Comments on: In Praise of Bashing

By: Smite

Smite — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 14:40:50 +0000

Man, screw all that! According to MetalJim’s post, in 4E you just need to roll up a Warlord. Even with CHA 5, ’tis better to be feared than loved and all that jazz.

By: Random

Random — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 23:51:03 +0000

Smite: You sign up for it when you design your character. Maybe you don’t roof your Str but use those points to buy up some Wis or Cha. Maybe you cross class some skill points into Know(History) or Diplomacy. There are no guarantees that your character will become what you hope for but if you build a character with a Charisma of 5 then you really shouldn’t be leading anyone. It is more than just establishing the potential for your characters growth. By showing your interest in these aspects of your character you are showing your DM what you hope for the campaign. By expressing your interest in growing in a certain way you give your DM the opportunity to take that into account while writing his plots.

By: MetalJim

MetalJim — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 18:53:00 +0000

The folks at WotC have been releasing super spoilerific excerpts from the 4E rulebooks. They already put out a DMG excerpt that lays out in super-clear language how to roll up characters higher than first level. For someone who is familiar with the system, character creation on the fly will be much, much shorter, although you will still have to have a gameplan going in for your “build” and what kinds of feats, powers you want to focus on. Skills and magic item selection, however, are MUCH more clear and straightforward.

Sorry your UBCON DM was a total noob. 4E will be a huge success if it helps to enable the creation of a larger talent pool in the GM community. Whether it WILL do that remains to be seen, but I think the new system has the potential to be more “runnable” and more “teachable”.

By: Smite

Smite — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 18:23:23 +0000

So maybe bashing just comes more naturally to me… nonetheless I hope that our maiden 4E voyage is more than just a carefully studied act of retribution. If so, well hey buddy, get in line, there’s a long list of bitter hearts out there with an older claim to damages than you!

Seriously, “a well rounded warrior, a tactician and leader of men”, where do you sign up for that at first level, because I’d like some. It’s fair to indicate that potential to start with, but the campaign narrative is about growth more than levelling - watch Band of Brothers again to see the many ways this can happen.

Well, as long as you’re open and adaptable to growing in directions you perhaps didn’t envision (you know, just like real life), then it’ll be worth the ride.