On September 11, 2000, I posted on this site my first impressions of D&D 3rd Edition. Now, 8 years and change later, I thought I would post my impressions of D&D 4th Edition. These are not first impressions, however; these are based on my having played the game for several months now. They may very well incite a riot. Line forms on the right.
Ed. You may also wish to read this article for further thoughts about 4th Edition.
In my previous article here at Gamegrene, I talked about my experiences with Hunter: The Reckoning, particularly in light of the fact that my unconditional love for H:tR was not shared by the vast majority of gamers. Though the publication of material for Reckoning ceased a number of years ago along with the rest of the old World of Darkness, I (and other Hunter fans) are fortunate in that the Hunter concept was chosen to be revised and republished.
It was not long ago where the only way to play a multiplayer game was to invite your friends over and have them grab the second remote to the Super Nintendo. Times have clearly changed.
What I learned from falling in love with the game that everyone else hated: White Wolf's Hunter.
Gaming is about many things. Some of us game for fun, some for the social aspect, some to win – but for most of us, it’s some combination of those interests that attracts us to gaming. So, for the moment, let’s look at a couple of games and consider strategy as a way to make games more fun for all the players. Let’s face it, it’s more fun if you’re not getting womped all the time and as we play across ages (generations in fact) in my game group, some level of strategy is important to keep the ‘tweens from feeling like there’s no point in playing if you’re not a grownup.
It’s summer and at least up here in the Pacific Northwest that means we actually see the sun more often than usual. Games, especially board games, tend to be inside kinds of endeavors. So what’s a gamer to do? Well, partly, you add a BBQ to the gaming gathering.
Many role-playing games include a system meant to model the characters' moral compasses or beliefs (or lack thereof). But is such a mechanic really necessary in a roleplaying game? If so, what's the best way to implement it? I'll share my opinions on what works and what doesn't in my own gaming experiences; you can (and should!) do the same in the comments.
As the GM you can't wipe out the party or your campaign is over, right? What if I offered you a way to kill them all and get away without them lynching you? Intrigued? Read on.
According to a post by Randy Buehler, WOTC's Vice President of Digital Gaming, "Wizards of the Coast has made the decision to pull down its Gleemax social networking site in order to focus on other aspects of our digital initiatives, especially Magic Online and Dungeons & Dragons Insider. We continue to believe that fostering online community is an important part of taking care of our customers, but until we have our games up and running at a quality level we can be proud of, it will be the games themselves that receive the lion’s share of our attention and resources."
Want to spice up your game a bit? Tired of players just shooting someone or hitting an opponent without any description? Bored? Try adding Stunts to your game and see what happens...
