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To pack up the office at lunchtime and come home.
Now that my afternoons are officially free, what am I going to do with them?
Well I have no shortage of projects, vague hopes of socialisation opportunities, and if all else fails mid-afternoon naps have been very appealing recently.
~~~
Last night saw the end of the Keep on the Shadowfell module that![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
zakzahn was running to test out D&D4. Oravalen perished in the final battle - attacked while unconscious by a vengeful imp -but was resurrected in the epilogue, acquiring both a nemesis and what would probably be a minor recurring PITA villain in the process. One other character also died by failing the three stabilisation saves, and overall the only thing which prevented a TPK was DM ex machina. We had gone into a tough fight partially spent, but I don't know that it would have made a lot of difference.
I would like to say that human mages are uber in D&D4, and I was deliberately playing a less-efficient build. I think part of it is the area affects ie multiple attack rolls make for a better chance of hitting something - both the Warlock and the Cleric would have been a lot more effective if the dice hadn't been agin them so much.
blackphoenix524's cleric was also incredibly valuable in keeping the party together/upright, and played well despite his lack of dice love.
Overall I thought there was a good amount of roleplaying as well - even from R*. From what I could see D&D4 has stripped out all the mechanical support for RP leaving it as 'something the players do' and only paying it lip service throughout the PHB with advice on how the game is supposed to differ from a board game or miniatures game. Luckily we were all experienced RPers, even if it wasn't supposed to be an RP focused game, and that in itself bought a lot to the table.
* although the player is still constantly running off at the mouth about irrelevant stuff and questioning the DM' calls at inappropriate times.
I've said ever since starting to read the PHB that this version of D&D isn't apples-apples comparable with previous editions. While being familiar with some of the .. tropes? of D&D would certainly help a newcomer pick up 4E quicker our combined experience with 3E tripped us up a number of times, and it was observed that people at the table had found it easier to move from 2nd to 3rd than from 3rd to 4th.
Two useful tips for dealing with 4E - firstly the power cards, which I've seen used to good effect for keeping track of spells in 3E would work even better here, with the smaller list of possible powers and more frequent refresh periods. They would also have saved me having to grab a PHB whenever I pulled out a daily or recently acquired encounter power.
Secondly, a tip I saw only recently on Gnome Stew (I think?) would probably have helped us manage the flow - prepare some folded bits of paper each with the name and effects of a condition and when someones character is affected prop (like a tent) the appropriate piece of paper in front of the player (like a tent). A quick visual reminder and easy reference which can be returned to the pile when the effect ends.
After all these years I think it's the first time I've actually played in a gamezakzahn has run, and I continue to unreservedly recommend him as a DM. He did an excellent job of patching over a number of holes in the module, which I think must have justified it's price tag on the basis of the pretty maps rather than conscientious scenario design.
Edit: And the final point I meant to add: I'd happily play 4E again but I'll stick to systems I already have for running games.
~~~
I'm now also down to playing in only one game, and running none. That also feels a bit weird.
Now that my afternoons are officially free, what am I going to do with them?
Well I have no shortage of projects, vague hopes of socialisation opportunities, and if all else fails mid-afternoon naps have been very appealing recently.
~~~
Last night saw the end of the Keep on the Shadowfell module that
zakzahn was running to test out D&D4. Oravalen perished in the final battle - attacked while unconscious by a vengeful imp -but was resurrected in the epilogue, acquiring both a nemesis and what would probably be a minor recurring PITA villain in the process. One other character also died by failing the three stabilisation saves, and overall the only thing which prevented a TPK was DM ex machina. We had gone into a tough fight partially spent, but I don't know that it would have made a lot of difference.I would like to say that human mages are uber in D&D4, and I was deliberately playing a less-efficient build. I think part of it is the area affects ie multiple attack rolls make for a better chance of hitting something - both the Warlock and the Cleric would have been a lot more effective if the dice hadn't been agin them so much.
blackphoenix524's cleric was also incredibly valuable in keeping the party together/upright, and played well despite his lack of dice love.Overall I thought there was a good amount of roleplaying as well - even from R*. From what I could see D&D4 has stripped out all the mechanical support for RP leaving it as 'something the players do' and only paying it lip service throughout the PHB with advice on how the game is supposed to differ from a board game or miniatures game. Luckily we were all experienced RPers, even if it wasn't supposed to be an RP focused game, and that in itself bought a lot to the table.
* although the player is still constantly running off at the mouth about irrelevant stuff and questioning the DM' calls at inappropriate times.
I've said ever since starting to read the PHB that this version of D&D isn't apples-apples comparable with previous editions. While being familiar with some of the .. tropes? of D&D would certainly help a newcomer pick up 4E quicker our combined experience with 3E tripped us up a number of times, and it was observed that people at the table had found it easier to move from 2nd to 3rd than from 3rd to 4th.
Two useful tips for dealing with 4E - firstly the power cards, which I've seen used to good effect for keeping track of spells in 3E would work even better here, with the smaller list of possible powers and more frequent refresh periods. They would also have saved me having to grab a PHB whenever I pulled out a daily or recently acquired encounter power.
Secondly, a tip I saw only recently on Gnome Stew (I think?) would probably have helped us manage the flow - prepare some folded bits of paper each with the name and effects of a condition and when someones character is affected prop (like a tent) the appropriate piece of paper in front of the player (like a tent). A quick visual reminder and easy reference which can be returned to the pile when the effect ends.
After all these years I think it's the first time I've actually played in a game
zakzahn has run, and I continue to unreservedly recommend him as a DM. He did an excellent job of patching over a number of holes in the module, which I think must have justified it's price tag on the basis of the pretty maps rather than conscientious scenario design.Edit: And the final point I meant to add: I'd happily play 4E again but I'll stick to systems I already have for running games.
~~~
I'm now also down to playing in only one game, and running none. That also feels a bit weird.
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Date: 2008-11-27 02:46 am (UTC)From:I've never found the argument that d&d4 has less roleplaying support very plausible, simply because there wasn't exactly much mechanical roleplaying support previously - what was it, diplomacy and intimidate checks? Was there anything else actually in the rules? D&D4 at least provides an attempt at a mechanical framework for general social interaction (skill challenges), even if the mechanics aren't particularly hot.