Dungeons and Dragons 4th Edition Catch All

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This thread was originally just talking about online table top gaming but I figured it might as well serve as the 4th Edition catch all.

So here are the details you need to know!

IMAGE(http://media.gamespy.com/columns/image/article/819/819068/dungeons-dragons-the-4th-edition-interview-20070910023227735-000.jpg)

D&D's 4th edition is being released June 6th, 2008.

The major changes in this release are:

* Character levels going to 30
* Better defined character roles
* Better defined monster roles (brute, soldier, artillery, controller, lurker, skirmisher)
* New monster statuses (Minion, Standard, Elite, Boss)
* Streamlined combat
* Streamlined leveling
* Online tools
* A larger list of changes can be found here and here.

My friends and I used to do this some in Neverwinter Nights 1. Personally, I got bored of it quickly. NWN1 didn't quite scratch the same itch.

The new 4th edition D&D is supposed to have an online tabletop version.

Yep, wait for the 4th edition D&D. My friends and I have high hopes for it since we live a few hours apart.

RichyRambo wrote:

The new 4th edition D&D is supposed to have an online tabletop version.

Well yeah, I know that, but I'm just anxious and want to start a game now. When does 4th edition come out anyway?

I'm optimistic that the Online 4th edition D&D will really work out well. I've been jonesing for a tabletop game for ages but time's always a factor now that my entire gaming crew is married with children.

LFG Dwarven Paladin for Friday nights.

Mordiceius wrote:
RichyRambo wrote:

The new 4th edition D&D is supposed to have an online tabletop version.

Well yeah, I know that, but I'm just anxious and want to start a game now. When does 4th edition come out anyway?

you could always just get webcams and use Skype.

What about the D&D MMO? I never played it but heard good things about it reproducing the "party of friends adventuring" feel.

What about the D&D MMO? I never played it but heard good things about it reproducing the "party of friends adventuring" feel.

It didn't quite work all that well. My friends had slower than recommended hardware which really hurt the gameplay experience and the content felt pretty lean. I never got that sense of excitement, wonder or curiosity that you get when a skilled GM weaves together a world. It just felt like a hollow digital experience.

Fantasy Grounds 2.

Not free, but FABULOUS. I've done a bunch of one off sessions with it, including something with Shawn, his and my wife, and some rather odd barbarian beer fetishists.

Thank's rabbit. I'll look into it.

RichyRambo wrote:

The new 4th edition D&D is supposed to have an online tabletop version.

They conveniently neglect to mention a few things:

1) The online tabletop thing costs $15 / month
2) 3D minis cost extra and have to be purchased individually (so if you want to fight 5 wolves, hope you shelled out for 5 little computer wolf models
3) AFAIK nobody has actually been allowed to do a real review on that tabletop thing and all that we've seen of it so far are scripted demos run by WotC staff. There was originally going to be more public and interactive demonstrations of it before launch, but they were canceled. For something that launches in about a week and developed by complete unknowns, that's probably not a terribly good sign.

1) The online tabletop thing costs $15 / month

Is that $15 for like a "1 GM / unlimited players" license or is it $15 per person!? Yikes!!!

LockandLoad that would be $15/ person / month from what I've been able to figure out.

However, That includes full access to their digital library which includes "every book they own rights to"

So there are a few more benefits than just the online tabletop thing that have been promised. What they deliver is yet to be seen yet though.

Koshnika

LockAndLoad wrote:
1) The online tabletop thing costs $15 / month

Is that $15 for like a "1 GM / unlimited players" license or is it $15 per person!? Yikes!!!

It's more than just access to the digital version, it includes a subscription to Dragon and Dungeon magazine, access to digital copies of all the books, and the ability to store your Living Character online. Not a bad deal, if you're a D&D fan.

rabbit wrote:

Fantasy Grounds 2.

Not free, but FABULOUS. I've done a bunch of one off sessions with it, including something with Shawn, his and my wife, and some rather odd barbarian beer fetishists.

Wow! That looks pretty sweet, downloading the demo now...

Seems like a neat program, I wonder if they have something like this for the combat-dial games. I always wanted to play them but after m:tg I refuse to pay for random results.

Hey, if ya happen to set something up, post about it. I'm sure some of us would love to hop in a game like that ( including me 8D )

JoeBedurndurn wrote:
RichyRambo wrote:

The new 4th edition D&D is supposed to have an online tabletop version.

They conveniently neglect to mention a few things:

1) The online tabletop thing costs $15 / month
2) 3D minis cost extra and have to be purchased individually (so if you want to fight 5 wolves, hope you shelled out for 5 little computer wolf models
3) AFAIK nobody has actually been allowed to do a real review on that tabletop thing and all that we've seen of it so far are scripted demos run by WotC staff. There was originally going to be more public and interactive demonstrations of it before launch, but they were canceled. For something that launches in about a week and developed by complete unknowns, that's probably not a terribly good sign.

From what I have seen WotC cannot code their way out of a paper bag, so I wouldn't hold high hopes.

So I've been reading the 4th edition player handbook and it is quite interesting. I didn't realize that the stuff was being released in a week. A lot of the changes seem really... Interesting. I think I like them.

Gabe and Tycho from Penny Arcade teamed up with Scott from PvP online as well as a guy from WotC to play a 4th edition game. They recorded the whole thing and are releasing it in podcast chunks. You can find the first one here.

So I've been reading the 4th edition player handbook and it is quite interesting. I didn't realize that the stuff was being released in a week. A lot of the changes seem really... Interesting. I think I like them.

So... how did you get a look at them? Are there excerpts posted online or a method more "shadowy"?

And I'm hoping someone from the site does a complete write up on 4th Edition. (hint hint, Rabbit! )

Orders from Amazon have already shipped and been delivered to people. Not only was Amazon getting them out earliest, I hear they were doing it cheapest too.

I'd love to, but honestly, I don't think I'm qualified. ZENKE, Calling Michael ZENKE!

Orders from Amazon have already shipped and been delivered to people. Not only was Amazon getting them out earliest, I hear they were doing it cheapest too.

WOW! Yeah, you're right Quentin...

http://www.amazon.com/Dungeons-Drago...

I'd buy it in a heartbeat but I'm missing two things.. Cash and a steady group to run it. Just can't get my friends together reliably.

LockAndLoad wrote:

I'd buy it in a heartbeat but I'm missing two things.. Cash and a steady group to run it. Just can't get my friends together reliably. :(

We could always get some games going with people from the site.

I would play online if there was a regular group - what I can't do is DM. I've done a lot of DMing in my time, a bunch online, and the prepwork is just way too much to bear. I can show up on a schedule, I can't do the prep.

Updated original post to be a catch-all.

Mordiceius wrote:
LockAndLoad wrote:

I'd buy it in a heartbeat but I'm missing two things.. Cash and a steady group to run it. Just can't get my friends together reliably. :(

We could always get some games going with people from the site.

The only thing I don't like about my job schedule is that it makes having a weekly commitment to something an impossiblity. Otherwise I'd say sign me up.

I've always felt like I was missing out with D&D. Never could find a DM.

As much as I grew up on the teat of D&D, Rolemaster, Gurps, Phoenix Command, and a myriad of other systems, after really reading through their changes, it looks to me that they've simply taken wholesale from MMOs and transported it directly to a tabletop.

I'm sure I'll give it a chance, since my gaming group will likely at least buy the first three books, but there is a reason that, if given the option, I would choose a tabletop game over an MMO any day of the week. MMOs by their nature a just too constrictive (You're DPS, your Tank, your a Healer... arg...) and every combat ends up the same -- every problem is answered in the same way. Tank taunts, healer heals tank, DPS attack by nuking or flanking. Monster dead. Rinse, repeat ad nauseum on bigger things.

Even though I thought D&D 3rd edition (and 3.5) were moving toward this, there were also some really character defining things about the system that allowed groups to step outside that mentality and search for their own ways through the conflict. Perhaps I'm just asking for too much.

The online option for 4th edition gave me hope that I might finally participate in a game of real D&D. But I'm not paying a monthly fee. Ah well. My GPA appreciates your money-grubbing, WotC!

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