Game: Dungeons and Dragons Basic Game

Thread: Missing booklet!!!

TheMarko — 2008-11-25T14:42:12+00:00

Hi all, While moving, I lost my D&D basic game 2006 variant - with blue dragon - booklets. So I have all minis and all map tiles, but no booklets. Is there any way I could download them from somewhere? Or if there is someone willing to scan and send me a copy that would be great. I don't need characters, because they can be made, but I need basic and advanced rules booklets.

Thank You in advance,
Marko.

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mwda — 2008-11-13T09:27:28+00:00

Weird Adventure Party (15mm Scale)

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mwda — 2008-11-13T09:25:44+00:00

Custom adventure using grid map from D&D 4th editon

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mwda — 2008-11-13T09:21:52+00:00

Adventure using D&D 4th Map

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dexblair — 2008-11-13T06:31:12+00:00

dndrpgstarter2008 C

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dexblair — 2008-11-13T06:28:17+00:00

dndrpgstarter2008 A

Thread: Re: Starter Set review: Because this site's name isn't RolePlayGeek

ced1106 — 2008-11-03T18:18:30+00:00

I posted a more fleshed-out review on RPG.net as well. I don't think it says much more than what I posted already, though.

http://www.rpg.net/reviews/archive/14/14033.phtml

Thread: Starter Set review: Because this site's name isn't RolePlayGeek

ced1106 — 2008-10-26T03:19:13+00:00

The D&D Starter Set is an introductory boxed... oh, let's get to the point. There's nothing in this product you won't find elsewhere -- and hasn't already been released. Experienced roleplayers looking for an introduction to 4e should start with The Keep on the Shadowfell.

Shadowfell is an introductory set *and* contains an adventure. This boxed set contains only *three* encounters, maybe good for a few hours of play. D&D is a miniatures-driven game. This boxed set contains a sheet of *tokens*. This set has tiles, but you can buy the first D&D tile set at a reasonably priced $10. The dice are crayon-colored ugly.

So what good is this thing? Well, the rules are quite substantial. If you don't already have the three core books, this set contains the combat rules, monster stats, and dungeon advice, enough to play the game if you create your own dungeons. In 4e, first level is quite playable, so you could make up a few encounters, play the pregenerated characters, and have an evening of entertainment, similar to a dungeoncrawl boardgame, like Descent. (Myself, I have a D&D module from free RPG day, so I'm ready.)

But isn't this for new players? Like small children or something? No. Unlike the previous Basic D&D sets, this set gets into terminology like "standard actions" on page two of the Quick Start booklet. It's more like you flipped to a chapter of the Player's Handbook or such.

Ironically, I think this set is the best match for a new roleplaying audience: boardgamers. 4e has the most "boardgame" feel of the Dungeons and Dragons games. As boardgamers, we want to play *now*, don't mind pregenerated characters, and want to be done with it all in three hours. We're not interested in dropping $30 for paper and maps, but $15 for tokens, tiles, and ugly dice would work. If you can make your own encounters (even the three in the game should fill up a few hours), you should be all set.

Thread: Re: Any conversion of this basic game into dnd4e?

ced1106 — 2008-10-26T03:07:39+00:00

The Starter Set should have enough monster stats to help convert. I'll take a closer look at let you know.

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lmyrick — 2008-08-29T22:39:55+00:00

Reaper miniature Barnabas Ironbrace: back view

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lmyrick — 2008-08-29T22:39:07+00:00

Reaper miniature Barnabas Ironbrace

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Yugblad — 2008-08-12T19:04:26+00:00

Simple Chest Trap: Difficulty Class 17 - inflicts 2D6 damage (halved if PC makes a 16+ Reflex check)

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Yugblad — 2008-08-12T18:52:02+00:00

Simple Blade Trap: Difficulty Class 15 - inflicts D6+1 damage if sprung.

Thread: Re: Please help me understand the current state of the D&D world!

nyhotep — 2008-08-12T14:13:21+00:00

You start at level 1 and finish at level 3. The idea is that you can use the pregenerated characters who have all their stats and upgrades listed, so you don't need any other books. I seem to remember rules for starting at a higher level, by beefing up the encounters.

Thread: Re: Please help me understand the current state of the D&D world!

EvanMinn — 2008-08-12T13:20:44+00:00

When it says it is for characters level 1-3, does that mean you should start at level 1 and it will take you to level 3 or that you can start with a level 3 character (or 1 or 2) and it will still work well?

Thread: Re: Any conversion of this basic game into dnd4e?

GerryRailBaron — 2008-08-12T11:17:21+00:00

However, there are "quickstart" rules to 4e in H1 Keep on the Shadowfell which are analogous to the rules of the Basic game. The quick start rules are 4e, but just the very basics. In The basic game, they actually change a few things, such as having preset initiatives.

Gerry

Thread: Re: Please help me understand the current state of the D&D world!

GerryRailBaron — 2008-08-12T10:29:05+00:00

Skadar wrote:
davethegame wrote:
I also recommend checking out this play report from someone who played the "Keep on the Shadowfell" adventure with his son:
http://www.story-games.com/forums/comments.php?DiscussionID=...

Fantastic stuff! This is exactly the kind of experience I am after.

Thanks a lot.

Having tried to read the Player's Handbook, and having read thru H1 Keep on the Shadowfell, I would STRONGLY recommend you start with the "Keep on the Shadowfell". It has introductory rules for characters in the pre-generated character book, and introductory rules for running adventures in the Adventure book.

These introductory rules are a small subset of the 4th Ed rules, but sufficient to allow play. Start there, cause otherwise three manuals of rules is overwhelming. And I've been playing D&D for 38 years.....

Gerry

Thread: Re: Any conversion of this basic game into dnd4e?

MerricB — 2008-08-05T06:51:47+00:00

Not that I know of. The new basic game for 4e will be released in October or thereabouts, IIRC.

Cheers,
Merric

Thread: Any conversion of this basic game into dnd4e?

dexblair — 2008-08-05T02:23:11+00:00

Did anyone have this basic game convert in dnd 4th edition??.

Thread: Re: Please help me understand the current state of the D&D world!

mr_lunch — 2008-07-30T06:16:14+00:00

davethegame wrote:
The Dungeon Master's Guide has rules for playing without a DM
There's a certain irony there...

Thread: Re: Please help me understand the current state of the D&D world!

allezpsg — 2008-07-29T22:08:31+00:00

Steve,

If you're looking for character sheets you can download them (free of charge) from the D&D website...

http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/charactersheets

Have fun!

Thread: Re: Please help me understand the current state of the D&D world!

bryanwinter — 2008-07-29T21:10:30+00:00

Skadar wrote:
I am very confused about everything being offered by WoTC with regard to Dungeons and Dragons 4th edition, minis, etc. Can somebody help me out here?

It's a Mad House! A Mad House!!!

P.S. 4th edition rocks my socks.

Thread: Re: Please help me understand the current state of the D&D world!

Skadar — 2008-07-29T21:00:42+00:00

davethegame wrote:
I also recommend checking out this play report from someone who played the "Keep on the Shadowfell" adventure with his son:
http://www.story-games.com/forums/comments.php?DiscussionID=...

Fantastic stuff! This is exactly the kind of experience I am after.

Thanks a lot.

Thread: Re: Please help me understand the current state of the D&D world!

Skadar — 2008-07-29T20:40:54+00:00

Wow, excellent. It looks like the 4e Player's Handbook is the way to go for now. I have a bunch of D&D minis for monsters that come with D&D stats, so I'll use those. Though half of my minis are from 3e, though I think I can download new cards for them updated to 4e.

I wish I would have taken home a few of the character sheets we used during the 4e delve... I think they would be useful.

Thread: Re: Please help me understand the current state of the D&D world!

anarchy — 2008-07-29T20:33:27+00:00

There is a 4th edition starter set coming out later this year.

You might be able to get by with Keep on the Shadowfell adventure. It includes starter rules for 4e, plus it has maps to play on.

Thread: Re: Please help me understand the current state of the D&D world!

davethegame — 2008-07-29T20:32:48+00:00

You'll want to pick up all three core books (Player's Handbook, Dungeon Master's Guide, Monster Manual) but that should give you everything you need to do what you're asking.

The Player's Handbook has all the rules (most of which you should be familiar with already through the Dungeon Delve)

The Dungeon Master's Guide has rules for playing without a DM and for making random dungeons.

The Monster Manual has... well, monsters.

Good luck! I also recommend checking out this play report from someone who played the "Keep on the Shadowfell" adventure with his son:
http://www.story-games.com/forums/comments.php?DiscussionID=...

Thread: Re: Please help me understand the current state of the D&D world!

locusshifter — 2008-07-29T20:24:37+00:00

DM's guide is no longer a detailed version of the rules; the Players Hand Book is basically the only book you need to play, perhaps besides monster manual. The DM's guide is fairly useless now, as even all magical items and equipment are in the PHB.

If you played a sample adventure for 4th edition, then you experienced the 4th edition rules in essentially their entireity.

All movement and measurements are based on 5' square scale, and the rules in the PHB guide you through using the gameplay geared toward miniature assisted games.

So to reiterate, the PHB and Monster Manual are all you need to get started.

Thread: Re: Please help me understand the current state of the D&D world!

snipy3 — 2008-07-29T20:19:54+00:00

As an owner of the basic game myself, I can tell you that there is a significant difference between what the basic game is going for (teaching you to play 3.X rules) as opposed to 4th edition rules. Now, as for specifics, I don't know yet, as I have not gotten a chance to try 4th edition yet, but I will say that there is a huge thread about the new 4th edition on BGG. I can't remember the name of it, but it's not hard to find. That should prove helpful in setting you up with what you would be interested in buying.

Thread: Please help me understand the current state of the D&D world!

Skadar — 2008-07-29T20:12:38+00:00

I am very confused about everything being offered by WoTC with regard to Dungeons and Dragons 4th edition, minis, etc. Can somebody help me out here?

First I'll tell you my goal and you will begin to understand my question.

My Goal: To play simplified D&D with my son using Dungeon Tiles and D&D Miniatures. However, I don't want to play the D&D Minis game, which is a two-player battle. I want to use basic D&D rules to take my son (and other family members) through dungeons, encountering monsters, finding treasure, and gaining experience.

At this years New York Comic Con I played a "Dungeon Delve" using 4th edition rules. THAT is exactly what I want to play, but I can't seem to find it anywhere!

I already own Dungeon Tiles and the 2004 and 2006 "starter sets", but I'd like to play by 4th edition rules. If I want to play that, what do I need to buy? I looked through the 4th edition Dungeon Master's Guide, but it mentions nothing about miniatures and really doesn't look all that helpful to me.

Any ideas?

Thread: Re: 4e Worldwide Release Event: Brief impressions -- and should you buy 4e if you have Descent?

Geosphere — 2008-06-23T13:15:36+00:00

PerfectStorm wrote:
Ughh. This system sounds even more reliant on combat then 3.x. Combat should take 30 minutes max, and role playing an encounter at an inn should take 4 hours.

It DOES. Huge fights (4 vs 15) may run longer. MAY.

The combat system is so brilliant that combats happen super fast with a ton of cinematic detail.

The options to characters are HUGE and my 6 year old daughter EASILY figures all the numbers she needs for everything.

Brilliant combat system. Fastest, most exciting RPG combat I've seen.

Thread: Re: 4e Worldwide Release Event: Brief impressions -- and should you buy 4e if you have Descent?

bigfluffylemon — 2008-06-23T12:17:23+00:00

I played this intro adventure on Free RPG day last Saturday (21st). This was my first game of D&D since the days of the boxed editions (basic, expert, master etc.). The days when 'Dwarf' and 'Elf' were a class etc.

Well, it's changed beyond all recognition. Apart from the d20 mechanic and the basic stats, it could be a completely different game. Obviously this was only a brief intro, but it certainly seemed very different.

The level 1 characters seemed ridiculously buff. Gone are the days of the wizard with 2 level 1 spells he can cast once per day, and 1d4 + con HP - my wizard had half a dozen different spells he could cast over and over, plenty of HP, the ability to heal himself etc. (and nearly got ambushed from behind by those statues - timely use of his teleport power meant that the fighter and cleric bore the brunt of the attack instead).

In many ways I thought this actually made the characters less interesting. Each character now has half a dozen different spells/skills/attacks which looks kinda fun, until you realise that it just tweaks the different dice you roll. The differences between the clerical spells and wizard spells are mostly in name and side benefits. Turning undead is now just another combat ability. To me, the fact that the wizard was useless, as was the thief (they're rogues now. How PC) for much of time in combat, but were useful as utility characters, was part of the fun.

I agree the combats took way too long. 30 odd HP for starting heroes, and level 1 encounters with monsters with over 80? Damage rolls haven't changed much (1d6 + 4 or something), but in the old version a creature with 4 hit dice was scary at level 1. I guess they've bumped HP up to try and reduce how swingy things can be at low level, but it looks as though individual combats will last longer. Especially if you consider how many attack options the players and monsters all have as well.

It was fun hack 'n' slash, and the rules have obviously come a very long way from the old D&D I knew. As always with change, some for better, some for worse. It does seem to be far more about tactical miniatures combat than it used to be - the DM running things said that a board and models are basically required now.

Thread: Re: 4e Worldwide Release Event: Brief impressions -- and should you buy 4e if you have Descent?

avyssaleos — 2008-06-19T07:34:02+00:00

Hey, wasn't the one controlling the skeletons an elf? Our wizard tried casting "sleep" on him and failed and our DM said afterwards he has an elf. (thus immune to sleep)

I also think this adventure was hard (and that's why I liked it). In the end all of our party was down except from our wizard who kept hitting with magic missile.

All in all a very fun experience. And yes, I felt like I was playing a VERY tactical boardgame (and I can't wait to play again )

Thread: Wired article: Killjoy Cooking With the Dungeons & Dragons Crowd

ced1106 — 2008-06-19T04:36:53+00:00

Killjoy Cooking With the Dungeons & Dragons Crowd
Lore Sjöberg Email 06.18.08

Cookbooks are a lot like Dungeons & Dragons and other role-playing games. They contain seemingly rigid rules that, in practice, require a certain amount of adaptation for your own tastes.

So how come cooking gets its own TV channel and role-playing games don't even get a show on G4? Maybe the population at large doesn't want to pretend to be a half-elf. Maybe RPGs take more imagination than most people have.

However, it just might have something to do with the role-playing community. If geeks talked about cookbooks the way they talk about RPG books, the results would not be pretty:

Posted: 12:15 a.m. by LordOrcus I'm so mad that there's a new edition of The Better Joy Cookbook out. Thanks for making my old copy obsolete, you greedy hacks! For five years now, my friends have been coming over for my eggplant Parmesan, and now I'm never going to be able serve it again unless I shell out 35 bucks for the latest version.

Posted: 12:42 a.m. by Kathraxis Hey, I have a question! When you preheat the oven, can you start it before you measure out the ingredients, or do you have to do it afterward? Please answer quickly, my friends and I have been arguing about it for four hours and we're getting pretty hungry.

Posted: 12:48 a.m. by Goku1440 I found an awesome loophole! On page 242 it says "Add oregano to taste!" It doesn't say how much oregano, or what sort of taste! You can add as much oregano as you want! I'm going to make my friends eat infinite oregano and they'll have to do it because the recipe says so!

The rest of the article...

http://www.wired.com/culture/lifestyle/commentary/alttext/20...

Thread: Re: 4e Worldwide Release Event: Brief impressions -- and should you buy 4e if you have Descent?

Lou-Dawg — 2008-06-12T21:33:22+00:00

Brian M,
You've never had a character die? I ran a table at the Worldwide Game Day and one of the characters died quickly versus those statues. Yeah she had to sit twiddling her thumbs for an hour or so.

The table I ran also had the characters being sandwiched between the statues and the skeletons, with the Necromancer slinging spells from above. It was nasty and it was almost a TPK. The party was wise enough to run away, which is rare in any game of D&D.

Thread: Re: 4e Worldwide Release Event: Brief impressions -- and should you buy 4e if you have Descent?

StormKnight — 2008-06-12T20:55:17+00:00

Just for the record, our 4e combats have been running about an hour - and they tend to be pretty action packed hours.

And we've certainly never had a character sit twidding their thumbs for an hour staring at an empty patch of floor, as has been known to happen in Descent.

Thread: Re: 4e Worldwide Release Event: Brief impressions -- and should you buy 4e if you have Descent?

ced1106 — 2008-06-12T20:42:50+00:00

ipgyst wrote:
I've looked at the books for 4e now (I have a friend who found a torrent - 4e is try-before-you-buy). The artwork is stunning. Even if you hate D&D you should check out some of the art. As for the game, it looks like they made it more complicated than it ever was. Whatever happened to making a simple fighter who knows how to swim and use a sword? I think they merged Age of Renaissance + AD&D 3.5 = AD&D 4.0. Keep in mind that is just a first impression, but it did take the OP Cedric 4 hours for 2 simple combats.

The first combat was pretty simple: Two hobgoblins hiding behind sarcophogi as cover. They were trapped -- when I jumped onto them, they collapsed and caused a minor fire. Nice to see D&D has rules for this sort of thing.

The second was two sets of monsters: Two nasty animated statues dealing knockdowns and 20+ points of stomping damage, and a few skeletons who could be "healed" by the necromancer, attacking us from a side room. Actually, there was a third monster, the necromancer, but the idiot just walked into the room sans meatshields and was KO'ed with a sleep spell!

Oh, and the gamemaster mentioned that he played the adventure before, and had a TPK. Seems that the party went after the skeletons first, then was trapped in a corridor while the animated statues attacked from behind -- where the magic-user and cleric were. The GM who acts as a "benevolent dictator" keeping his party alive may be a thing of the past...

*Anyway* I forgot to mention a problem I had with 3.x. Now that there are so many *tactical* rules the GM must know, I'm wondering if these rules drive away GMs who prefer traditional roleplaying. As a GM, I just don't care about optimizing tactical combat for my bad guys, when all I want to do is tell a story.

aka. Washu! ^O^

Thread: Re: 4e Worldwide Release Event: Brief impressions -- and should you buy 4e if you have Descent?

SybotCB — 2008-06-12T20:42:06+00:00

When I played D&D years ago, we played on boards, with minatures too. But most of the time. Creatures were dice. Goblins, and Kobolds and the like were dice coming down the corridor.

So, you don't have to buy bunches of miniatures.

Thread: Re: 4e Worldwide Release Event: Brief impressions -- and should you buy 4e if you have Descent?

Stratagems — 2008-06-11T02:30:39+00:00

With the recent news of changes to MtG and D&D, Wizards/Hasbro seems to be in desperation mode to increase revenue.

Thread: Re: 4e Worldwide Release Event: Brief impressions -- and should you buy 4e if you have Descent?

dbuel — 2008-06-10T18:10:16+00:00

Thread: Re: 4e Worldwide Release Event: Brief impressions -- and should you buy 4e if you have Descent?

hancock.tom — 2008-06-10T16:48:53+00:00

If I am going to play an RPG with 4 hour combat sessions, I am going to go with a system that can run more than just high fantasy, most likely HERO system.

Thread: Re: 4e Worldwide Release Event: Brief impressions -- and should you buy 4e if you have Descent?

Stratagems — 2008-06-10T03:35:06+00:00

Looks too much like a MMO for my taste. I'll stick with second Edition (yes second) and if I want a quick RPG board game - Descent: Journeys in the Dark, Warhammer Quest, Dungeonquest, Talisman, and...I think I'm showing my age.

Thread: Re: 4e Worldwide Release Event: Brief impressions -- and should you buy 4e if you have Descent?

franklincobb — 2008-06-09T17:10:03+00:00

Beefy wrote:
Good for you, Ken. However, you may not have done the guy a favor. Descent is nothing like playing D&D or any RPG for that matter. The sales rep and his friends may be more into telling a story and not so much into running from spawned monsters for 4 hours. Even so, the guy may actually fall in love with Descent and never look back. Personally, I'd rather spend my $75 on getting 4E.

But...you don't even play D&D!

Running from spawned monsters...isn't that the crux of most D&D adventures? Well, that and hanging out at the tavern until the King's messenger comes rushing in, seeking adventurers?

Thread: Re: 4e Worldwide Release Event: Brief impressions -- and should you buy 4e if you have Descent?

Philip Thomas — 2008-06-09T15:09:45+00:00

Doesn't sound as if its changed greatly from 3e. For the level of abstraction I ran my last campaign, players could proabably play from a 4e rulebook even though it was offiically 3/3.5. Actually one guy insisted he was playing AD&D, which I allowed him to believe (I ported his character across so that it could meaningfully interact with the others).

I was stupid enough to buy an entire shelf of 3e/3.5e supplements, so I'm kind of wary of making them all out of date. But the artwork might be worth a look.

Thread: Re: 4e Worldwide Release Event: Brief impressions -- and should you buy 4e if you have Descent?

Beefy — 2008-06-09T14:25:16+00:00

franklincobb wrote:
Last week there was a software rep in the office. As we were talking over some stuff about a new software package we're using, he noticed my selection of boardgames on the bookshelf in my office. Seeing that a couple of them were fantasy-themed, he asked if I'd ever played D&D.

"Yeah, years ago," I said.

"Do you plan on getting into 4e?" he asked. "There's a group of guys who I'm going to get together with and we're going to start a campaign for old times' sake."

It was then that I started telling him about Descent. As I kept describing it to him, his eyes grew wide, as though first of all he couldn't quite comprehend how such a thing existed, and secondly how he simply did not know such a thing existed. Several times as I described it to him he kept saying, "Really?"--not in a polite-sounding tone but one of genuine inquisition.

I still thought he might be just doing the 'salesman' thing--feigning interest--except we'd long since stopped talking about that and as he was leaving he asked twice more what the name of "that game" was, jotting down the title. I helpfully gave him a URL where he could order it.

I'm an evil person if he dives into Descent and never looks back at D&D, but I consider it duty performed for a fellow geek.

Good for you, Ken. However, you may not have done the guy a favor. Descent is nothing like playing D&D or any RPG for that matter. The sales rep and his friends may be more into telling a story and not so much into running from spawned monsters for 4 hours. Even so, the guy may actually fall in love with Descent and never look back. Personally, I'd rather spend my $75 on getting 4E.

Thread: Re: 4e Worldwide Release Event: Brief impressions -- and should you buy 4e if you have Descent?

ipgyst — 2008-06-09T00:11:40+00:00

franklincobb wrote:
...I'm an evil person if he dives into Descent and never looks back at D&D, but I consider it duty performed for a fellow geek.

Well done sir.

I've looked at the books for 4e now (I have a friend who found a torrent - 4e is try-before-you-buy). The artwork is stunning. Even if you hate D&D you should check out some of the art. As for the game, it looks like they made it more complicated than it ever was. Whatever happened to making a simple fighter who knows how to swim and use a sword? I think they merged Age of Renaissance + AD&D 3.5 = AD&D 4.0. Keep in mind that is just a first impression, but it did take the OP Cedric 4 hours for 2 simple combats.

Thread: Re: 4e Worldwide Release Event: Brief impressions -- and should you buy 4e if you have Descent?

franklincobb — 2008-06-08T22:10:31+00:00

Last week there was a software rep in the office. As we were talking over some stuff about a new software package we're using, he noticed my selection of boardgames on the bookshelf in my office. Seeing that a couple of them were fantasy-themed, he asked if I'd ever played D&D.

"Yeah, years ago," I said.

"Do you plan on getting into 4e?" he asked. "There's a group of guys who I'm going to get together with and we're going to start a campaign for old times' sake."

It was then that I started telling him about Descent. As I kept describing it to him, his eyes grew wide, as though first of all he couldn't quite comprehend how such a thing existed, and secondly how he simply did not know such a thing existed. Several times as I described it to him he kept saying, "Really?"--not in a polite-sounding tone but one of genuine inquisition.

I still thought he might be just doing the 'salesman' thing--feigning interest--except we'd long since stopped talking about that and as he was leaving he asked twice more what the name of "that game" was, jotting down the title. I helpfully gave him a URL where he could order it.

I'm an evil person if he dives into Descent and never looks back at D&D, but I consider it duty performed for a fellow geek.

Thread: Re: 4e Worldwide Release Event: Brief impressions -- and should you buy 4e if you have Descent?

ced1106 — 2008-06-08T21:27:14+00:00

flapjackmachine wrote:
Descent is a boardgame not a true roleplaying game like AD&D.

Fixed!

I actually find this to be a tad ironic. AD&D had a kludge of mechanics, with its core d20 based on Chainmail, a medieval wargame system with an appendix for fantasy creatures. I remember the endless countless "patches" (aka. rules lawyering) we had to make the combat system work (Q: "What's the die roll modifier for a monk grappling goblins to avoid being pinned by a barricade of chairs and wooden boxes smashed down with a tower shield attack by the rest of the party?"), yet I'm sure it's this mesh of necessary creativity, impromptu thinking, and rules mechanics, which laid the foundation for the roleplaying aspect of the game, which, at least mechanics wise, was almost non-existant (A: "How is breaking from the party's decision to shield-rush the goblins a Lawful action?").

The problem of role-playing in xD&D, of course, was that it was secondary to the combat aspects of the game. In reaction to AD&D, many role-playing systems that emphasized role-playing over combat were designed. It's almost as if xD&D's *lack* of rules forced us to patch the gaps, both for combat and "true roleplaying". I *think* the problem with a new release of D&D is that it forces us to re-patch and start all over again with the house rules that have helped our groups enjoy the game, be it combat or role-playing.

ps. D&D 4.5 will be released in six months, with 5.0 three weeks afterward, and 5.5 ten minutes after that.

aka. Washu! ^O^

Thread: Re: 4e Worldwide Release Event: Brief impressions -- and should you buy 4e if you have Descent?

ipgyst — 2008-06-08T17:45:26+00:00

How long until 4.5 comes out? I'll wait for that.

Thread: Re: 4e Worldwide Release Event: Brief impressions -- and should you buy 4e if you have Descent?

flapjackmachine — 2008-06-08T14:48:31+00:00

Descent and D&D are two different beasts. Descent is a boardgame not a true roleplaying game like D&D. Descent is great at what it does.

Didn't like D&D 3.whatever so will probably not get 4.0.

Wizards of the Coast versions of D&D has added globs of crud to a otherwise ok system. Little but the name Dungeon and Dragons remains, it really is a different roleplaying system. 'd20' is a better descriptor.

For a fixed dungeon crawl with table maps and minis I'd suggest Descent.

Thread: Re: 4e Worldwide Release Event: Brief impressions -- and should you buy 4e if you have Descent?

ScottE — 2008-06-08T08:52:38+00:00

I agree with Jeff. I used to be seriously into RPG's but as I've gotten older I just don't have the time anymore. That's why I play boardgames since they can be finished in one night.

I think the new Descent: The Road to Legend adds everything I wanted in D&D but playable in small chunks and comes with everything I need. Terrain, minis, items, & characters. No random crap that WOTC is trying to push on us. I've seen the new books and they are heavily focused on the minis. Plus they got their monthly online component. Buying core books, adventures, minis, & online subscription is going to cost far more then Descent: Journeys in the Dark and its expansions.

Thread: Re: 4e Worldwide Release Event: Brief impressions -- and should you buy 4e if you have Descent?

PerfectStorm — 2008-06-08T08:33:56+00:00

Ughh. This system sounds even more reliant on combat then 3.x. Combat should take 30 minutes max, and role playing an encounter at an inn should take 4 hours.

I think I'll stick to Descent and save some $$$. Thanks for the review

Thread: 4e Worldwide Release Event: Brief impressions -- and should you buy 4e if you have Descent?

ced1106 — 2008-06-08T05:35:00+00:00

June 7th was the 4e Worldwide Release, a four-hour adventure to introduce gamers to the newest edition of D&D. (And, yes, I didn't find the 4e game entry, so it's in the Basic Game section.)

The adventure was a first-level party of pregenerated characters on your standard dungeon rescue. The dungeon itself consisted of your standard cryptic D&D riddle, a fight against two hobgoblins using cover and traps, and a larger fight with skeletons, animated statues, and a necromancer.

The pre-adventure uses some token roleplaying and skill checks to find out stuff and do stuff. The wizard with archaic knowledge, the cleric with religion, and the fighter with streetwise made skill checks and we had to have a certain number of successes. Meanwhile, I used my endurance roll and the thief used his tracking rolls to generate successes. Wow, roleplaying!

The first room was a generic cryptic riddle that afflicts D&D modules. "From the entry sinister, sun follows sire". I solved half of it because evidently Dwarves know Latin.

The second room were two hobgoblins. This battle was actually a good warm up, as it introduced the simpler cover rules. The adventure also threw us decent trap rules for burning oil. Mmm... toasted dwarf.

The third through fifth rooms were the climactic adventure. Three skeletons, two animated statues, and a necromancer. Long, long, long, but not boring. A three-front battle wasn't possible in the old AD&D I used to play, feats (now called exotics) let us do cool crap, and we were definitely not sure we'd make it out alive.

Some comments:

* 1st level is way-powerful. Or rather, 1st level is playable. You won't die by being killed by an elf. Compared to the old AD&D days, 3rd level is darn similar to 3rd-5th level. My dwarf had thirty hitpoints and, between encounters, could use "surges" to apply healing to himself.

* Feats, skills, spells, etc. are more interesting. You can actually use at least one of them each attack. The more powerful ones are limited to each *encounter* or once per day. Boss monster, anyone?

* Combat takes forever. It took four hours to go through two combats. Those animated statues took too long to kill and KO'ed myself and the other fighter.

* Much of the game reminds me of Descent. But 4e's rules are more thematically strong to fantasy combat, at the cost of there being more of them.

* If this adventure is any indicator of future premade adventures, we're still stuck with stupid riddles and even stupider spellcasters who fight without meatshields.

I haven't played 3.x, though have the rulebooks. I'm not sure 4e is that much of a leap from 3.x. And, of course, if your gaming group prefers some other version of D&D, AD&D, or even RPG, no point switching systems.

As for us boardgamers, it's a deeper, richer, fantasy tactical combat experience than, say, Descent. However, the first $80 you spend on Descent is a complete game with several scenarios and all the components. The first $90 you spend on D&D will only get you as far as the core books. I don't know how WotC will sell their D&D miniatures, but I assume it will be their awful collectible format with random miniatures you don't need (did we really need outer plane first-level creatures?). WotC has a $30 introductory adventure ($20 on Amazon) which you can learn the rules from, but it lacks the D&D miniatures you will want for combat.

I would recommend 4e for the RPG gamer who doesn't have a regular group, and participates in RPGA and store events. A $30 Player's Handbook and a miniature of your character certainly won't hurt your gamer wallet.

aka. Washu! ^O^

Image

Yugblad — 2008-06-04T22:40:26+00:00

The delvers decided to take their pack mule, Barney, into the dungeon.

Thread: Re: 2004 vs. 2006?

BodhiWolff — 2008-04-04T23:24:45+00:00

If I was a new gamer, new to RPG's, not used to switching system, and this close to the rules revision, I'd just wait for the 4th edition. It is only a few months away.

The problem with picking up old editios and trying to transition later is that there is *always* something that gets stuck in somebody's head that causes a roadblock. Something small, something large, something significant ... and in the end, it is easier to just learn it once the way you intend to learn it.

All arguments about which system is best aside, when it comes to large games like these, it is almost always best to simply keep current. Only afficionados, fetishists, and die-hards with huge monetary investments really need to stick with an out-of-date system. Everybody else eventually moves on. New gamers are best just moving on to start with, and saving themselves the headaches.

Now, this doesn't get you started anytime soon. You have to wait for the summer to unfold for the products to come out. In the meantime you can pick up some 4th edition primer stuff online, I think.

But at least you're assured that nobody is learning out-of-date mechanics, out-of-date rules, and out-of-date concepts.

And don't kid yourself ... there are enough little bits that have changed (and enough big bits, too) that new gamers are going to see the 4th edition as significantly different enough to be thrown.

In May, there is a single adventure, "Keep of the Shadowfell", which is a sort of "learn-by-playing" adventure with pre-generated characters, a quick-start guide, a short set of rules, etc. I'm not sure what else you need to play it (as in, do you need a 3.5 player's handbook, etc.?) but it might be completely playable 'out of the box', and as such might serve as an excellent introduction to 4th edition, RPG's in general, etc.

Sadly, the 4th edition "starter set" (their version of the basic set) doesn't have a release date until November, which seems a little silly.

Thread: Re: 2004 vs. 2006?

Dorque — 2008-04-04T23:23:40+00:00

Gerry, I know you are trying to not start a 3.5 vs 4 thread (I honestly don't care, and I know it is a topic that can explode), but in this case it is a valid point. If the OP were to get in to D&D right now and it caught on, they would be in for a surprise this summer when 4th came out. Since classes, spells, skills, and combat are all being overhauled, 4th is a whole different game than 3.5. (If he was transitioning from DnD Minis it would be much less of a jump.)

So it depends on the intent of the OP. If he wants to play DnD because it is the flagship of fantasy RPGs and it has a huge wealth of source material for its multiple worlds then he should wait until 4th because 3.5 DnD is dead. But if he wants to "play DnD" as in play a fantasy RPG and he doesn't care about the setting, then by the time he's played through and gotten used to the basic sets he'll find he's playing Pathfinder and should go to their world rather than relearning a new game.

Thread: Re: 2004 vs. 2006?

Matt Loter — 2008-04-04T23:04:54+00:00

matthewjhoskins wrote:
transitioning into 4th ed. via core rule books won't be a huge deal.

From everything I've seen and interviews, developer blogs etc, I don't know if that's really true. A lot of the base mechanics are of course staying the same (or very similar) but I question if a lot of the bigger changes wouldn't just be a super confusing transition for a newer D&D player. Not to say that getting the base set now then waiting till 4th for core rulebooks is a bad idea though.

Thread: Re: intro for kids

grinch — 2008-02-25T11:41:35+00:00

The aforementioned free adventures http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/oa/20030530b

Thread: Re: intro for kids

parduz — 2008-02-25T10:29:00+00:00

i agree that is really a good start for kids or teens that have not even see nothing more that YuGiHoh CCG (in Italy they're a lot!).
I've completed the Basic adventure, then started from scratch a "full" 3.5 adventure.
My sons have, at that time, 7 an 9 years, with a friend of 12.
My youngest just needs some math help when choosing talents and ablilities, and nothing more.

Anyway, i've not found any official/fan material for the "Basic" box, which i'll like to have to introduce more kids without having my sons bored by playing the same adventure more and more.

Thread: Re: intro for kids

ced1106 — 2008-02-25T00:07:18+00:00

Well, if you already have the introductory D&D books, no real need to buy the new Basic set. OTOH, If your local Borders has a copy of the new Basic set and you subscribe to the Borders members email, you will eventually get a 30% off coupon, so your purchase will be under $20. Cheap, considering you get 12 prepainted mini's, dungeon tiles, and a decent generic module with some actual flavor dialogue to what would otherwise be a generic dungeoncrawl.

As for the rules, IMO, the Basic set rules are better in that they're a short 8 pages of streamlined combat rules, and use a lot of ideas in today's dungeoncrawl games.

Of course, you're essentially just buying a toolkit for 1-3rd levels with a one-shot module. My question is what *you* and your kids expect to do with it, including how you're going to get any RPG miniatures beyond the Basic set.

aka. Washu! ^O^

Thread: Re: intro for kids

watcher_b — 2008-02-24T23:19:00+00:00

free modules? If anyone finds a link to the free modules on the website, let me know.

If you want to play D&D for what it is RIGHT NOW (it is changing again later this year I believe) this is a nice introduction to those rules. And you are right, they are very different than what they were 20 years ago. This set doesn't really give you much in the way of setting and environment, it is more an introduction to how the game is played. A little taster to get you to buy the main books.