Newsgroup: it.hobby.giochi.gdr.dnd
Titolo: QUARTA edizione 4th - RECENSIONE da un tipo che la gioca da  ottobre....

la recensione di un tipo che sta giocando alla 4' edizione da
ottobre.... ed era un megafissato della 3.5.... ERA.... :P
da qui: 
http://www.aintitcool.com/node/35776
AICN World Exclusive: Massawyrm Has Played Dungeons And Dragons 4th
Edition!!
Hola all. Massawyrm here.
I've waited a long time to write this review. And let it be known now
that what you're about to read isn't from someone who has gotten a
hold of a bootleg playtest copy and gave it a quick once over. No.
This is a long time coming. I've been playtesting 4th edition since
late October. Long under an NDA, my excitement for this new edition
has been bubbling over into something of a churning froth for the
better part of four months now. Every Saturday of those four months
(holidays be damned) our group (comprised of three married couples and
a single friend) has gotten together to nosh some potato chips, guzzle
some coffee and roll some god damned dice. One of our members, a
freelancer for WotC, needed to learn the rules for an upcoming 4E book
he got hired to work on. But as he apparently learns the rules better
playing than he does running, he turned to me over a cup of coffee,
narrowed his eyes and told me point blank that I was about to jump in
head first. That's right. Dungeon Massawyrm. There. Now the joke is
out of everyone's system.
Let me just say this upfront. I. Love. 4E. And I didn't want to. Much
like many of you out there, the 3.5 partial reboot just five years ago
pissed me off. But we've spent 8 years now with the better part of
this system. And hell, even 5 years is a long time. But Massawyrm,
you're thinking you don't know how much I've spent on 3.5. No? Here at
the Casa de la Wyrm we don't have a D&D bookshelf. We have a D&D
closet. It's where I keep my boxes of Dwarven Forge Master Maze, my
big plastic bins of D&D Minis, and two long shelves of over $1000 in
3.5 books. But just 2 weeks into playing 4E, I boxed up every non-
fluff heavy book I owned, drove down to Half Price Books and sold them
for as much cash as I could get. I knew I would never, ever, touch
them again. Yes. 4E really is that good. It is the XBOX 360 to your
XBOX. And it is time to upgrade my friends.
One other thing to note is that the playtest DID NOT INCLUDE the use
of the DI (Digital Initiative.) There have been a lot of rumors that
you need this new online service to play. These rumors are horseshit.
We have played for four months with only a Players Handbook, a Dungeon
Masters Guide and a Monster Manual. And Nothing else. 4E does not
require a computer. Although if everything I hear about it is true, I
just might want to keep my laptop with me once it is up and running.
What's about to follow is a three part story. But it's not about the
details. What they changed here or what isn't there. After this
weekend every gaming forum out there will be flooded with details.
This is going to be about the experience. What it is like playing
Dungeons & Dragons 4E. This isn't an article meant just for you
junkies who, like myself, can quote the 3.5 rules - chapter and verse.
It's also for those of you who haven't played in 15 years and
secretly, though you might never admit it, wish you could go back and
play it again. Or for those out there who haven't played, but always
wanted to. This June, 4th Edition will be unleashed upon the world and
it is the perfect time to pick up the hobby or give it a second shot.
Every decade or so Dungeons & Dragons gets a make over. Not just a
facelift, but a complete rebooting of the system. What I've always
loved about these reboots is that each time the designers make sure to
integrate, rather than move away from, the innovations of the previous
decade. When 2E came out in '89, it took all of the math, the charts
and the diversity that had emerged in gaming throughout the 80's and
created one of the most complicated systems to date. When 3E hit the
shelves in 2000, it took the revolution of the Vampire White Wolf
Storyteller system - the notion of complete character individuality
and modular options - and gave it a strong, but much more complicated
system to work with. Now, with the revolutions in online gaming,
Dungeons & Dragons once again finds itself evolving. From Everquest to
the World of Warcraft (and the many other imitators in between and
after) comes the notion of perfect balance - the idea that every
class, every character, every role in the party, has something to do
and never, ever, has to sit on the sidelines.
That is the single most important change to this system. I don't care
what you're playing, whether the party's wizard, its cleric, the
fighter or its rogue, you will always have the option of doing
something useful. You will never be forced (as long as you're
conscious) to simply sit and watch everyone else play because you've
run out of spells or don't have a high enough Spell Penetration or
lack a weapon property to get through DR. Those days are done. Clerics
don't just hide behind the fighter waiting to stand them up any more.
And you can actually successfully run a party without one now. Oh, and
the retarded notion of having to rest for the day because the wizard
blew through his spells too quickly (even when the rest of the party
is full up)? Over and done with. In redesigning the way the character
classes work, they've managed to eradicate most of the stupid tropes
that we 've all just kind of sighed at and tried to ignore in the
context of role playing.
Now, there's a notion floating around out there that since the goal of
4E was to make the rules simple it means that they're making them
stupid - as to be easier for younger or dumber players to understand.
The problem with that, aside from the fact that its probably one of
the more arrogant stances out there, is that it belies a complete
misunderstand of what 4E is all about. Is it simpler thatn 3.x? Oh
hell yes. But it is elegantly simple. Intuitive. It's like complaining
that switching from DOS to Windows was stupid because now anyone could
use a computer. When really all it meant was that now you didn't have
to type all that code. Your computer wasn't dumbed down any. Neither
is D&D. It still has all the complication that was in 3.5 - lots of
character options, a focus on role playing and tactical combats that
are even far more elaborate than before (more on that later.) But all
the rules work just like every other rule does. They all make sense.
You pretty much know how a rule works before you look it up because it
works just like the rule for this other situation.
The problem with Dungeons & Dragons has always been that everything is
a special case. Every spell interacts with the universe differently
and has to encounter a thousand different monsters. The soul of 4E is
that now all those rules spin in the same direction (if you will)
rather than flying off in a hundred different ones. At first glance
there are a couple rule changes that will seem silly. The one that
crawled up my craw the first session was the fact that diagonal
movement counts as just one square. The idea that you could move
faster diagonally than you could straight or side to side is retarded.
But by the second session I didn't care. Why? No one EVER had to
recount a movement. You could eyeball distances without surprises
popping up because you forgot to double count the second diagonal.
Everyone moves and counts and there's never a hint of second guessing.
And when it came down to it, any optimization a player could get out
of it was balanced by the monsters having the same thing. Life is just
easier this way.
EVERY RULE CHANGE IS LIKE THIS. It all just works. Fluid, intuitive
and fun.
And man is it fun. The new tactics are incredible. Anyone who thinks
simple rules mean simple combats is in for a shock. Every class has a
slate of weird abilities and powers that set them apart from every
other class - and when a party learns each other's tactics and begins
to work in concert, watch the fuck out. Because things get crazy.
Tomorrow's piece will be about what it's like to exist as a DM in this
new tactical environment, because a DM really has to be on his toes.
Simple minded DMs are going to get walked all over by a competent
group of players.
The new combat system is glorious. There are so many options, so many
opportunities to do really fun and incredible things, that the game
becomes more about what you want to do in the moment rather than just
sitting around waiting for your turn to come up. Combats still take
about as long as they did before, you just get to do more during them.
While iterative attacks are gone, it never feels like they're missing.
The Fighter is still a sword whirling death machine that gets a lot of
chances to drop beasts. Rather than hour and a half 3 round combats,
you end up with 10-20 round epic combats that allow everyone to do a
variety of things. It no longer seems like a waste of a turn to move,
it'll get back to you momentarily. Sometimes moving two or three
rounds in a row really pays off. You no longer have to worry about
missing out on any action just because you want to get into position.
Which leads to crazier maneuvers and more fun at the table.
And the rule simplicity allows players to really attempt craziness
without fear of bizarre rules. My wife, who has played 3.5 with us for
years, never felt comfortable with it. She was always concerned that
she didn't know the rules as well as everyone else. While she enjoyed
the game (and having friends over to play once a week) she isn't the
type to sit down with the rulebooks and memorize them. She's geeky
enough to live with and love me, but she draws the line in the dirt
there. 4E on the other hand has made her a different woman. She's
confident. She loves her character and the rules and tries out all
sorts of strange things. She no longer looks at me and asks "Is this
right?" Instead, she plows forward, kicking ass and suggesting tactics
to the more senior members of the party (like the game designer.) And
she asks me repeatedly about whether or not I've planned next weeks
game. She looks forward to it.
And amid the rule changes comes the racial and class changes. While
there's been much ado about these concepts, the new focus of the game
places a lot on the role playing and direct play aspect of race and
class. There is a difference between a 6th level Eladrin ranger and an
Elf ranger. One gets to reroll one attack every combat and ignore
difficult terrain while shifting (making a 5 foot adjust) and the
other can teleport 5 squares once a combat.
Let me tell you, there's a big difference. Dwarves are more than just
short guys with low Move rates and a +2 to CON. They make great
fighters for a reason, not just because the fluff says so. But at the
same time there aren'
t any disadvantages to playing against type. No one will roll their
eyes at a Dwarf Rogue or (once they're out) Half Orc Sorcerers. There
are benefits to playing WITH type, but never penalties for against.
And that makes a WORLD of difference. Race in 3.X was all about what
it did for you at 1st level and what it did to your stats. After that,
it rarely mattered. Now it'
s also about what it does for you at 6th or 17th or whatever.
As has been written about, there are three stages of play now. Heroic
(lvls 1-10), Paragon (lvls 11-20) and Epic (21-30.) Each stage really
is its own beast. Heroic is just that. It's what most would think of
as lvls 1-6 in 3.x. Flight doesn't exist for the players yet and
neither do prestige classes (now called Paragon Paths.) You're tough
but not ungodly so. Paragon really is the middle range where you get
to do all sorts of crazy stuff without ever getting too silly. It's
also where you really get to step away from your class and become
something new and different. And Epic is just plain silly. I honestly
see a lot of folks stopping at paragon - but for those that want to
get into truly EPIC level, mythologically powerful gaming, epic will
do the trick. With class abilities that begin with phrases like Once
per day, when you die... it allows for a whole, bizarre new type of play
that actually manages to maintain its consistency. But more about all
this in later.
Is there anything I don't like? Not in the rules. It's all nitpicky
stuff about what gets released when. I miss my Half-Orcs, my sorcerers
and kinda wish Druids were around for the initial release. Then
there're a few complaints about the monsters that aren't out versus
those that are (but more of that on day 3.) The rules? They're damned
near perfect. I have zero complaints. I'm pretty confident most folks
will feel the same way once they dive in.
4E completely reinvigorated our group. It's weird, but in creating a
new edition, they found the magic that made Dungeons & Dragons what it
always was. They've taken shovels and dug out the core of what makes
the game tick and built a system that focuses on THAT. This feels like
1st edition all over again. It has everyone excited. No one skips or
misses games. And when we have to cancel, it becomes a big production
of attempting to reschedule before canceling. Seven people in our
group and every one of us, no matter how resistant, no matter how
angry about a new edition we might have been, have discovered a brand
new passion for the game. There's a lot of negativity out there right
now, a lot of anger over this rule change or that rule change or the
thought of all those now nigh useless books. But come June that's
going to change. People are going to see first hand how those changes
work together to make a superior experience. The game is more fun and
less work. And I, for one, am never going back. I am a 4E player. And
I can't wait until you guys are too.
Check in tomorrow for part 2, detailing what it's like to run a 4E
game (the new challenges and pleasures), and Saturday for part 3 going
into the Monsters.
Until next time friends, smoke 'em if ya got 'em.
Massawyrm

ottobre.... ed era un megafissato della 3.5.... ERA.... :P
sembra pure sincero.
-- 
 Domon

 sembra pure sincero.
l'ipnodroga 4.0 è molto efficiente e non è avvertibile se non con i
cybersensonasi 7.8+
non credo che il tipo avesse accesso all'area 51
--
Fabio in black

I've read the review, and it sounds like the writer is suffering from Embedded >Reporter Syndrome. Whenever people are granted exclusive access to something, it >creates a feeling of comradery and belonging. People feel like they are co-soldiers, >or in this case, co-designers. Consequently, they become disinclined to report >negatively on anything, beacuse it feels like a betrayal. Its why the military >embedded reporters with units during the invasion of Iraq, for example. The Pentagon >knew that that if they made the reporters feel like they were part of the units they >reported on, there would be no Vietnam War-style negative stories. Smart marketers >know that as long a product isn't totally awful, they can create positive buzz by >granting a select few people pre-release access. The real reviews will be written by >people who have no psychological investment in the quality of 4th Edition. For now, I >feel justified by history in not putting too much stock in the reporting of >officially-sanctioned insiders.
All this goes to prove is that you don't read AICN regularly.
Massawyrm is one of their regular movie reviewers. He's frequently
among a select few who get to see a movie early--sometimes months
early. He attends insider parties. He talks with filmmakers at all
levels, from no-name locals to Quentin Tarantino.
And he still gives as many negative movie reviews as positive ones.
To suggest that he's suddenly feeling any obligation or emotional
pressure to give extra-positive weight to D&D of all things--which has
no bearing on his career whatsoever--when he's clearly never given in
to any such pressure from being part of the "in-group" in his actual
job, is just silly.
__________________
Ari Marmell
aka
Mouseferatu
--Rodent of the Dark
--
Fabio

 Until next time friends, smoke 'em if ya got 'em.
(E' tardi, l'ovvia battuta sul fumo a sfondo lisergico fatela voi....)
Alla prossima dettagliata "RECENSIONE"!
V.
P.S. Con l'euro a livelli record sul dollaro, e la 4E in arrivo, su Amazon e 
eBay si trova materiale per la 3.5 - anche nuovo - a prezzi stracciati. Io 
sto completando la mia collezione a un paio di scatoloni di libri al mese 
(ho perfino completato "Planescape" che era per AD&D 2e). Con "Il Richiamo 
di Cthulhu" come alternativa saltuaria, "Avventure in Prima Serata" che 
prima o poi provero', perfino "Rifts" per i momenti di "voglia burina", e la 
"recensione" di cui sopra (che ricorda in modo fenomenale quella orgasmica 
che AICN fece de "L'Attacco dei Cloni" - un momento di storia delle 
recensioni) ho come l'idea che le mie partite alla 3.5 andranno avanti per 
***MOLTO*** tempo ancora. 

(E' tardi, l'ovvia battuta sul fumo a sfondo lisergico fatela voi....)
prima fammela spegnere...
-- 
 Domon

 infatti, giocano tutti così.
Aggia', ECCO cosa scordavo: l'opinione sul tutto dei "fedayyn del GdR come 
deve essere". Come ho potuto lasciarla fuori?
Mi sa che la 3.5 e' ormai inattaccabile.
[Ho iniziato a leggere la seconda parte del POMPIN... er... Recensione 
approfondita e equilibrata della 4E scritta dal tipo, e gia' il numero di 
bioiate si preannuncia altrettanto sugoso. Se ho tempo posto i miei commenti 
piu' tardi] 

piu' tardi] 
sai che nel 2000 i fedayin di adnd2 scrivevano le stesse cose in
risposta alle recensioni di dnd3?
ma identiche!
poi ci sono passati in massa :)
SECONDO ME sarà un buon gdr, ma tanto più buono quanto meno adattabile
ai gusti di chiunque. (che però, se lo prova per quello che vuole
fare, lo potrà trovare comunque un ottimo gioco)
poi magari mi sbaglio, il mio "punto critico" sarà la gestione, per
ora solo accennata -ma interessante- delle challenges non di
combattimento.
-- 
 Domon

 SECONDO ME sarą un buon gdr
Ma si'. 

quello.
farei la prova anche sulle ragazze, per essere sicuro. :P
-- 
 Domon

 *fallimentari* precedenti aiuta a non cascarci...
Appunto: proprio perche' sono passato da AICN che esaltava "L'Attacco dei 
Cloni"
http://www.aintitcool.com/node/11796
(cit. "Lucas succeeds with the film beyond my wildest dreams")
...non ci ricasco. Grazie AICN per il contributo - e non ritorni. 

...non ci ricasco. Grazie AICN per il contributo - e non ritorni. 
se mi dici "non voglio cascare nell'hype", diavolo se sono d'accordo.
se mi dici che tutte quelle cose che hai citato negativamente sono
merdate, per forza, perchč non si adattano a come giochi TU, invece
no.
-- 
 Domn