Under the Hood

again

try from mail

First we have to get into the features of 4e that make it good for customization. I mentioned these last post, but I didn't get into them very much. We will do that now.

The first is that the system, at it's heart, is very simple. I have heard quite often that this is a limitation of 4e, that it is a dumbing down of the game. I disagree. I would compare it to chess. Chess is a very simple game, with few rules that are all pretty straight forward, but that leads to some very complex and challenging game play. NO one would ever say that chess is too simple for intelligent people to enjoy, and 4e is the same way. Simple rules, deep play experience. One could also compare it to improv theater for those who are more story driven than game driven. Like improv, the simplicity of 4e makes roleplay easier, and ultimately deeper. There are rules in 4e for roleplay situations, as well as combat, but the rules only provide a loose structure, that mostly interacts with the game elements and not the story elements, ant it does not get in the way of the story like some more complex systems. In my opinion, 4e is just about the right level of complexity for most play, and can be simplified or complexified (I think I made that up) to suit the tastes of your group. Don't let the apparent simplicity deter you from playing 4e.

The simplicity of the system is manifest in the Core Mechanic and the Three Basic Rules. The whole game is structured and dependent on these rules. There are no subsystems like in other games. Whether you're in a combat situation, an RP situation, an improvised action, or an action that is spelled out explicitly in the rules, the game comes down to these rules.

The first rule is the Core Mechanic. It has three parts. Roll a d20, high is good. This roll is modified with bonuses and penalties. You compare the result to a target number. No THAC0, no variation on whether you want high or low, no situations where you use different dice. When attempting something, this is the rule. Nice. Simple. Straight forward.

The second rule is that the rules are simple, but there are many exceptions to the rules. These rules are explicitly stated, and are organized in ways that they are easy to keep track of. It creates a game in which the rules for, say, swords are very simple. This rule allows for very complex uses of swords in certain situations, while keeping sword use in general simple. It also creates an easy way to improvise. This is what is meant by exception based design. A simple core mechanic with countless exceptions to this mechanic that make the game more complex.

The third rule is that specific beats general. This means that the rules are presented from the general perspective to start, and then there are countless exceptions that are spelled out for specific cases. This rule basically allows the Core mechanic to work well with the countless exceptions. It says that when two rules are in conflict, the rule that is more specific to the situation applies. It's a really neat way to create an internally consistent rule set. This makes many people happy. Rules inconsistencies have plagued D&D since it's inception, and this neatly eliminates most of them.

I have heard for quite a while now about how D&D 4e has limited options for character creation and play compared to previous editions, specifically 3.5e. I have also heard many people express serious anger about the fact that WotC seems to be spreading some of the most popular options out over several books in an effort to earn higher profits. Add to this the fact that there is a large sector of the D&D playing community that has serious doubts about being able to play the kind of game that they enjoy, whether this is an immersive/low combat game, a boardless/mini-less game, a zero-to-hero game, or even a game with gnomes. There is even quite a bit of complaint about the change in the fluff component of the game that has some long time players up in arms, mostly because of things that they feel are D&D abominations like Dragonborn and Tieflings. Most of these complaints are usually a prelude to the argumant that 4e is not D&D.

I am going to attempt to show that 4e is D&D, that it is a complete game with no need for further purchases beyond the Core Three books that include the Players Handbook, the Monster Manual, and the Dungeon Masters Guide. D&D 4e is the most comprehensive version of D&D in that it includes rules in the core books to address varying play styles, it is a more integrated and balanced system than previous editions, and is more of a toolbox for roleplaying than any previous edition. The simple unified system of the Core Mechanic, the exception based design, the siloing of different areas of character development, the efforts toward separation of fluff from crunch, the clear definition of combat roles, and the explicit definition of the Rule on Page 42 have created a homebrewer's dream. No edition has been this easy to homebrew.

Sit back, relax, and I will show you how you can make D&D 4e your game. Whatever that game may be.