Musings on 4th Edition

My Elements of Power cards got delayed, and I haven't had time to scan Map Pack: Sewers yet, so today I thought I'd chronicle some of my initial thoughts on 4th Edition.

It's been two weeks now since the announcement, and on the whole I am optimistic. As a DM, I've definitely struggled with some of the weaknesses of 3rd Edition, including the pain of generating NPC stats, the wonky rules for special actions in combat, and the frustration of players with needing to rest after running out of daily abilities within the first hour of an day.

I'm playing a Warblade currently and loving it, so I'm glad to hear that the Book of Nine Swords is a significant preview of 4th Edition. I've read the Star Wars Saga Edition previews (and hope to look through the book itself soon), and I think some of the things they've done with skills, critical hits, and talent trees is fantastic (I may incorporate the skill changes into my Ptolus campaign). Many people have also noticed similarities between 4th Edition and World of Warcraft, and I think D&D will benefit from that comparison, even if the similar elements are things that have also been done in other games as well (such as the talents in d20 Modern, or the racial abilities in D&D Online).

I've read most of the new articles on D&D Insider, and most of the staff blogs. It's good to see how excited Mike Mearls and some of the others are. I'm looking forward to the free issues of Dungeon and Dragon magazine, even though I'll miss the paper copies for a time. Still, I've printed out reams of other roleplaying material to read while riding an exercise bike, and I'll probably start doing the same with the new articles.

I'm staying away from most messageboard discussion about 4th Edition for now, because I suspect that the signal to noise ratio is really low (and I have no need for the pessimism). I have some friends who are outraged by the idea of 4th Edition, and I understand the frustration of gamers who've spent thousands on 3.5 source books. I'm glad that I've invested more heavily in minis, maps, and accessories which will cross editions fairly well. But in general, I'm willing to pay for new books if they make the game better for me and my friends.

I'd love to be a 4th Edition playtester if the opportunity arises, but in the meantime I've got several 3.5 campaigns underway as a DM and player, so I'll have my hands full of gaming either way. In fact, I'm looking forward to my warblade getting a few more notches on her sword tonight.


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