells the never stopped being useful regardless your level.

Yeah, any clever wizard can use tons of 1st/2nd level slots for all sorts of useful non-combat spells.

--Mike L.

[Jürgen Hubert]

Originally Posted by Flyerfan1991

Yeah, any clever wizard can use tons of 1st/2nd level slots for all sorts of useful non-combat spells.

Most non-combat spells seem to be done by rituals now. Which don't require spell slots and don't have a limit to their daily usage, but require expensive components and a lot more time to cast.

But hey - no more making picking locks by hand useless through a simple "knock" spell!

[Fred Brackin]

Originally Posted by Jürgen Hubert

But hey - no more making picking locks by hand useless through a simple "knock" spell!

No more getting around not having a thief in the party either.

It'd be interesting to see what 4e classes really are indispensable.

[Jürgen Hubert]

Originally Posted by Fred Brackin

No more getting around not having a thief in the party either.

Oh, the knock spell still exists as a ritual. But it's so inconvenient to use that it is almost always better if you have a trained thief in the party. Who wants to stand around casting a spell for ten minutes and spend expensive material components if a thief can do it in a fraction of the time at no cost?

[Anthony]

Originally Posted by Fred Brackin

No more getting around not having a thief in the party either.

Nah. You can still dispose of locks and traps through brute force. You can also take Trained Skill (Thievery) or Apprentice Thief.

[syxtfour]

I'll be interested in 4e when I see something on the bard class. Until then, I'll be sticking to 3.5.

[Warlockco]

Looked at the books today.
First reaction is no way in hell.
This doesn't resemble D&D in any of the incarnations that I have played before. (Basic, 1st, 2nd, 3.x)

I might be willing to try to play a character, but I'm definately not running a game.

[Collective_Restraint]

Originally Posted by Warlockco

Looked at the books today.
First reaction is no way in hell.
This doesn't resemble D&D in any of the incarnations that I have played before. (Basic, 1st, 2nd, 3.x)

Seconded. D&D is dead.

[syxtfour]

Originally Posted by Collective_Restraint

Seconded. D&D is dead.

I wouldn't necessarily go that far. I mean what, 4th Edition's only been out for a day or two, right? Sure the changes are a definite shock, but I think time and subsequent books will truly tell if the changes are ones in the wrong direction or not.

[Anders]

Played a Dragonborn Warlord yesterday (the introductory adventure - Kobold Massacre!)

I liked it. It's slimmer and quicker. Some things will take a bit to get used to, but I definitely think they're going in the right direction. One huge improvement was the remaking of the spell duration system - buffs last one encounter or one day. Another huge improvement was the introduction of workable rules for ranged combat

I don't like the revamped skill system - it feels like a laundry-list. I also suspect that the +5 for being trained will become less and less significant as time goes on. Perhaps introduce a semi-trained category for skills on your skill list - if it's not on your skill list, you don't improve as level goes up.