4th Edition again, and the GSL
The Game System License and the System Reference Document are out finally. I spent a lot of time considering my options since it first appeared, hence the delay on my response. I've had a pretty chaotic opinion of the whole thing thus far, so I'll try to consolidate and present my thoughts.
First of all, I think the rules are pretty solid. The mechanics for how things work are nice, and the simplicity introduced is good for new players, as well as players not as hardcore as I.
However, the scale of the system is rather mediocre. While they expanded play from 1-20 to 1-30 and introduced the Epic Tier, that top-most level doesn't feel anywhere near epic to me. Perhaps I'm just focused too much on just how amazing my epic games were, but I really don't see how much of anything that occurred in them could even be possible in 4th's Epic tier. And the PHB states right out that the end of Epic tier is when you have to stop playing your character. This bit really startled and aggravated me, as though I would stop playing characters (or running games for characters) who's level is above 30? I will concede that going above 50 in 3.5 was hard to manage as a GM, but I don't see why they explicitly stated that it cannot happen any more.
As for the basic rule set, the way the attacks vs defense system and the Powers work is very impressive and exciting. I happen to wish there were more options for at will powers, but there are a good number of options for daily and encounter powers.
Multiclassing seems a little... fake to me. The way it's presented in 4th is more like the way several feats in Complete Scoundrel allowed players to draw on other class features. This modern way isn't really multiclassing, its just taking powers from another. There's no second class involved.
The equipment system is extremely cool though. I like the powers granted by items, and a good number of the magical bonuses made me geek out. The power conversion for Vorpal is especially cool in reference to the way the rest of the game works. Fortunately, this is something that will get expanded upon a lot in the future.
What I'm really not happy about is the GSL. It's not an Open License, and the restrictions put on it make me weary of ever publishing, or even writing material for 4th edition Dungeons and Dragons. I've read pages and pages of discussion on it, especially at Paizo, and I'm not really liking the implications people are finding. No page references, no stat blocks, and no redefinition of ANY of the system reference document is pretty harsh, and would force me to basically start from the ground up if I were to write Tales of the New Empire in 4th edition. I think I'd rather build my own system and possibly distribute it as Open Gaming than have to wade through the GSL. The OGL was tricky enough for me to read, and while I might consider writing under the OGL, 4th probably just isn't happening for me.
Best of luck, everyone.
First of all, I think the rules are pretty solid. The mechanics for how things work are nice, and the simplicity introduced is good for new players, as well as players not as hardcore as I.
However, the scale of the system is rather mediocre. While they expanded play from 1-20 to 1-30 and introduced the Epic Tier, that top-most level doesn't feel anywhere near epic to me. Perhaps I'm just focused too much on just how amazing my epic games were, but I really don't see how much of anything that occurred in them could even be possible in 4th's Epic tier. And the PHB states right out that the end of Epic tier is when you have to stop playing your character. This bit really startled and aggravated me, as though I would stop playing characters (or running games for characters) who's level is above 30? I will concede that going above 50 in 3.5 was hard to manage as a GM, but I don't see why they explicitly stated that it cannot happen any more.
As for the basic rule set, the way the attacks vs defense system and the Powers work is very impressive and exciting. I happen to wish there were more options for at will powers, but there are a good number of options for daily and encounter powers.
Multiclassing seems a little... fake to me. The way it's presented in 4th is more like the way several feats in Complete Scoundrel allowed players to draw on other class features. This modern way isn't really multiclassing, its just taking powers from another. There's no second class involved.
The equipment system is extremely cool though. I like the powers granted by items, and a good number of the magical bonuses made me geek out. The power conversion for Vorpal is especially cool in reference to the way the rest of the game works. Fortunately, this is something that will get expanded upon a lot in the future.
What I'm really not happy about is the GSL. It's not an Open License, and the restrictions put on it make me weary of ever publishing, or even writing material for 4th edition Dungeons and Dragons. I've read pages and pages of discussion on it, especially at Paizo, and I'm not really liking the implications people are finding. No page references, no stat blocks, and no redefinition of ANY of the system reference document is pretty harsh, and would force me to basically start from the ground up if I were to write Tales of the New Empire in 4th edition. I think I'd rather build my own system and possibly distribute it as Open Gaming than have to wade through the GSL. The OGL was tricky enough for me to read, and while I might consider writing under the OGL, 4th probably just isn't happening for me.
Best of luck, everyone.
posted by Arcandio at 3:43 PM
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