Newsgroup: it.hobby.giochi.gdr.dnd
Titolo: QUARTA edizione 4th - RECENSIONE 3' parte con preparazione incontri e  problemi da Massawyrm

Massawyrm Reviews D&D 4E Part 3!!
Hola all. Massawyrm here.
With the rebalancing of all the classes, WotC has given a static,
steady progression to leveling up. No longer are there any plateau
levels like level 5 (when you get Flight and Fireball) in which
players get access to something radically more powerful than what they
possessed just a single level before - and no longer hamstringing DM's
by what monsters are effective at one level and not the next. Monsters
are now also scaled the same way. There are no more monsters that
while being a specific level, possess abilities that make them
completely inaccessible as opponents to lower levels. Sure, a 10th
level monster will still decimate a first level party - but not
because they lack the spells or abilities to so much as touch it.
They'll get their ass kicked because it is simply far more badass than
they are. But there are no more monsters that a DM cannot throw
against his players because they don't have the right spell or
equipment to fight it.
This opens up a whole world of opportunities and possible
combinations. But more importantly, it also allows the quick and easy
creation of your own monster stat blocks. Every monster is built with
a simple series of equations in which you plug in their level and
modify them by their role in combat and get exact, solid scores for
their Hit points, damage output and defenses. Of course that doesn't
mean that every 2 nd level monster will have the same amount of hit
points and do the same damage with an attack. It takes various factors
into account, but if creature of a certain level should be doing five
points of damage on average he could do one attack that does 5
straight damage, have an attack that does 1d8+1 or two attacks that do
1d4 a piece. You won't notice that average of 5 damage, but it will be
there hidden in the mechanics.
It takes roughly 5 minutes to stat out a new critter. Is there
something missing from the MM that you love? Odds are the answer is a
BIG YES (more on that in a bit.) Well, stat it out.
The first thing you'll notice about the monsters is that they broken
down into roles and toughness. The roles are pretty self explanatory
and WtC has been all about talking about them. These are things like
Lurkers (monsters that hide and attack from shadows or while
invisible), artillery (ranged attackers), brutes (big damage dealers),
soldiers (tanks), and controllers (spellcasters and creatures with
abilities that allow them to move players around or hinder their
movement.) A good monster mob has a healthy mix of two or three of
these types. This isn't so much of a game altering change as much as
it is just a great system for eyeballing what a given encounter needs
or what a creatures stats look like.
The big change is really the new classifications of monster power
level. You've got Minions, Elite and Solo types as extra modifiers.
Elites are just pretty much twice as tough as your average monster.
There's both listings for Elite monsters and rules for beefing one up
to Elite (for example having a group of 3 Ogres led by a super tough
Ogre Chief.) Solos are pretty self explanatory - they're meant to be
fought alone or only with a little help. These are your dragons, your
aspects of deities, or super tough large monsters. Solo's have proven
to be the trickiest to work with as you have to choose just the right
point in the adventuring day to unleash them on your party. Too late
in the day and they don't have enough powerful daily abilities left to
take it out - too early and they have too man, stacking status effect
after status effect on it to the point of silliness. You haven't
encountered 4E frustration until you've put a Red Dragon as an early
encounter and watched him hobbled, slowed, dazed and covered in
ongoing damage before he gets to round 2.
But my favorite addition so far is minions. These are super weak
monsters that amount to an average of 4 monsters to a character of
equal level. But this by no means is to say that they don't pose any
kind of threat. Quite often they can do much more damage when
attacking en masse. These are your zombie hordes or your weak demon
spawn and the like. Our very first game began in a tavern, with a
brawl (yes, the cliché) but was interrupted by a woman bursting
through the door screaming. Two zombies rushed in after her and tore
her apart. Our brave fighter rushed forward, hacked them to pieces and
threw open the door ready for 2 or 3 more. Only to discover 2 dozen
zombies shambling toward her.
Overkill? Not in 4E. 24 Zombie Rotters are a standard encounter for 6
level 1 PCs. You don't HAVE to run minion fights that large, but man
are they a good time. They make your PCs feel highly effective as they
drop zombie after zombie beneath their feet, but also prove tactically
challenging as they have to fight off swarms with completely different
tactics. It also lets you have a little fun by replacing several of
the minions with a regular fighter type of the same monster. Why are
there only 13 zombies this time? Because one of them is a level 3
nasty. Guess which one it is before it eats your cleric.
Most of your time as Dungeon master will be spent on two things:
planning the story of your game and planning the monster and tactic
selection. It really is challenging. 4E fights really have a different
feel. It's not about running across some random fight anymore. It's
about planning, it's about strategy, it's about the fun or frustration
of the big beat down. You are encouraged to get exotic - and that
equals fun for all.
So I've been incredibly positive up until now. I know there's many of
you out there who have got to be wondering if there's anything about
4E that I don't like. Yes. There is, but it's almost all entirely nit
picky stuff about what they chose to release. Personally, I'm just a
wee bit annoyed that certain monsters were held back for other monster
manuals - especially in lieu of the fact that there are quite a few
new editions to the core monsters.
Dungeon & Dragon Miniatures fans (like myself) will be happy to know
that several of your favorite minis have been added to the core book.
The awesome Boneclaw is core, the Kruthik has worked its way in, and
Flameskulls have two different incarnations (one Heroic and one Epic.)
But there are no metallic dragons in the core MM. And while Metallics
have for the longest time been GOOD creatures, the new 4E lack of
standard alignment allows you to be pitted against ANYTHING as long as
there's a good reason for it. No more ALWAYS LG means a crazed,
deluded or simply ornery Silver dragon could actually be an opponent
for the party. But not on release it can't. The lack of certain
classic giants like the Frost Giants is a bit lame - they include
Death Giants, but not Frost? But don't worry, Fire, Hill and Storm all
make appearances. It's not that there are bad choices and aditions -
it's just that you have to ask why a whole section on Kruthiks but not
one on the metallics. I'll trade you know. It's not called Dungeons
and Kruthiks.
Then there are dragons. First of all, dragons ROCK. Every chromatic
dragon fights and plays much differently than each and every other
type now and they are ALL nasty. Every last one of them. AND, just to
sweeten the deal, there are now real, honest to god dragon encounters
set as low as level 3. Yes, you can actually fight a white dragon in a
tough fight at level 1. That's pretty damned awesome, once again
deserving its title Dungeons & Dragons. So what's wrong with dragons?
Well, for starters, there is longer any dragons smaller than LARGE
size. To many of you that won't mean anything. But to those of us who
have collected Dungeons and dragon Minis from way back in harbinger -
we've just gotten screwed. I have a whole drawer of small and medium
dragons that no longer serve any use. I mean, I guess I can paint them
and use them as drakes. But not as dragons. Especially since many of
them weren't exactly easy to come by. That got me a little pissy.
Which leads to the one glaring problem some folks will have with 4E.
It is very dependant upon maps, terrain and miniatures. That's great
for guys like me with a closet full of toys. But for others,
especially those who like to play much more esoteric games all through
discussion rather than using maps and positioning - they're going to
find it a lot harder to covert over to that style of play than 3.5.
Most abilities and classes are built around their existence on a map
grid. And a lot of the abilities just don't translate to the abstract.
I'm not certain why percentage of players out there still play this
way - but they're going to have the strongest argument against
converting to 4E.
But for me these really are some minor gripes compared to the sheer
number of mechanics that 4E has fixed. There are no more wallflowers
in combats. No more totaling up each players loot to make sure they
are equally matched to the monsters they'll be facing. No more resting
before the party needs to. No more "Why can't I buy this magic item
anywhere". No more broken min/maxing. No more all human parties
because the free feat and skill point are worth more. There are a
thousand little things that are streamlined, that are better. And once
people have had the chance to sit down with it, all the prerelease
gripes will go away. It really is like digging into 1st Ed all over
again.
This weekend WotC is taking the muzzle off of us playtesters, so over
the next few days and weeks, sites will be flooded with all the
details. I'm dying to see how closely other groups experiences match
my own - but I'm also confident that we're about to see a lot of
positivity out there. This is a great game. Whether you're a long time
player or an online gamer looking for a little more face time with
your friends, 4E has a lot to offer the table top community. It's a
revelation and a revolution. And it's gong to change the way you play
forever.
Man I can't wait to have these in hardback.
Until next time friends, smoke 'em if ya got 'em.
Massawyrm
--
Fabio

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